A cat that was thrown from a 12th-floor balcony of a Minneapolis apartment building survived thanks to a series of surgeries, according to an animal sanctuary.
Rue is "a courageous and resilient" year-old tabby and white cat recovering from numerous broken bones and other injuries in her plunge on June 24, according to Lisa LaVerdiere, whose nonprofit Home for Life animal sanctuary in Stillwater is caring for the feline.
"It looks as if she will overcome the cruelty with which she was treated, thrown away, and over a balcony, with no regard for her life," LaVerdiere, the sanctuary's executive director, wrote Tuesdayin a news release, including directions for how to help fund Rue's recovery and for the care of other animals housed by the nonprofit.
Rue, named for the French word for street, landed on the pavement outside the Parkview Apartments in the 1200 block of N. 12th Avenue after "someone threw a cat out the window," according to a police report, which classifies the case as closed and makes no mention of anyone being found responsible.
As far as the prospect of holding anyone responsible, Minneapolis Animal Care and Control spokeswoman Blair Loose told the Star Tribune that the agency does not have an investigation open into the incident because "we don't have enough to move forward at this time to even determine this was a criminal act."
Nasteho Abdi, who lives on the building's eighth floor, said she and her sister came upon the injured cat and got word to Animal Control.
"There were a lot of kids outside playing, and one said, 'Yeah, we saw the cat fall,'" Abdi said.
Abdi said a woman at the scene said it was her neighbor's cat and they didn't want it anymore.
LaVerdiere said that Animal Control informed the sanctuary that a child was among several people who witnessed Rue being thrown.
She said Animal Control took Rue in that day and arranged to have the sanctuary receive the cat. She said Rue was just a couple of hours from being put down.
Rue's injuries include two broken legs and fractures to her lower jaw, LaVerdiere said. She had surgery on her legs that evening and has been fed through a gastric tube, LaVerdiere said.
Despite the jaw injuries, Rue "is still trying to eat canned food, even with her damaged mouth, and even trying to groom herself despite her legs being in casts," LaVerdiere said.
Next up for Rue: have her upper and lower canine teeth bonded together "to hold the jaw in place and allow it to heal," LaVerdiere wrote in her news release. "[The] procedure will be guided by a human dentist!"
"It was so heartbreaking," Abdi said as she recalled the cat suffering. "I'm so happy to hear she is thriving."
