OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Muddy Paws Rescue volunteer Jennifer Abel witnessed the incident.
Abel said she was headed southbound near 72nd and Grover streets toward I-80 when a vehicle two cars in front of her, in the middle lane, tossed a black cat out the passenger side window.
Abel said she first thought it was a black t-shirt that was thrown from the window, and then realized it was a cat.
She got out of her car, picked up the cat and held it as she drove to urgent care. The cat later died there.
Now animal lovers in the community are chipping in hoping to find the person responsible.
"It made me sick, just to think about the whole thing, how it played out," said Carol, an owner of an animal rescue who requested her last name not be used.
Carol was shocked when she heard what happened on Friday afternoon.
"First thing I thought was, there is something really wrong and this probably isn't the first time this has happened. And it's probably not going to be the last time. This person needs to be stopped," Carol said.
She quickly took to social media to get the word out.
Carol isn't the only one. Muddy Paws has raised $3,500 in pledges according to its Facebook page that it is offering as an award.
"We are trying to pinpoint exactly where this occurred," said Pam Wiese with the Nebraska Humane Society, "So that we can see if there are businesses with cameras or something like that where we might be able to look and see if there is a license plate visible."
Wiese said with little information, this is a difficult case to look into.
Abel told 3 News Now she does not remember the details of the car. She was focused on saving the cat.
"It's something of a needle in a haystack, but we are hopeful that somebody may have some information that they can give, where we can find out what happened," Wiese said. "Did the cat jump out or was it thrown out? Should we press charges or not?" Wiese said.
But the Humane Society is continuing to gather information and Carol is hopeful that someone knows something and will speak up.
"There's a lot of cruelty in the world, I just don't like it to hit so close to home," Carol said.
If the individual responsible is found and they determine the incident was intentional, the Humane Society said the individual could be charged with a class four felony which could mean up to two years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
If you have any information about the incident, contact the Nebraska Humane Society.
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