The mother of a 3-year-old is a calling her cat a hero this week after she says the pet took a bullet for her young son.

Angelica Sipe and her son Daemire were both asleep on Thursday when a bullet went through a window of their York, Pa., home. “It took me a second to realize what just happened. The first thing I did was check on my son, and he was sound asleep. Then I saw my cat on the floor, and that’s when I realized my cat was shot,” Sipe told WPMT. Daemire had fallen asleep on a loveseat, and Sipe was watching TV on the couch when the bullet came through the window, went through the couch, and hit Opie the cat. “It came in the top of his head, out the bottom of his neck, and back into his shoulder and out his armpit rib area,” Sipe said. The bullet then ricocheted and hit the loveseat, where Daemire was sleeping, just inches above his head.

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Opie suffered some muscle damage, but after surgery, stitches, and a drainage tube, is expected to be OK. Sipe started a GoFundMe page to raise money for her cat’s medical bills, crediting him with Daemire’s good luck. “If my cat was not laying where he was, the bullet would [have] hit my son,” she writes. “He is my hero!!!! And my son’s lifesaver.”

Angelica Sipe says her cat Opie saved her 3-year-old son’s life. (Photo: GoFundMe)

Sipe did not respond to Yahoo Parenting’s request for comment.

Though she was given the option of putting Opie down, Sipe says she’s committed to helping him through his recovery. “He was my son’s little hero, so I need to keep him around,” she said.

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Sipe’s GoFundMe page was launched with a goal of $1,000 but has already surpassed that, collecting nearly $2,500 in five days. She has noted that anything she raises beyond the cost of her cat’s vet bills, she will donate to the animal hospital.

York City Police told WPMT that no one was injured in the shooting and no suspect has been located.

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Sipe says she’s looking to leave her neighborhood in the wake of the gunshots. “I want out,” she says. “I do not want to stay here.”

In the meantime, she’s grateful for a son and a cat that are both doing well. She posted a photo on Facebook of Opie and Daemire cuddling at home this week, with the simple caption, “This moment right here is what I am most thankful for.”

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