GORHAM – An abandoned cat that survived a shooting by a Gorham police officer has touched a dozen potential prospects, all hoping to adopt the feline now convalescing at the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland in Westbrook.

At the Stroudwater Street shelter, the male cat, estimated to be age 5 to 8, has been named Clark, as in the fictional, mild-mannered newspaperman Clark Kent – the alias for the invincible hero, Superman.

“He’s our Superman,” said Jeana Roth, the shelter’s community relations manager. “He’s a lucky cat.”

Clark is mending but isn’t ready for adoption just yet.

Reported to police as rabid, the cat eluded capture. He was shot and wounded by a Gorham police officer on Aug. 20 when the cat allegedly attacked a 7-year-old girl on Maple Ridge Road.

Clark managed to flee and survived four days hiding out in the rural Gorham neighborhood. A Maple Ridge Road woman who rescued the cat did not respond to a telephone request for comment by the American Journal deadline on Wednesday. Roth said the woman has an interest in adopting Clark.

Lt. Christopher Sanborn of the Gorham Police Department said on Monday the shooting incident is under an ongoing investigation.

Roth said Clark had been abandoned three years ago. After being shot, he was rescued by a woman who was one of several neighbors feeding him. Roth said Clark sustained two shattered bones from a shotgun bullet and an orthopedic surgeon is attending the cat. His care includes weekly X-rays but surgery hasn’t been required.

Gorham police are picking up the tab for Clark’s medical expenses, which Roth estimated on Monday to be up to a few hundred dollars.

“We have agreed to take care of the bills,” Sanborn said,

The drama developed when Gorham police were called on Aug. 20. Sanborn said the town’s animal control officer received a call of an attack by a rabid cat. Sanborn said Standish Rescue attended the 7-year-old girl, who had been playing outside.

Sanborn said the cat accused in the attack was pointed out to the officer by the girl’s father.

“He was quite upset,” Sanborn said.

Then, Sanborn said, the cat tried to bite the officer and got away. The officer contacted his shift supervisor.

Sanborn said the officers, who Sanborn declined to name, located the cat and the supervisor used a shotgun in an effort to euthanize the cat.

“It leaped up in the air and took off,” Sanborn said.

The incident caused a stir in the neighborhood. Maple Ridge Road residents Gail Platts and her husband, Edward, were home at the time.

“We heard a gunshot and he called 911,” Gail Platts said.

The officers searched for the cat but the effort was unsuccessful.

“He was on his own – injured,” Roth said.

The woman who rescued the cat took him to the shelter on Aug. 24. Then, the cat was transported to an emergency clinic in Lewiston. He was in pain and unable to put weight on his paws, Roth said.

Clark is recuperating in a special section in an adjoining building to the shelter. While his recovery is progressing, it still could be a few more weeks before Clark is adoptable.

“He’s affectionate,” Roth said.

Gail Platts was familiar with the cat and frequently had spotted him in the Maple Ridge Road neighborhood. She said the cat would visit her while she worked in the garden.

“I never tried to pet him,” she said.

Roth said Gorham police thought the cat was displaying signs of rabies.

“It was alarming to think we had a rabid animal in the neighborhood,” Platts said.

But Roth on Wednesday re-assured the community that Clark is not rabid.

“He does not have rabies,” Roth said. “He’s doing well. He is on strict cage rest.”

The shelter works with 14 communities, including Gorham, and is caring for more than 100 cats now. Roth said the shelter is a resource for stray animals.

“There are a lot of cats out there like Clark,” Roth said.

But, the Clark case marks the shelter’s first one involving a cat shot by police. Sanborn said the investigation would determine whether the officers followed state and Gorham protocols.

“We want to leave no stone unturned,” Sanborn said.

Jeana Roth of the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland pets the cat named Clark, an homage to Superman’s alias, Clark Kent. After receiving a call on Aug. 20 of a young girl attacked by a rabid cat, a Gorham police officer shot Clark after eluding capture.