Jefferson County — The case of animal abuse has left a community with more questions than answers, and law enforcement — empty handed.

A cat named Peanut was found in Nederland. Veterinarians say she smelled of lighter fluid and suffered burns. They say her tail was cut off with some sort of serrated knife. Her injuries are so severe, they’ll have to amputate what’s left of her tail.

The case was never reported to law enforcement. Crystal Holmes, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Captain, says she hope animal abuse cases like these stop going unreported.

“To be able as a law enforcement agency to track these, to track the movements, and to be able to document that and out the pieces together, whether its in our county or a city within our county or maybe another area in this region… We need to be able to document that,” said Holmes.

“It’s like anything else, if you see something, say something, because somebody knows who did this to this cat.” said Kristen Clark, ‘Adopt Me Meow’ Animal Rescue.

Peanut still has a long road to recovery before going up for adoption. ‘Adopt Me Meow’ is the rescue shelter holding her until then.

If you would like to help donate click HERE

Written by Rocio De La Fe