A pet cat has been shot, and its leg subsequently amputated, after an unidentified person maliciously attacked the animal in Bungo Street, Eden, in broad daylight on Saturday.
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The cat’s owner, who does not want to be named for fear of further repercussions, was left deeply distressed by the incident.
“I can understand that people may not like cats,” she said, “but they shouldn’t be shooting them.
"They could use a water hose or even stones if they wanted to chase a cat away, but not shoot them.”
What distresses the owner further is that the cat was shot in a residential street.
“I have families as neighbours on all three sides of my property, and they all have children,” the owner said.
“I can’t believe someone would be shooting with all those children around.
"I’m not sure if the cat was hit in my backyard or on the street, but either way it was a moving target so there was no guarantee where the ammunition was going to end up.”
The owner has two cats, who are allowed to roam freely during the day.
The owner believes the cat, a year-old male Burmese named Milo, was struck between 11am and 4.15pm on Saturday, when she was at work.
“I came home and found Milo lying on the floor, with blood on the outside of his leg,” she said.
“I tried to make him stand up and realised something was drastically wrong.
"I rushed him to the vet, and was told he’d been shot.
"Three thousand dollars later, my cat now has three legs.”
Pambula Vet Clinic’s head vet, Justin Daniel, confirmed that Milo had been shot in the femur of the left leg, shattering the bone into four pieces.
“We performed surgery and removed a lead bullet from the wound, which we suspect was shot from a high-powered slug gun," Mr Daniel said.
"The leg couldn’t be saved, and was amputated on Monday morning.”
Mr Daniel said Milo was lucky to survive the incident, as the bullet also tore the femoral artery resulting in significant blood loss.
“It’s a devastating incident,” he said.
“It’s a cowardly act from someone who has no compassion for animals, and shows a disgraceful side of human nature.”
Milo is much loved.
“I lost my husband a while ago, and the cats have kept me company, kept me sane, through that loss,” the owner said.
The owner hopes that sharing her story will help police find the perpetrator.
“The police have taken evidence, and have referred it to a task force in Sydney, so it’s being taken very seriously,” the owner said.
“I just want other people to be aware that there are nutters in our community, and to be careful about their children.
"It certainly wasn’t an accident.”