GARDEN CITY - A cat found in Gem County with an arrow through its head after being left for dead is doing well Thursday morning.

Sherri Schneider, executive director of Simply Cats, a cats-only shelter and adoption center, said a good samaritan brought the cat in on Tuesday.

"This was a deliberate act," Schneider said. "It's a horrible crime - I've never seen anything like this before."

The cat, nicknamed "Valentine" underwent successful brain surgery Tuesday afternoon at West Vet Emergency and Specialty Center in Garden City. The female cat will be blind and deaf on its left side for the remainder of its life.

The doctor said it was a miracle and the arrow just barely missed the spine.

"To have it not penetrate the brain, just the eye and the ear and have it come about three or four millimeters from the brain, she's a lucky cat," says West Vet surgeon Sean Murphy.

The Gem County Sheriff's office said on Thursday that a 12-year-old boy was trying to protect quail the cat was apparently chasing and had shot at the cat to protect the birds, but did not think he had hit it.

When it was discovered that he had indeed hit the cat, he was described as being "extremely upset and (was) crying that he had hurt the cat," Gem County says.

In surgery, veterinarians found a BB pellet inside the cat's side - a sign, employees say, that indicates the cat's likely been used as target practice in the past.

"It makes you want to cry, it's so disturbing," Schneider said. "It says a lot about society, it's heartbreaking. The cat was used as target practice and some people think it's OK."

The executive director of a cat rescue group, says they plan to help the cat recover and find her a new home.

West Vet performed the surgery at no cost. The cat is eating and drinking, off of IV fluids and is resting comfortably, employees say.

The owner of the cat described it as a stray that he fed on occasion. He does not want to press any charges against the boy and believes it was an accident.

A report has been filed and will be forwarded to the Gem County Prosecutor's office, the sheriff department says.