In 2011, a stray cat arrived to Lawrence Humane after being shot twice and trapped near a home in North Lawrence. At the time of his arrival to the shelter, he was only 2 years old. Veterinarians performed surgery on the cat where they removed one of the bullets but the other needed to remain on the back of his neck as it was too risky to remove. It’s a miracle this cat survived the bullet wounds and the surgeries!
Bullet spent the next few weeks recuperating at the shelter until staff members felt he was ready for adoption! The story of this brave black kitty was featured in an article on the Lawrence Journal World and quickly spread across the internet.
Brad Brown, owner of Arrowhead Forensics, a company in Lenexa which sells crime scene products such as fingerprint powders, evidence collection tools, etc., was on his computer when an article on Yahoo! News about a story in Lawrence, KS caught his eye. He clicked on it to find that the Lawrence Humane Society had rescued a cat who was trapped and shot by a Lawrence citizen. Brown was immediately intrigued and the first thing that popped into his head was Bullet would make quite the cool mascot for his business! A cat that survived being shot and went on to fight crime?! How cool! He called the shelter to learn there was another interested family but they weren’t completely committed so if he came to Lawrence Humane right away, Bullet would be his! Brad called his wife and said they were making a trip to Lawrence to get Bullet. During the adoption process, the Browns were told that Bullet was feral. This did not bother the couple much because they lived on some land with a barn and would love to have a working cat to help with all the mice – he was a perfect fit!
Unsurprisingly, Bullet meowed loudly the entire way home. Bullet immediately went to hide and the family didn’t see him for so long, they thought he ran away! The Browns were so distraught until suddenly signs of cat life appeared and sure enough, Bullet came out of hiding and began to trust the humans around him. Bullet never had any interest in coming in the house, but had plenty of perfect spots he claimed in the barn where the Brown family spoiled him rotten!
This brave survivor lived for 12 years ensuring the barn was free from mice and other pesky barn creatures! He also served as a lovely pal to any of the family members while they were working outside or in the barn. In early 2023, he was diagnosed with a throat cancer and placed on kitty hospice. He received a ton of love and comfort from the Brown family as they helped him cross the rainbow bridge. He was the sweetest older brother to Josey, who was rescued in 2016; and Ryder, who was recently rescued in 2022.
The Brown family says they were so thankful for the many wonderful years they had with this amazing survivor kitty!
