The cat, thrown from a moving car on Rice Street in Roseville, didn’t have much of a chance to defend itself. A bystander ran into traffic to save her, ducked into a nearby pharmacy and called the police. By the time officer Jason Gehrman got there, she was in bad shape — quiet and bloodied, with missing skin and a broken paw.

First, he called his supervisor to figure out where to take her. Then he called his dad.

That would be Bob Gehrman, a veterinarian who runs Gehrman Animal Hospital in Minnetonka with his brother Charles. Their father, Fred — Jason’s grandfather — was a veterinarian himself.

That is to say: As badly as the cat’s day began on May 2, she had stumbled into good hands.

Jason Gehrman took her to the University of Minnesota veterinary college. They administered first aid but couldn’t do more in the absence of an owner.

“Being a stray, they were going to put it to sleep,” Jason said.

That’s where Bob stepped in. He called the vet school and offered to provide care — as long as he got to keep her.

“I wanted to be able to control the cat’s destiny and make sure that it got into a caring, loving home,” he said. “I didn’t want someone coming along claiming it.”

They agreed, and Jason took the cat to Minnetonka. Bob Gehrman got her started on antibiotics, cleaned up the wounds and brought in an orthopedic surgeon to put tiny pins in her broken bones.

The injuries were gruesome. The cat lost nearly all of her tail, a hind foot and the toes on a front paw. Bob was worried she would lose the whole front foot — essentially a death sentence because she wouldn’t have been able to support her own weight or move.

But the prognosis has improved in recent days. The cat is feistier — she growls when it’s time to change her bandages — and when Bob sets her down on the floor, she starts to walk.

“She’s had a hellish start,” Bob Gehrman said, but many people have stepped in with offers of adoption.

“We’ll find a good home,” he said.

He also hopes someone will step forward with more information about the incident — an animal cruelty crime. Roseville police are looking for tips; so far all they know is the vehicle was a blue van or sedan.

“One hope is that the attention this is getting brings to point how horrendous an act of cruelty this is,” he said. “I’m hoping that someone will look around,” notice a neighbor with a blue van and a missing cat “and put it together.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator. Anyone with information can call the Crime Stoppers tip line at 800-222-8477.

The cat is probably no more than 10 months old. They’ve named her Blue — not after the vehicle from which she was thrown, but for the cop who didn’t give up on her.

Marino Eccher can be reached at 651-228-5421. Follow him at twitter.com/marinoeccher.