RSPCA hunts for shooters as family's pet cat Pickle is put down after having spine severed

The RSPCA is appealing for witnesses after a family's pet was shot, suffering fatal injuries that included a severed spine.

Three-year-old Pickle was so badly hurt in the shooting that his owners initially thought he had been hit by a car - but x-rays revealed he had spinal damage which would mean he would never walk again.

He was found in a hedge by a workman near the family's flat in Soham in Cambridgeshire on 25 February.

The family had been searching for him for five days and had leafleted the local area, after he was scared away earlier in the week by noises, said the animal charity.

They said Pickle would not normally venture far from home.

When he was discovered, his owners took him to the vet and he was referred to a specialist, who discovered he had been shot in the stomach and leg.

He also had a bruised tongue and evidence of trauma to head with a haemorrhage to his left eye and bruising around the ear.

An MRI showed his spinal cord was damaged - and it was discovered during surgery that his spine had been severed, leaving him unable to walk or go to the toilet again.

His family then took the decision to put him to sleep as nothing more could be done to save him.

They said they were “heartbroken, devastated, overwhelmed and totally appalled” by what had happened, describing the ordeal their pet went through as “incomprehensible”.

RSPCA animal rescue officer David Allen said: “It is devastating to hear what happened to poor Pickle and our hearts go out to his owners.

“This was a callous and cruel attack on a helpless and defenceless animal and I am horrified by what has happened.

"The  family said the fear and pain he must have felt made them feel sick to their stomach and the family want to make as many people aware as possible."

The RSPCA receives hundreds of calls to investigate such cases every year and said cats and wildlife are usually most often affected.

Earlier this week, it warned that it was seeing cruelty towards wild animals rising, citing examples where catapults, air guns and even crossbows had been used.

The charity is calling for tighter controls on air weapons, and wants better education, training and explanation of the law when buying an air gun.

Anyone caught deliberately using an air gun to injure an animal can face up to five years in prison and/or an unlimited fine if found guilty under the relevant provisions of the Animal Welfare Act.

Anyone with information should call the appeal line on 0300 123 8018, quoting incident 01034179, or the police on 101.

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