Emergency op after cat shot

A cat has undergone life-saving emergency surgery after it was shot.

The two-year-old cat, Ollie, arrived home in Hatton, near Shifnal, with blood pouring from his head at 9pm on Saturday.

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Ollie's owner, Ray Stickland, councillor for Shifnal and Bridgnorth District, said his beloved cat had suffered up to 30 wounds from shotgun pellets and vets had to operate.

The surgery was carried out at out-of-hours service Vets Now, based at Haygate Veterinary Centre in Wellington on Saturday night.

The ginger tabby puss had since been sedated and is back home. His owner said they did not know whether Ollie would survive his injuries.

Mr Stickland added that they now fear there is somebody targeting cats in the Hatton area.

He said his next door neighbour's cat went missing three weeks ago and a stray they took in four months ago had also gone missing.

He fears they may have also been shot and not survived their injuries.

Mr Stickland said: "My pet cat Ollie was shot at point blank range. He is probably going to lose an eye now.

"When Ollie came back he jumped through the cat flap with blood pouring from his eye and face.

Mr Stickland said whoever had targeted his cat needed to be traced before any more animals were injured or killed.

"This evil person is going around shooting innocent animals. It's awful. It's amazing that he survived.

"This is so tragic that this is going on," he said.

"His eye is very bad. His fur has been shaved off and we can see where all the pellets went in, including one which went straight through his eye and another through his ear.

"How can anyone do anything like this to a little animal? We don't know if he'll survive."

Mr Stickland said the pet was his wife Susan's and that the shooting had left the family devastated.

He said he would be reporting the incident to Sergeant Rock at Shifnal Police Station today.

By Kirsty Marston and Lisa Rowley

Lucy Stickland nurses her poor pet Ollie after his terrible injuries.

Ollie's X-ray shows the points where the pellets hit his body.

Ollie has been sedated and is recovering at home.

Another X-ray showing the pellets inside Ollie.