A cat who lived outside the Zeus’ Place animal daycare was fatally shot by a driver on Cadiz Street early Wednesday morning, prompting the owner to plead for the public’s help in identifying the gunman caught on video and for animal activists to offer a $1,000 reward.

The cat, named “Blackie,” lived in a feral cat colony cared for by the Zeus’ Place staff just outside their Freret Street building. Around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, a driver pulled up on Cadiz just off Freret and shot fatally shot Blackie, according to the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“Upon further investigation, it appears that the gunman drove around the block six times, each time staring at the cat, before opening fire and killing Blackie,” the SPCA says in a report. “It is also believed that other cats from the feral cat colony were shot. Blood trails and splatter have been located in several areas around the site of the shooting.”

The gunman’s car is described as an older model silver, four-door Ford Corsair with a garbage bag covering the rear passenger window, according to the SPCA. Anyone who can help identify the car or its driver is asked to call 368-5191 (extension 100) or email dispatch@la-spca.org, and information leading to an arrest could be eligible for a $1,000 reward.

As the investigation continues, the SPCA is also warning other feral-cat colony caretakers to be on high alert.

“My heart is broken. Someone shot and killed one of my feral cats from my colony outside Zeus’ Place on Freret this morning,” Zeus’ Place posted on social media Wednesday afternoon. “The other feral cats in the colony are going up to the injured cat to check on it and he keeps coming around and trying to shoot them. PLEASE crosspost these pictures far and wide and let’s find the cruel human who did this to my defenseless cats.”

Zeus’ Place owner Michelle Ingram told our reporting partners at WWL-TV this morning, “To be hunting domesticated animals in the middle of New Orleans is just insane.”