'˜Air gunman shooting cats in town' - pet owner's warning

Sarah Browning says her six-year-old cat Cluedo would have died instantly if airgun pellets had struck her just half an inch to the left.

Cluedo was shot close to her home in Lydgate, Todmorden, around 6pm on Sunday, September 3, and needed x-rays, sedation, and an operation on her shoulder to repair damaged muscle plus a drain put in to deal with fluid buildup from the trauma of muscle and bone injury, said Sarah.

The incident was deeply upsetting for Sarah and her husband Chris and the couple, who also have another cat, one-year-old Spooky, hope anyone who knows who has done this would report them to the authorities.

As well as being an act of cruelty, she said she did not think anyone who might do this “for a laugh” appreciated the enormous cost of treatment - though they were insured - and would get a nasty surprise if they were caught and sued for it.

“Cluedo came in limping and covered in blood. We took her straight to the vets where we found out the pellets had damaged the muscles,” said Sarah. “It is difficult to understand someone living close by wanting to shoot my cat. Cluedo is a placid cat and she is recovering. It will take a while to rebuild her strength, but fortunately the prognosis is good.”

When someone is caught and authorities take action the punishment can also be severe - in February this year at Guildford Crown Court in Surrey a teenage airgunman was jailed for two years after killing two cats and seriously injuring five more in a week-long shooting spree.