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SPANISH FORK — Investigators believe they know who is responsible for injuring a cat with two blow dart attacks, Spanish Fork police said.
Detectives will ask the Utah County Attorney's Office to pursue third-degree felony animal cruelty charges against two men they say are culpable in the attacks, Spanish Fork Police Lt. Matt Johnson said Wednesday.
Johnson declined to identify the men because they hadn't been arrested or formally charged as of Wednesday. He didn't have either man's exact age and was unsure of where they are from.
Earlier this month, a family found an injured cat while walking the Spanish Fork River Trail. They reported the young cat, later dubbed "Miss Kiss" by her rescuers, had been shot in the head with a 4-inch blow dart. Miss Kiss was eventually taken to Mountain West Animal Hospital, which shared a post on Facebook Wednesday celebrating the news of progress in the case.
Miss Kiss survived but now suffers from a slight head tilt as a result of that blow dart attack, which Mountain West Animal Hospital veterinarian Isaac Bott says penetrated her brain. The cat's eye was also injured.
X-rays showed Miss Kiss also suffered a leg injury from a blow dart shot about two weeks prior to the second injury, Bott said.
The cat's head had been injured for likely about a week before she was found and received treatment for both wounds, according to Johnson.
A person familiar with the attacks contacted Spanish Fork Animal Control about the identity of the men allegedly responsible, he said.
"(They) very fortunately made the proper decision to cooperate with law enforcement," Johnson said of the tipster.
Charges against the men are expected to be filed next week, he said. The police report was still being completed Wednesday, Johnson said.
One of the men has declined to talk to police and has hired an attorney, according to Johnson.
Other details about the investigation were not immediately released.
The Humane Society of Utah said last week that it was offering a $3,000 reward for any information leading to the case being resolved.
