Zoe Rebounds from Having Her Ears Cut Off in a Savage Attack to Become the Heroine of a New Series of Children's Books

"I felt sad that she had no ears but I was happy that she was still alive and made it through that."
-- Lexy Webb

Back in September of 2006, the Corpus Christi suburb of Kingsville was the site of one of the most dastardly acts of ailurophobia ever committed. That was when an unknown cretin took either a knife or a pair of scissors and cut off the ears of a tiny kitten named Zoe.

She was then deposited in a Dumpster and left to die. The Fates, however, had other plans in store for her and she was presently rescued by a passerby who rushed her to Animal Rescue Kleberg where veterinarians were able to stanch the bleeding and close the wounds.

Sadly, they were unable to reattach her ears and they will not grow back. (See Cat Defender post of October 27, 2006 entitled "Tiny Kitten Named Zoe Has Her Ears Cut Off by Fiends but Texas Police Do Not Seem to Care.")

The good news, however, is that Zoe still has her hearing. It takes her a moment to locate where the sound is coming from but that is about all.

She also is about to become famous thanks to a twenty-eight-page illustrated children's book recently published about her by her owners Melissa Webb and her nine-year-old daughter, Lexy. The first of the eight scheduled books is entitled Zoe the Earless Kitten, The Adoption and at last check it was ranked at number 1,088,072 on Amazon. It is geared toward children between the ages of nine and twelve and retails for $14.95. (See photo above of Zoe and Lexy.)

"She (Lexy) always said that she hopes that children and adults will understand that just because an animal is hurt or disabled, they still need a home just like any other animal," Melissa told KRIS-TV of Corpus Christi on August 20th. (See "Earless Cat Inspires Owners to Write a Book.")

Those are indeed lofty sentiments but they have a hollow ring to them in that Webb works as a bookkeeper for a hunting lease. Wild animals also are in need of homes, especially those that are devoid of hunters.

Since their book was printed by vanity publisher Trafford, both mother and daughter are responsible for promoting and peddling it themselves. In practical terms that means they are giving numerous interviews to the media as well as appearing at book-signings. (See photo above of the book jacket.)

As far as it is known, no arrests have been made in Zoe's mutilation. As is the case pretty much all over the country, the police in Kingsville do not take animal cruelty cases seriously.

At first Lexy was angered by the way in which Zoe had been treated but she apparently has put all of that behind her now. "I felt sad that she had no ears but I was happy that she was still alive and made it through that," she told KRIS-TV in the article cited supra.

As for Zoe, she has not only adjusted to not having ears but perhaps just as importantly she does not appear to have any psychological scars either. In fact, she is described by her owners as being something of a card in that she likes to be carried upside down and enjoys hopping in the bathtub with Lexy. She also has developed a fondness for Cheez Whiz.

The Webbs' tome is a welcome contribution in the fight against cruelty to cats but much more needs to be done. Anti-cruelty statutes desperately need to be beefed up and a means must be found in order to convince prosecutors and judges to take seriously crimes committed against cats. As things now stand, they are far too lovey-dovey with cat abusers and killers.

Photos: Moggies (Zoe and Lexy Webb) and Amazon (book jacket).