Cat dies after being shot with airgun in Staffordshire for second time in a year
The RSPCA has launched an appeal for information after a cat died after he was shot in Staffordshire.
It's the second time the cat, called Max, has been targeted with an airgun within 12 months.
The one-year-old was shot at close range in the neck in the early hours of Tuesday 4 July around the Suffolk Road/Lincoln Road junction in Stapenhill, Burton-upon-Trent.
His owners rushed him to a local vets, but his internal injuries were so severe that he had to be put to sleep.
Max’s owner, Claire Topham, said she knew something was wrong when Max didn’t come indoors for his breakfast that morning. She explained: "Max was always in for breakfast with his brother Norris but on Tuesday morning he wasn’t, so we went outside shouting for him.
"He appeared breathless and bleeding - I thought he’d been hit by a car. We took him to a vets and found he’d been hit at close range. The vet said he’d been shot at close range in the left side of his neck and the pellet had gone through his jugular vein. There was nothing we could do to save him.
"Since it happened, his brother Norris isn’t eating, he’s distraught and he’s crying all the time - it’s heartbreaking."
RSPCA inspector Ann Bennett, who is investigating the incident, said: "This is the second time in Max's short life that he has been shot in the area.
"The first time he was shot, in October last year, the internal damage was minimal, so complex surgery to remove the pellet was decided against. It is currently unknown if it’s the same person who shot Max this time.
"Analysis of the pellets from both incidents will take place so we can ascertain if it could be the same person, using the same weapon."
The RSPCA is urging anyone with information to contact the charity on 0300 1234 999, quoting the reference 01107750.
Ann added: "We are keen to find the person who did this and to get justice for Max.
"We’re appalled that people take pleasure from cruelly and deliberately targeting animals in this way and sadly these types of incidents are not uncommon."
The RSPCA says it usually experiences a rise the number of attacks on animals in the summer months when the days are longer and people are spending more time outside.
Figures from the charity show an alarming increase in intentional cruelty against animals, including 269 reports across Staffordshire last year, an increase of 15% from the previous year.
Overall, the number of reports made nationally to the charity’s cruelty line about intentional harm to animals, including beatings, poisonings and killings, has increased by 14%, with 12,582 reported last year compared to 11,012 reports in 2021.
The charity has launched its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, to raise funds to help its frontline rescue teams continue to save animals from cruelty and abuse and to raise awareness about how to stop cruelty to animals for good.