THOROLD, Ont. -- A cat in southern Ontario recovering from surgery after being shot multiple times with a crossbow could be adopted by the animal hospital that saved her life.

Officials at the Lincoln County Humane Society in St. Catharines said the cat, who was pregnant at the time, was shot at least four times in the abdomen with 16-centimetre darts from a crossbow earlier this week in nearby Thorold.

"We do not see cases like this often all," said executive director Kevin Strooband. "I would say it is pretty heinous. It's calculated."

The cat -- named Cinnamon by humane society staff -- had emergency surgery and is being treated and monitored for infection after surviving surgery, but none of her six unborn kittens survived.

Now, the very hospital that saved Cinnamon once might come to her rescue again.

"We, actually, all here at St. Catharines Animal Hospital fell in love with her and would love to keep her," said Dr. Bassem Boctor, who thinks Cinnamon would make a great office cat.

"They are still looking for the owner, but if there is no owner we would love to adopt her."

The shelter got a call Tuesday afternoon from a concerned resident who saw an injured cat and animal control was notified.

Upon discovering the cat, the animal control officer took it to the vet.

"We did an X-ray to see if she had any internal bleeding and what the situation was inside and we were actually surprised she was pregnant," said Boctor. Cinnamon was probably within a week of delivering her kittens, he said.

The cat was then sent for a pregnant spay surgery.

"We did an operation and we tried hard to...resuscitate the kittens," said Dr. Boctor. "Unfortunately we lost the kittens. They didn't respond to any of the CPR we did."

After a check-up from the vet, Cinnamon was taken back to the shelter and is recovering there.

"Antibiotics had to be given because there was rust and other contaminants on the tip of the arrow that has made infection a second concern," Strooband said.

Investigators are urging anyone with information about the case to contact the humane society and they are following up on leads already.

Animal cruelty convictions under the Criminal Code carry either a maximum prison term of five years or a maximum fine of $10,000.

Animal cruelty charges laid under the Ontario SPCA Act can lead to a fine of up to $60,000 and up to two years in jail as well as lifetime ban from owning animals.

Police are not yet involved in the case.