Abused cat begins another one of his nine lives

Abused cat begins another one of his nine lives

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By KOMO Staff

TACOMA, Wash. -- They say cats have nine lives. Even so, what one stray cat has survived is simply incredible.

The cat was attacked by teenagers and repeatedly stomped on in a Tacoma parking lot back in February.

Thankfully, one man spotted the teens kicking around what looked like a black furry ball and came to Parking Lot's rescue. After seeing that the furry ball was in fact a cat, he called Whisker City Cat Rescue. The incident also earned him the name "Parking Lot".

Parking Lot couldn't move. X-rays showed his right back leg had been broken in several places.

A visit to the vet revealed that the beating wasn't Parking Lot's first brush with danger. X-rays also showed a bullet lodged in his stomach; it turns out someone had shot him before teenagers attacked him.

Foster mom Michelle Kenney nursed him back to health.

"That somebody could do that to an innocent animal sickens me," she said.

Kenney searched for the perfect owner. And one woman came forward and said she knew immediately that Parking Lot belonged in her home.

"The story came on about the three kids kicking him around like a soccer ball, and it was just a sheer disgust that somebody could do that," said Nikki Herrington, the new owner.

Parking Lot's new owners have renamed him "Neo" after the main character in the movie, "The Matrix".

"He got his butt kicked, but came back and kicked some butt himself," Herrington said of the character. She's hoping her new cat will make a similar comeback.

After two surgeries and four casts, Neo was forced to lived in this cage for the last four months because he wasn't allowed to move.

"He had pins and wires all throughout," Kenney said.

Several setbacks and vet bills later, Neo is moving to Lake Tapps, where he'll have a dog and kids to keep him company. It's a bittersweet parting for Neo and his foster mom.

"Very, sad, but a good sad because he's going to a great home," Kenney said.

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