ANIMAL lovers across Wokingham borough are being told to remain vigilant after a kitten was shot with an air gun in Finchampstead last weekend.
On Saturday evening (10), eight-month-old Moushkie, an Aztec cat, was shot in the shoulders in Simon’s Wood, just off Heath Ride, at 7.40pm.
His owners, Richard Thomas and Angelina Aturi-Thomas realised Moushkie had been hurt when they saw him crawl across the garden from the woods.
Initially they thought the cat had broken his leg, but when they took him to the vets an x-ray revealed two pellets lodged inside his shoulders, with one of the pellets touching a nerve which meant he couldn’t use his leg.
Mr Thomas said: “It happened in the woods right behind our house. He was taken to the vets straight away as we thought he had a broken leg. They discovered two 2.5mm pellets which were removed, luckily without sustaining any nerve damage and he has been bandaged up.
“He’s very cuddly and still quite quiet but I think he’s doing better now.”
Mr Thomas and his wife have two other cats, Moushkie’s brother Frankie and Rebecca, but nothing like this has ever happened before.
Mrs Aturi-Thomas said: “I was totally shocked. We are happy to help in any way to try and find out who is maliciously injuring helpless cats.”
The RSPCA and Thames Valley Police are now investigating the attack.
RSPCA Inspector Gabriel said: “It is very distressing to think that people take pleasure in causing such horrific injuries to defenceless animals. These are deliberate and brutal acts of cruelty.
“Cats and wildlife are normally the animals that are more susceptible to these incidents simply because they are out in the open with no one to protect them. Unfortunately, air rifle attacks are not as rare as we would like and the injuries caused by such attacks are horrific and often fatal.
“We are supporting Cat’s Protection’s call for tighter controls on air weapons. This, along with better education and explanation of the law when buying an air gun could help relieve the problem.
“These weapons cause horrific pain and suffering and it is illegal. Anyone caught deliberately using an air gun to injure an animal can get up to six months in prison and/or a £20,000 fine if found guilty under the Animal Welfare Act.”
Thames Valley Police confirmed they had been called following a report that a cat had been shot.
Bracknell & Wokingham Districts Cats Protection issued an appeal on Monday calling for anyone with information regarding the attack to call the police.
Lynne Pothecary, from the local Cats Protection said: “We would like to urge anyone that has any information that could help the police with their enquiries about this incident to contact the police on telephone number 101, quoting incident number URN 1714100617.
“This sad incident shows exactly why Cats Protection is actually running an online petition at the moment, and are campaigning to seek a change in the law on air guns, to bring England and Wales in line with the rest of the UK.
“The online petition seeks to encourage cat owners to back the campaign, and put pressure on the government to update the law on air guns. Both Northern Ireland and Scotland already have air gun licencing laws in place, and with a lack of UK-wide regulation, it has been reported that 90% of air gun attacks on cats happen in England and Wales.
Cats Protection’s Advocacy Manager Jacqui Cuff said: “The reality of an air gun attack on a cat is horrific, and around half die as a result of their injuries. Those that survive will endure considerable suffering and may be left with life-long disabilities. Owners can face a great deal of upset and huge vet bills and whole communities can be left deeply worried about attacks of this kind in their neighbourhood.”
To find out more about the air gun petition visit www.cats.org.uk/airgunspetition.
