4:00pm Wednesday 19th November 2008
By Rachel Hickman
A PENSNETT man is “appalled” after finding his pet tabby cat badly hurt from an air rifle shot.
The cruel feline attack is the latest in a string of recent attacks reported to the RSPCA in the last fortnight.
Ernest Walker, of Albert Street, returned home at 5pm on Friday October 31 to find his three-year-old cat Fubar bleeding from a shot wound in her abdomen.
The 34-year-old, who has had Fubar from a kitten, said: ”I put down her food but she didn’t move, so I knew something wasn’t right.
“I picked her up and she was all limp and weak and I noticed blood on her underside.”
He added: “I immediately took her to the vets, where they x-rayed her and found an air rifle pellet in the left side of her abdomen.”
If the pellet had entered a vital organ, Fubar would not have survived the attack.
The lucky moggie was put on a drip overnight as vets decided to remove the pellet the following Monday. However by then Fubar had made such a good recovery, vets decided against the operation and she was allowed home, although she remains very timid and afraid to go outside.
Ernest said: “I’m appalled, disgusted and angry by this. Why anybody would want to do this to a cat is beyond me.
“There is no reason or rhyme to it at all - the person needs to stop doing it.”
He added: “Fubar stays close to home. I know you can never be sure where she actually goes, but it definitely happened in my area and I want to ensure this doesn’t happen to anyone elses cat.”
The RSPCA has also highlighted another case in Sedgley where 10-year-old Monty survived an air gun attack. The cat, whose owner lives in Caswell Road, was shot during the week of November 3 - however his owner told inspectors this was not the first time he had been targeted.
RSPCA Borough Inspector Martin Dolan, said: ”I am frankly disgusted that people haven’t got better things to do with their time. “Aiming an air gun at an animal in order to cause it pain and suffering is a criminal offence and if we can find out who is responsible for these attacks we will prosecute.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.
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