Published: 03/09/2010 13:39 - Updated: 03/09/2010 15:37

A young family has been left distraught after their pet kitten was shot twice with a pellet gun.

Sixteen-week-old Gizmo, pet of two-year-old Jake Clark, is believed to have been in the garden of their Barnsbury Gardens home, Newport Pagnell, when she was shot.

 

Now mum Louise, 22, said she is too frightened to let Jake and the cat out in the garden on their own, and is even considering moving house.

 

She said: "It was horrible.

"The thought of someone doing that is absolutely horrible.

 

"It wasn't enough to shoot her once, they had to get her again. It's just not acceptable.

"If my little boy had been out with the cat at the time, and he had been shot, it could have been even worse."

 

Louise went shopping for an hour on the morning of Wednesday August 25, and left the window open so Gizmo could go outside.

She returned to find the cat limping, and so took her straight to the vets.

 

She said: "I thought she had broken her leg, but the vet found a wound in her shoulder.

"It looked like teeth marks, so the vet asked if she could have been grabbed by anything.

 

"Then they took an x-ray and found a pellet that had gone thrugh her shoulder and into her chest."

"I was devastated, it was just horrible."

 

It was only a few days later, when Gizmo had been taken to a specialist hospital in London, that they discovered the second pellet in her other leg.

Police are now appealing for witnesses, and anoyone with any information should call 0845 8 505 505.

 

PC Terry Capel said: “This is a callous and cowardly thing to do to a defenceless animal. Gizmo is still only a kitten and this attack has left her badly injured. Because she is so young she only goes out in the back garden at the moment so we are certain it must have happened there.

“I would ask anyone who knows who did this or witnessed anything that morning to contact police. Firing an airgun can be extremely dangerous and we need to catch these offenders before they do anymore damage.”