RSPCA and police alerted as cats shot by pellet gun in Rudheath

Residents in Rudheath have reported multiple incidents of pets being shot by pellet guns.

Just this week, at around 5pm on Monday (October 7), a cat limped back into its owner’s home, bleeding.

Initially believing it to be the result of a squirrel bite, the owner, who has asked to be kept anonymous, took the cat to the vets where it was discovered it had been shot by a pellet gun, fracturing its leg.

The cat had to undergo an operation to remove the pellet and fix the broken bone.

“I can’t believe anybody would do this to cats,” said the owner.

“They need to be caught before they kill one.

“Ours was lucky the situation wasn’t more serious.”

Cheshire Police have asked anyone with information to get in touch.

A spokesperson said: “On Tuesday, October 8, police received reports of an owner’s cats having previously been injured after being shot with pellets in the West Avenue area of Rudheath.

“This has been passed to officers in the area for passing attention and further enquiries. 

“Anyone with any information can contact Cheshire Police, quoting IML-1935412.”

It is understood the cat was shot in the West Avenue area of Rudheath (Image: Google Maps)

This follows a similar incident in August.

The owner of another cat said it returned home one day with what appeared to be a spot on its back.

It was not until they took their pet to the vet for an unrelated matter at the end of September that a pellet was discovered embedded in the animal’s skin.

Once again, surgery was required to remove the pellet.

The RSPCA received 44 reports of incidents involving cats being targeted with airguns, slingshots and crossbows doubled in the first six months of 2024, compared to 18 in the same period in 2023.

Data from the charity shows that between 2020 and 2023, there were a total of 896 incidents reported to the RSPCA involving weapons affecting all types of animals, including 21 in Cheshire.

A spokesperson said: “We hope both cats go on to make a full recovery following these awful incidents. They are very worrying and leave other people feeling anxious that their pets or even their children could be hurt.

“It’s unspeakably cruel and totally unacceptable to shoot animals for ‘fun’ like this, or to harm them for target practice, but sadly, we receive hundreds of reports every year.”

They added: “Cats often sustain life-changing injuries - commonly blindness - from being shot with a weapon or in some cases don’t not survive at all.

“However, we believe the numbers we hear about only show part of the problem as not all cases will be reported to us and there may be situations where animals injured and killed by these weapons are sadly never found - especially in the case of wildlife.

“We’d urge anyone who has first-hand information about these incidents to contact the RSPCA.”