Felines under fire

Previously on this blog we told you the story of our youngest cat, Henry, and how he has attempted to use up some of his nine lives since he’s been with us.
Poor Henry has contracted cat flu, been shot with an air gun and even been run over – but, thankfully, he always seems to bounce back.
One of his ‘adventures’ even gained him fame – if not fortune – in our local paper.
The below story was printed on September 3, 2009 under the headline, ‘Felines under fire’:

Note for security I have blanked certain details.

A number of cats in the ******** area have been shot with air guns over recent weeks.
One of the animals even had to be put down after it was seriously injured.
Police, vets and the RSPCA have all condemned the use of such weapons, with community safety officers stepping up patrols in the H*****y area.
The issue was revealed after one worried owner contacted this newspaper when her cat had to have a pellet removed from behind its ear.
******** *****, 34, of ******** Road, ********, said two-year-old Henry had the bullet removed at R****s Veterinary Surgery on Thursday.
She said: “I found a lump on his head behind his ear. Initially I thought it was a cyst and he didn’t seem bothered by it.
“Straight away the vet said she was 90 per cent sure it was an air gun pellet as it felt mushroom shaped.
“She used a needle to test if it was a cyst and would weep; but it was banging against metal.
“I was shocked. It was the last thing I had expected her to say.
“The police said there have been a number of cats shot recently.
“How could anyone do that to a cat? Were they aiming to hurt my cat?”
The operation was a success, but Mrs ***** added: “It was so sad when he came back. He was really drowsy and I had to carry him up the stairs.
“His head has been shaved and there is a stitch in it, but he has been lucky really.”
****** and ***** **** Community Safer Team has since stepped up patrols in the wood.
Sergeant Tora Liggins said: “Members of the safer community team are appealing for information after two cats were shot with an air weapon, one of which had to be put to sleep as a result of the injury it sustained.
“This is a particularly nasty crime against a defenceless animal and has caused much anguish for the families that own the cats and I would urge anyone who may know who is responsible to contact us.
“We are proactively patrolling the parks in the area on top of our usual patrols in a bid to find those responsible.”
Lisa Evans, from R****s Veterinary Surgery, said: “There have been a couple of cases that we know of and it is happening more often.
“Depending where the cats are shot, it can affect them in different ways. Some pellets just become embedded and do not affect them, some might hit a major organ and could be fatal.
“The people who do this are disgusting and inhumane.”
RSPCA spokeswoman Sophie Wilkinson said such attacks often increase during the summer holidays.
“This is all too common. We see birds shot most frequently, but cats are close behind,” she said.
“It is normally either someone trying to keep cats away from their garden or kids who have got bored of shooting at targets. We do tend to see the number of attacks go up during school holidays and at weekends.
“It is something that should not be tolerated.
“These sort of weapons cause a lot of damage and quite often cause fatal injuries or mean cats have to be put to sleep.”
She added that the society would not hesitate to prosecute anyone caught shooting animals.

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