A warning has gone out to cat owners after a stray was shot in the head with an airgun.
Catherine Buckley, of voluntary group Huddersfield Feral and Strays, issued the warning to cat owners living in the HD3 area of Huddersfield – particularly in Reinwood – after the stray she had been feeding turned up with a swollen face and unable to see.
She said it turned out the animal, which lives in the garden shed at Catherine’s home, had a pellet lodged just in front of his ear.
She said: “Two centimetres lower and he could have been blinded or killed.”
Catherine took the animal to Vets 4 Pets at New Hey Road, Oakes, to have the wound cleaned and the cat treated with antibiotics.
Rebecca Gowler, practice manager at Vets 4 Pets, said: “We had to clean the infected wound. The member of the public had already squeezed the pellet and pus out. The wound was quite infected. We gave pain relief and antibiotics. For it to be that infected, it must have happened a few days before.”
She said: “Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have seen this happen in the area.”
Posting on Facebook, Catherine said: “Makes me so angry that someone has done this and I wanted to warn others in the area to keep an eye on their cats, be it pet or stray as it can be detrimental so quickly if the pellet and treat(ment) aren’t sorted.”
Members of Huddersfield Strays and Ferals have rescued hundreds of cats since being formed last December – when they met after responding to an appeal to help trap a colony of about 70 feral felines in Springwood.
After rescuing a cat, one of the volunteers brings the animal to the vet for treatment including vaccination, microchipping and neutering. The animal is then re-homed via a Facebook page called Homes for Kitties Huddersfield.
