Diane and Graham Booth got a scare last Tuesday when their two year old cat Stripey came in the cat door and flopped on the floor with blood covering one side of her face.
When he saw the blood, Graham, an experienced hunter, knew straight away their cat had been shot.
They rushed Stripey to the emergency vets.
Diane said after having her on a drip and pain relief overnight they x-rayed her the next morning and found her eye had exploded and there was no way of saving it.
A pellet had gone through the eye and lodged in her neck, so they removed it and gave it to Diane. ‘‘Someone was shooting to kill her, it’s so cruel, it’s just not fair,’’ Diane said.
She filed a police report and when the police rang her they said they thought it was disgusting and asked if she suspected anyone or had any trouble with someone complaining about the cat.
Diane hasn’t had any issues with neighbours or people on her street but said Stripey did spend a lot of time in the reserve between George Street and Tarbottons Road.
The vet told Diane Stripey was very lucky not to have been killed, the slug went through the eye at an angle, if it had been a straight shot it would have gone into her brain.
Stripey was a bit off balance when she returned from the vet, getting used to navigating with one eye and is confined indoors for 10 days but is expected to make a good recovery and live a normal life.
Diane is wary about letting Stripey venture outside again. ‘‘She’s an outside cat she just loves being outside, hopefully she won’t go back to the place she got shot.’’
She said she wanted to make people aware and to know if there is a pattern of cats being shot or disappearing.
‘‘If people are annoyed about cats coming on their property, squirt them with a hose or something that’s not going to damage them,’’ she said.
