Pet cat shot between the eyes with air rifle in Dundee

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Cat attack: Police investigating after pet shot between eyes

A pet cat has been left with a pellet lodged in her neck after being shot between the eyes with an air rifle in Dundee.

The 16-month-old cat's owner was forced to searched for the injured animal after she discovered blood across the cat flap at her home.

Gladys Ireland, 58, blamed local thugs for the "sick" attack on her pet Peebles.

The pellet shot through the cat's nasal cavity, through the back of its throat and lodged in its neck, a trauma which left the young animal with breathing difficulties.

Ms Ireland believes the cat may have even been shot at point-blank range.The owner, who has two other cats and a dog, said: "It just shows there are some sick people out there.

"Who could do this to a defenceless young animal? I want the culprits caught - it could have been a child they hit."

Ms Ireland, who works as a sewing machinist, came home from work last Thursday and noticed blood on the floor, but just thought one of the cats had brought a bird in. But as she mopped up the mess, she saw blood on the cat flap.

She said: "I had a look around for a dead animal, but couldn't see any. I checked the cats over when they came in, but Peebles was nowhere to be seen. They are free to come and go and it's not unusual for her to be out for a few hours."

However, beginning to worry about her pet's whereabouts, another search eventually found the cat under a desk.

She said: "She was huddled up and looked terrified. I saw a mark on her nose. It was like congealed blood and I thought maybe she had been fighting."

The next morning, she again found Peebles lying down in pain and knew something was wrong. She took the cat to the local vet, where surgeon Fiona McLeod suspected the injuries could be the result of an act of animal cruelty.

Lodged pellet

An X-ray confirmed the vet's fears that the injury was a puncture wound caused by a pellet.

Ms McLeod said: "Her breathing was a bit funny, she was bleeding out of her right nostril and had a puncture wound between the eyes on the bridge of her nose.

"The pellet had gone through the nasal cavity, through the back of its throat and into her neck. We can't get access to pellet without damaging vital structures.

"We passed a tube into her windpipe and oesophagus and there was no obstruction or blood, which means the cat will be able to eat and drink.

"The cat suffered so much trauma and that's what's causing her breathing problems at the moment. We are hoping in couple of weeks it will settle down."

Ms Ireland added: "I'm still getting over what's happened - I'm so upset. The cats are my family. I could throttle the people who did this."

A spokesperson for Tayside Police said they were investigating the attack.

The incident came just days after a woman was caught on CCTV dumping a cat into a wheelie bin in Coventry.

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