Cat loses limb after being shot
An Auckland woman is ‘‘terrified’’ to let her cats outside after one was shot in the leg – causing its limb to be amputated.
Lee Attwell’s five-month-old tabby Sadie had her leg removed after she was shot by a .22 calibre bullet.
Sadie came rushing and screaming into her Kumeu home about 2.30pm on September 8. The kitten ran into a bedroom and hid under the bed, Attwell said.
Attwell found her on her back with her claws digging into the mattress, covered in blood.
She said she rushed her to the vet and was later told she had been shot.
‘‘I just couldn’t handle it. I totally just broke down,’’ Attwell said.
In a separate incident, Sarah Robertson found her 11-month-old burmese Tammy covered in blood on the night of September 9.
The Muriwai resident rushed her to an after hours vet clinic where they were told the cat had also been shot seven times with metal pellets.
Robertson said her pet had been shot in the left leg and in her head. Fragments of the pellets were still in Tammy’s left eye.
‘‘She either will be partially blind or permanently blind. If it doesn’t heal at all, they will have to get it taken out completely,’’ she said.
She said the vet believed Tammy had also been attacked by another weapon as she had a ‘‘chunk’’ taken out of her stomach.
Tammy was still at the vet clinic. Robertson said she would remain there for another three or four days.
SPCA chief inspector Greg Reid said it was investigating Robertson’s complaint.
‘‘Yearly we would see six to 10 cases which relate to cats being shot with airguns, rifles and cross bows, arrows etc.
‘‘These cases are typically very hard to resolve as we often only have the victim and occasionally pellets,’’ Reid said.
Both Attwell and Robertson said they believed the attacks on their pets were not accidental despite it being common for people to shoot pests in the area.
‘‘People can tell between a rabbit and a cat. People can tell between a possum and a cat,’’ Attwell said.
Robertson said the incident had been her worst nightmare come true.
‘‘It’s just scary to know that someone on our road is like this.’’