WARNING: This story contains images some might find disturbing
A Carlton cat owner says she is unlikely to let her cat out again after it suffered an almost-fatal shooting.
The owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, found the cat bleeding in their lounge on Bank Holiday Monday (27) after a suspected shooting was carried out with a pellet gun.
She said: “It was apparent this was a recent injury as it was still bleeding. My partner and I then rushed him to the emergency vets.
“At first, the vet thought he had potentially injured it on a branch and would need his eye removed but during surgery they quickly realised this wasn’t the case as the eye had a hole all the way through.
“He called us and explained our cat had been shot and said he couldn’t remove the pellets as one was so close to the brain and the other had fractured the jaw.
“We were totally devastated to learn this was an intentional injury and what’s more, given the path of the pellet through the eye, we believe it was an attempt to kill him.
They brought the cat home the following day and he was treated with antibiotics, painkillers and also given a cone. The cat has now sadly had an eye removed.
The pet will also only be able to eat soft food for a couple of months until his jaw has fully healed.
Future vet appointments have been made so they can monitor the cat’s recovery progress.
“This has totally devastated us and changed our cat’s life,” the owner added.
“We can no longer let our cat out, which at just 10-months old and with a long life ahead of him, is appalling.
“We’ve had a horrific week not knowing if our cat would make it, with emotions ranging from shock, anger and then total disbelief that someone could be so cruel.
“It will be a good few months before our cat will be fully better and he wont ever return to how he was.”
The owners say they believe the cat was shot in the area around Haddon Primary and Nursery School in the town.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact Nottinghamshire Police on 101 quoting crime reference number 24000317459