Much-loved cat shot 20 times after being ‘trapped and used for target practice’
A horrified pet owner discovered her beloved cat had been shot more than 20 times with an air gun three days before Christmas.
It is believed that Teddy was "trapped and used as target practice" with vets believing someone had "tried to put both his eyes out".
The feline pet has lost an eye as a result of his ordeal, and his owner Joan Sams says he "wakes up shaking with fear", reports the Chronicle Live.
Joan, 63, let both her cats out of her home in Walker, Newcastle, on the Thursday before Christmas, but didn't see Teddy again for three days.
"He was a stray from down the road and the other cat brought him in initially. I've had him probably less than a year," said Joan.
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"He had a bad start in life and it wasn't the first time he's gone off for a few days so at first I thought 'I'm not going to worry myself'.
"Then on Sunday night I saw him coming across the roof and he was limping.
"When I saw the state of his face I thought he'd been hit by a car, he was in that much of a mess."
Thinking she was going to lose him, Joan took Teddy to the PDSA Pet Hospital where a vet found his injuries were not consistent with being hit by a car.
Staff X-rayed him and discovered that he had been shot upwards of 20 times with an air gun.
Teddy had even been shot through his left eye, which had to be removed.
Joan said: "The vet feels he was used as target practice and may have been trapped.
"They said he had that many shots to the head they must have tried to put both his eyes out.
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"On one of his eyes, the pellets had gone through the eyeball so they had to take that eye out.
"Above his right eye there were three or four had ricocheted shots.
"It also looked like they had tried to shoot both back legs near to the hips.
"They must have wanted him blind and crawling across the floor.
"Seven pellets went into his body and they can't take them out, there's injuries all over his body, they've ricocheted where the shots have hit him all over.
"They said he had so many shots he had to have been a target."
Thankfully Teddy is now back at home, and his incredible survival after dragging himself home has led PDSA to nominate him as their Survivor of the Year.
Joan said: "We want to alert other pet owners that there are people out there who would do this.
"We've reported it to the police but they say there's not a lot they can do – they'll probably never find them.
"He's so brave, he's healing really well. I just can't believe he's been through so much pain."
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