Pet cat Jovi suffered 'agonising pain' after being shot with air gun in New Milton

A DISTRAUGHT cat owner has revealed how her pet had to have a leg amputated after it was shot with an air rifle.

Natalie Spencer, from New Milton, said her cat Jovi suffered “agonising pain” and had still not recovered from her injuries.

She has been left with a vet bill of £2,000 and the police have appealed for information.

Natalie told the A&T: “She is trying to walk on her three legs and is doing well, but she sometimes can’t get up on things and then she gets very frustrated.

"It’s very distressing to see her hurting so much.”

When Natalie, who lives in Antler Drive, found Jovi in her pet bed around 7am on 8th August she first thought she had been run over by a car.

She said: “My other cat was howling for us to get up. Normally Jovi runs to me to get her breakfast but she didn’t move.

“I went to see her and realised she was absolutely covered in blood. She was obviously in terrible pain.”

Natalie rushed her to Vets4Pets in the town where they discovered the cat had been shot with an air rifle.

The pellets had hit her two left legs, shattering the ankle on the back one, leaving vets with no option but to remove the whole limb. The treatment bill came to £2,000.

Natalie said: “The vet said they had not seen air rifle wounds on pets for years. I was in shock when they told me.

"It was bad enough when I thought she had been run over – but accidents can happen. To discover someone had deliberately targeted her for fun has just infuriated me.”

Natalie said she is "desperate" to catch those responsible, saying: “I don’t want anyone else’s pet to be hurt. I believe it happened near our home.

"Someone is going round with an air rifle thinking it is funny to shoot animals.

“I adore my two cats – they are like children to me. I cannot stop thinking about the pain Jovi went through and how scared she must have been.”

Natalie has reported the incident to police and also to the RSPCA, and is appealing for footage from anyone who has CCTV in Antler Drive, Stem Lane, and Doe Copse Way.

A police spokesperson said in a statement: “It was reported to us on Tuesday 9th August that a number of pellets had been discovered in the leg of a cat in New Milton.

“This incident has been reviewed and filed at the current time, pending further lines of enquiry becoming available.

“If anyone has any information they can contact us via 101 or our website, quoting reference 1569 of 9th August.”