Appeal after cat shot with air rifle

SHOT . . . Jinksey, described by the family as a friendly and loving pet

A LOVED cat will be in intensive care for weeks after being shot with an air rifle.

Jinksey, the 11-year-old black and white moggy, was targeted in Stamford Road, Lees, near her home.

She remains in a critical condition after the incident last week which saw a metal pellet fired through her kidney and intestine.

In an effort to find the shooter, owners Sarah Bell (29) and Richard Bell (30) have put out a £500 reward.

Mrs Bell, of Stamford Road, said: "We had just got home after a weekend away. Jinksey had been asleep then went out which is completely normal for her.

"It was around 9.30pm when I heard her hysterically crying and miawing to come back inside.

"I let her in and she went straight to the bed to be stroked, as though she needed comforting.

"She didn't have any outward injuries but then she was sick and had a few accidents which wasn't like her. I thought she had been kicked or hit by a car so we rang the emergency vets."

The vets carried out X-rays on Tuesday then undertook an operation to remove the pellet which had punctured her intestine three times.

Mrs Bell said: "Jinksey had made it this far and we wanted to give her a chance. She is now on morphine but has lost a lot of blood. We have to take each day as it comes.

"It is disturbing that someone thinks this is OK.

"An accident would be really tragic but it would just be part of life, but for someone to aim to kill a cat is very shocking.

"We have a nine-month-old baby boy and if someone has killed a family pet you worry that they might take it one step further."

Mr and Mrs Bell bought Jinksey as a kitten from Millstream Animal Shelter, in Oldham Road.

They said: "She is a real family cat, friendly, loving, healthy, and quite timid around strangers."