UPDATE: Heartbreak as pet cat shot dead

A devastated owner has told of her heartbreak after her cat was killed by an air gun pellet.

Twelve-year-old Fang was shot in the abdomen on Sunday, January 22, near his home in Haywards Heath.

Owner Joceline Colvert, rushed him to a vet after noticing he was not eating.

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She said: “He was very clearly normal on Sunday morning and then he came back home and was sick and didn’t eat anything.”

X-ray of Fang.X-ray of Fang.
X-ray of Fang.

An x-ray revealed Fang had an air gun pellet in his abdomen and he was transferred to a specialist vet in Surrey.

“The vets told me Fang’s intestine had been perforated seven times as the pellet travelled through the body,” said Joceline.

“We did everything we could to save his life. The operation was a success but he did not cope with it afterwards.”

He died on Thursday, January 26.

Joceline was given Fang by a friend when he was two.

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He was the youngest of six pets at the family’s home which includes three other cats and two dogs.

“He was always going to be our last cat that we had and now has been sadly taken,” she said.

“He had a lot of character and was a really friendly cat.

“Me and my husband are desperately heartbroken.”

The shooting has been reported to the RSPCA and the police.

RSPCA inspector Tony Woodley said: “It is clear that someone has deliberately targeted this much-loved family cat and caused him considerable pain, suffering and his eventual death.

“The RSPCA takes acts of deliberate cruelty very seriously and we urge anyone with information about who may have done this to call us on 0300 123 8018.

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“The RSPCA has not received any other recent reports of cat shootings in the Haywards Heath area, but unfortunately these kind of shootings seem to be happening more often or are being reported more to the charity.

A police spokesman added: “There is no information as to where or when it was shot. Anyone with information can contact Sussex Police on [email protected] quoting serial 255 of 26/01.”

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