Some horrible bastard has shot my cat in the eye

[McDougal]

Went out this morning as usual and I thought it was a little odd that I hadn't seen him at the window wanting to be in....then DH finds him outside hiding with a bloody eye. Literally dripping blood.

We took him off to the vet and just had a phone call informing us that the bleeding and swelling was caused by a shotgun pellet. I just can't get my head around why someone would want to shoot an innocent animal.

We're picking him up once we've picked DD up from nursery and GDP can get here but I feel like I'm in shock. My poor little Mac

The police need to know about this.

It's bad enough that they've shot a cat. Kids that cruel often progress to harming younger children.

It was probably an accident if there was only damage done by one pellet, if you shot a cat with a shotgun from within a gardens range there wouldn't be much of the cat left. Shotgun pellets spread out when fired so it is very likely if he was shooting a bird or squirrel and your cat was nearby but concealed that a stray pellet hit them.

I would go round to the neighbours and explain what has happened, you will be able to tell from their reaction if it was purposefully done or not, and hopefully they will be more sensible when using a firearm in future. However it may be worth informing the police as I don't know anyone with a shotgun license who is allowed to fire it in their own gardens in what is presumably a built up area.

DH has spoken to one neighbour who has denied all knowledge. Not sure if he's going to approach the neighbour we think has actually done it in case it kicks off.

Will ring non-emergency number once DD is in bed.

I still can't get over someone doing this. Even if they were aiming for something else and Mac was unfortunately caught in the crossfire, they could at least have knocked and told us what happened.

It still shocks me that anyone could do this to an animal. Let us know how he is.

I wouldn't approach any more neighbours, I'd just report it (you could mention you know who has a shot gun) and let the police get to the bottom of it. If it is someone local who knows you and Mac, then if it was a genuine accident surely they'd have coming running or even taken him to the vet themselves - they obviously don't care that much.

Ooops,lose not loose.

I hope Mac is comfortable & heals quickly.
Did the vet say It was a Pellet gun shot?

Hope he is ok, it's evil that someone did that. In my state I don't know about cats but certainly dogs are considered family members and you can protect them as such, up to and including leathal force.

Fucking bastards. Cruelty to animals makes me furious.

Hope your poor cat is okay.

I'm going to assume you meant it's an air rifle/pellet gun rather than shotgun? As poor kitty would likely not survive a shotgun blast.
Air rifles are legal in England without a license but if you're in Scotland the neighbour needs a license and can lose it if he is found to have shot your cat.

As this has now happened I would think seriously about getting CCTV that covers where you think he would have been able to shoot your cat if your cat doesn't leave your garden. (I.e would he have shot him off the fence?) It won't prevent it happening again unfortunately but it may make him think twice about pulling this shit again.

And go to the police now! Some may not do crap all but there are certain areas where they take it pretty seriously and like to try and help (or make a show of dealing with it at the very least)

for your poor cat. What evil behaviour

poor baby cat, definitely report it. Hope you're treating him with his favourite titbit!

Evil , evil bastards
Glad Mac is making a good recovery
Did the vet save the pellet ?
Please report to the police

Complete bastards. Those pellet guns should be banned the amount of cats (and other animals) injured by them. I can't get my head around why someone would do that.
I hope your cat is ok. Yes do report it.

No fucking way this is terrible!!!!

I do hope the poor boy recovers alright.

!00% call police non emergency and RSPCA

Sorry, just back from the vet. I'll post a pic of the giant ball bearing that was in his eye in a sec.

He's home, currently eating tuna and happy as you like. His eye needs cleaning up and is a little weepy but otherwise seems fine and desperate to snuggle up on my knee.

The vets were shocked that there wasn't any more damage other than an ulcer on his eyeball.

Back tomorrow to check how he's doing and eye drops and hopefully that'll be the end of it!

This was lodged in his eye.....poor little thing. I hope the evil fuckers who did this don't do I again. Vet has advised we ring non emergency police which we'll do once DD is in bed.

OMG - I'm amazed he's still got his eye! Poor thing and poor you - what a bloody horrible thing to happen.

I would definitely tell the police. It's a crime to deliberately injure an animal I think. I can't imagine that you'd accidentally hit a cat in the eye by accident :(

Oh poor Mac! Lots of cuddles and treats in order.

Bloody hell that's huge! So glad your cat didn't suffer any more damage, could have been a lot worse.

Glad you plan to report it to the police.

Your not allowed to fire guns in back gardens, you have to be 50m away from roads, your also not allowed to fire at domestic pets.

Has the vet kept the pellets? It should be kept as evidence to see if it matches the ones he uses.

What evil fuckers. Police will have them if you can get it on camera.

I have just seen this report in my local paper. Seems there's some evil evil people about.

www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/15280087.Cat_recovering_after_being_shot_for_the_second_time/#

Every county had its own firearms squad who licence shot guns etc & they do not like you breaking the rules.

If it's been messed about with and its overpowered you've hit the jackpot cos then it's a firearm.

Dh has a shotgun licence but he can't buy one of them, legally.

He only shoots clays though.

Sorry, I was going off what the vet had said on the phone but definitely not a shotgun as we'd have no Mac left. I'm not sure what shoots those things but they definitely shouldn't be allowed in back gardens!

I'm a little worried about ringing the police as we don't live in the nicest of areas and worried about any repercussions. Does anyone know what the police would do?

www.cats.org.uk/news/sign-the-petition-to-extend-air-gun-laws-to-england-and-wales