Family devastated as pet cat dies after being shot in the chest

A family from Plympton say they have been left heartbroken after their 18-month-old cat was fatally shot through the chest.

The attack on their cat Loki is thought to have happened in Yealmpstone Close sometime between 10.30am and 11.30am on Sunday morning (20 November).

Loki was discovered by a neighbour who thought he had been struck by a car. He was conscious and panting heavily while lying flat on the ground.

His owners Alicia and Matt Beer took their injured pet to the vets where they were told it would cost upwards of £3,000 to save him.

Matt said: "I was panicking in the car on the way there. I had my neighbour with me, who was trying to keep me calm and collected until we got to the vets.

"When we got there the vet told me he'd been shot and they could see fluid in his chest.

"They said the next stage of it now would be to drain the fluid off, which could potentially be blood, and then they were saying to us if we wanted them to operate on him to remove the pellet it would cost upwards of £3,000."

The dad-of-two said he broke down after hearing the news because he could not afford to pay the bill in the midst of the cost of living crisis.

But he said the vets could see he did not want to put a healthy cat down and instead devised an alternative plan. Despite this, Loki soon died from his injuries.

Matt said: "I'm now getting questions from my eldest who is now starting to realise her cat is not here and she keeps asking when he's coming home."

Matt and Alicia said no-one they have asked saw the incident happen but it has been reported to the police.

"We don't want it to happen to anyone else's cat," Matt said.

"He became the street's cat and he went in and out of everyone's house. He didn't have any fear in his body. He was probably a bit too friendly."