A FAMILY have spoken of their horror after their beloved cat has had to undergo an operation to remove one of its eyes after being shot with an air rifle in Nailsworth.
The five-year-old male cat called Twig was attacked near its home at The Ladder sometime between Saturday November 26 and Sunday 27.
Distraught owners Phil Hansen and Lynda Heath (above) said the blinded and distressed animal returned home with a wound to its eye and was immediately taken to the vets for treatment.
During an operation to remove the ruptured left eye the vet found a pellet lodged in the animal’s neck muscles.
“This is absolutely horrifying. As you can imagine we are very upset,” said Phil.
“What kind of person would deliberately target a cat with that?
“The pellet had gone straight through the eye, through the socket and been embedded in the neck muscles.
“It missed a major artery by millimetres. This could have been a lot worse and Twig could easily have been killed.
“We’re convinced this was done on purpose. We have contacted the police and RSCPA and will be taking the matter further.
“Hopefully the person responsible will be found. We hope to prosecute if possible.
“If anyone can shed any light on air rifle owners and cat haters in the area, or can assist in any way it would be very much appreciated.”
The couple have owned the cat for five years and raised him from a kitten.
“We named him Twig the Wonder Kid after the lyric in the David Bowie song Drive-In Saturday,” added Phil.
“Unlike other cats, he was unique is having orange eyes. Now one of those eyes is gone sand he’ll be blind for the rest of his life.”
Police are investigating and have appealed for information to track down the culprit.
A spokeswomen said: “At lunchtime on Saturday November 26 the cat left its house and then returned on Sunday morning with a wound to its eye.
“It looked like it had been shot. As a result, the five-year-old cat has had to have its eye removed and remains at the vets.
“A pellet was found by the vet during the treatment.
“A 'Watchword' message has been communicated to Neighbourhood Watch members in the area appealing for information.
“Anyone else with information should call police on 101 quoting incident 133 of November 30.”
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