Cat has part of its stomach removed after being shot with an airgun in Sunderland

Alison Darley of New Herrington lives with two cats, one of which is a five year-old tabby called Podrick.

On Monday morning of July 31, Podrick was out on his daily wander in Herrington Country Park, which lies behind Alison’s home.

When Podrick was called in by Alison, who works from home, he wouldn’t come. She knew something was wrong and picked him up. He was walking slowly and seemed to be in pain.

A vet saw him the same afternoon and the cat was referred. X-rays showed that he needed an operation as the pellet, which vets believe came from a quite close range, had made five internal holes in the stomach. It is understood that a .22 airgun was used.

Thankfully Podrick is now recovering at home. However, the surgery was expensive and Alison was only insured up to £2,000, meaning that she had to pay another £1,300 herself.

Alison said: “The vet sent a referral and my cat had surgery on the Tuesday. A pellet had entered the left side of his abdomen and through his intestines twice.

"There were five holes in his intestines, so he had to have sections resected.

“Now he’s recovering, but it was horrible and bad enough that it was a cat. In the park there are kids playing and people walking their dogs.

“It was heartbreaking. When the referral place suspected he’d been shot they did some X-rays. They rang me back and said he had a pellet in his abdomen.

“It’s not only that it’s your pet, but it’s knowing somebody could be so cruel. The vets suspect it was from relatively close range.”

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “We received a report that last Monday (July 31), a woman believed her cat had been shot at with an air rifle in the Herrington Country Park area of Sunderland.

“Enquires are ongoing. Anyone with any information on the incidents is asked to contact police via our website, quoting crime ref: 096975K/23.”