Kitten attack shame

Injured . . . kitten Tia with blood on her nose after being rescued

Pet was kicked by kids as young as four
A FAMILY is calling for action after saving a kitten from being beaten to death by children believed to be as young as four.

The kitten was swung by its tail and kicked “like a football”, then hit against a wall and pavement in an alleyway.

The attack, behind Belgrave Road in Hathershaw, has prompted residents to demand action over anti-social behaviour.

The kitten is one of three owned by Dawn Tunnacliffe (33), of Belgrave Road, who said: “I was in my back yard with the kittens, who are becoming more adventurous. Then one kitten went missing.

“The neighbour went to check then shouted that some children had got hold of the kitten in the alley and were holding it by its tail and kicking it like a football.

“The kitten ended up in another back garden and a neighbour climbed over a wall to rescue it. I’m still angry about what happened.

The 14-week-old kitten suffered a swollen brain, bruised ribs, an injured nose and a black eye and was taken to a vet by police.

She added: “Tia was lucky because she has soft bones, like a new baby. If she’d been an older cat, she wouldn’t have survived.”

Witness Elizabeth Isaacs (23) said: “The children threw the kitten against a back wall and hit it about five times. I screamed at them to put it down but they then swung it round four times and threw it into a wall. It hit the wall and they ran off, laughing.

“We were so angry we called police. The children were under the age of criminal responsibility so the police won’t charge them. No adults were present so they can’t be held culpable.”

Elizabeth Isaacs’s fiancé, Simon Duffy (28) said the attack came after a series of fly-tipping incidents.

He said: “We have also started a petition for the ASBO and the family’s eviction. This is not normal behaviour. There have also been fly-tipping problems. We want culprits to be given ASBOs and threatened with eviction.

“We have three pet cats and a rabbit. These children were stroking one of our cats only 15 minutes before the attack. Now we’ll need to keep our cats indoors.”

The Oldham Chronicle was unable to contact the family for comment.