A Texas veterinarian is in hot water over a picture of a cat she shot with a bow and arrow.

Scroll down for the disturbing uncensored photo.(Facebook via mySA)

Kristen Lindsey is a veterinarian who practiced at the Washington Animal Clinic in Brenham, Texas until last Friday. That's the day she was fired amid a firestorm of Internet criticism, after this photo went viral on the Internet. The unedited version features shows Lindsey holding up a dead cat with an arrow stuck in the back of its head, with the caption:

"My first bow kill lol. The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through it's head! Vet of the year award…gladly accepted"

The picture drew outrage across the Web, including hundreds of calls to the clinic. According to KBTX, Lindsey said in a comment on the post (which has since been deleted, along with her entire page): ""no I did not lose my job. Lol. Like someone would get rid of me. I'm awesome!"

Since posting that comment, she has been fired, and is now facing possible criminal charges. Killing even a feral cat is illegal under Texas animal cruelty laws, and a local animal rescue group told KBTX that the cat was not actually feral, but a foster cat under the care of a local elderly couple.

The cat in happier times.(Facebook via mySA)

Although public opinion of Lindsey's actions has been overwhelmingly negative, she does have her supporters. One local woman told KBTX: "She's amazing. She's caring. She's a good vet, so maybe her bad choice of posting something on Facebook was not good. But I don't think she should be judged for it." Another man said: "All these people in the cities just don't understand what goes on in the country and they get in an uproar. They ought to just mind their own business."

While it's true that feral cats are a problem in rural areas, decimating local bird and rodent populations, I don't know who would argue that the best solution is to shoot them with an arrow in your backyard, without checking if they're actually feral first. Especially not if you're a veterinarian who took an oath.

On the other hand, nobody should be tracking down Lindsey and sending her death threats, which has happened. Why can't anybody do something awful on the Internet without freaks threatening to do worse things to them? Use your outrage to do something nice, like foster a cat. And get it a helmet.

And now, because I have to, here's the photo:

Yeah, that sucks.(Facebook via mySA)