Two young girls have been left heartbroken after their pet cat was shot TWICE by callous thugs and had to be put to sleep.
Craig and Michelle Mosedale’s daughters aged six and eight were devastated when their much-loved pet Tilly was shot with an air rifle in two separate sickening attacks.
Tilly survived the first attack, which was undetected for 10 days, after being shot in his chest but the second pellet, which was believed to have struck him overnight on October 4, caused fatal injuries.
Craig, 40, said: “It’s just cruel for someone to make a cat suffer.
“Our two little girls loved him so much and they are heart-broken.
“We told the police really to just make them aware that someone is going round shooting pellets. It could be a child next time.
“We also hope someone may either come forward with information to catch those responsible to stop it happening again.”
Craig said the family first noticed Tilly was unwell when he came home on Saturday, October 4.
“We didn’t know about the first pellet. You couldn’t see anything on him and he didn’t seem any different. It was when he came back the other Saturday morning and tried to jump on to the sofa and he almost fell we knew he wasn’t right.
“He got down and went back out into the garden and hid under a bush. We tried to coax him out but he was lashing out and hissing so we left him for a while but then it started to get colder so we tried again and managed to get him back in the house.
“We took him to the vets and the X-ray showed a pellet near his pelvis which had hit the intestine and a second pellet had become lodged in his chest, about 10 days earlier.
“We had the option of further investigative work but his prognosis wasn’t going to give him a good quality of life so we had him put to sleep.”
Police are now investigating the incident which happened in the Lees Close area of Dalton.
Sarah Hebda, Head Nurse at Anrich Veterinary Surgery, which treated Tilly, said: “It was a male cat which had been shot in its chest and by its pelvis which had struck the intestine and caused fatal injuries.
“The cat wasn’t very well at all and too ill to survive his injuries.
“We put him to sleep the following day.”
But Ms Hebda said sadly pellet attacks on cats are becoming more common.
She added; “We do see them and its not as rare as you would think. It’s awful to see.”
“Tilly was a family pet and her owners were really upset.”
Inspector Jon Dunkerley, of Huddersfield Police, said: “This incident has understandably deeply affected the cat’s owners, made worse by the fact that we now know the pet was targeted on more than one occasion.
“If anyone has seen anyone with an air weapon in the Lees Close area or has heard anything on the grapevine about who may be responsible I would urge them to make contact.
“Information can either be given to the Huddersfield Neighbourhood Policing Team: on 101 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on: 0800 555 111.”
