When you see a cat with purple paws, your initial thoughts probably fall along the lines of funny mishaps. Cats do love to get into everything: food, paint, bath and body stuff, name it. Like the feline accidentally knocking over a can of paint while exploring the garage or perhaps getting into mischief with a toddler. Who knows? Cats are troublemakers like that.

Sadly, the reason why this cat’s paws are purple is much more concerning.

The purple markings on its paws mean it has been marked as bait for dogfighting.

The Humane Society of the United States defines the cruel game as,

“… an inhumane bloodsport where dogs who have been bred, conditioned and trained to fight are placed in a pit to fight each other for spectator entertainment and profit. Fights average one to two hours, ending when one of the dogs cannot continue. The injuries inflicted and sustained by dogs participating in dogfights are severe and often fatal. The dogs used in the majority of these fights have been specifically bred and trained for fighting—an upbringing that relies on abuse and mistreatment from puppyhood.”

If this alone infuriates you and leaves you in disbelief at how sick some people’s minds truly are, imagine how much worse it gets when cats, smaller and more vulnerable, are involved.

This was almost the fate suffered by the cat with purple paws.

No one knows for sure how it managed to roam free unscathed but we’re sure glad it found a way out!

In a Facebook post, Naples Cat Alliance shares the escape story of the cat which they named Mr. Purple Paws:

“By all accounts he looks good, good weight, nice coat but the purple paws tell the story. Dog fighters use markers to color the white parts of cats and kittens so they can bet on which color will die first. They are “color-coded” and then thrown to packs of dogs, while these sick barbarians place their bets. This is cruelty at its worst. It seems as Mr. Purple Paws was able to escape before he entered the ring.”

Megan Sorbara, the founder of Naples Cat Alliance, explains how dogfighters don’t care at all if the cats they get have homes or not. She explains,

“He could have been a cat who was owned, but they were just letting him free-roam. I can’t imagine he was handled too nicely by these people when they were marking him, but I don’t really know what he was subjected to prior.”

Thankfully, Mr. Purple Paws was rescued in the nick of time and was kept safe and sound at the Naples Cat Alliance shelter.

They believe it’s only a matter of time before the sweet, innocent cat finds a good, loving home.

Shelter workers call Mr. Purple Paws “Mr. Happy”. According to them, he’s sweet, adorable, and loves being held.

Not all cats and dogs are as lucky.

Here’s hoping all of us remember to alert animal rescue when we spot animals with similar colored markings on their bodies or discover that these innocent creatures have been or are being abused.

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Source: Naples Cat Alliance, The Dodo, The Humane Society of the United States