A FAMILY have been left distraught after their pet cat was shot and left for dead just metres from their house.

Vicky and Tom Booth, who live on Carlton Road near the town centre, were ‘disgusted’ to find that their beloved ‘Fez’ had been shot with an air rifle on Thursday last week.

Fez was immediately rushed to the out of hours vets, who told them that the pellet had ripped through her abdominal wall and shredded her intestines.

The siblings, who are in their 20s, have been left with a rising vet’s bill which is currently over £1000 and are now appealing for help from the public to help them pay for Fez’s surgery.

Tom said: “What has happened to our cat is absolutely disgusting. We don’t even have a clue who has done it.”

“I just want the public to be aware, I want them to know that there are individuals out there who are going round deliberately shooting animals and we don’t understand why.”

After calling Fez, a nine-year-old Tortoise shell, in for her tea, the siblings started to worry when she did not appear within half an hour.

“She always responds to food,” said Vicky. “So when we had been calling her for half an hour and she didn’t come home- we started to get quite worried.

“Tom when out to look for her, and that was when he found her, on a plant pot. She couldn’t walk and was in so much pain.

Vicky and Tom, who are both in full-time employment, are now faced with an increasing bill which could amount to over £1400.

The pair have set up a fundraising page to help generate the money to cover Fez’s continuing veterinary care and lifesaving surgery.

“We are only young. We don’t have a lot of money saved up in the bank, and the bill is getting more and more each day.

“We are still in shock that someone actually shot her. Our neighbours have been made aware by the police and even some of them heard gunshots but they said it sounded like fireworks.

“We are hoping that publishing this on Facebook and Twitter will lead to information about who it is that has done this.

The police have now retrieved the bullet and are investigating further. Anyone with information should contact them immediately on the non-emergency number 101 and quote incident 298 of May 14 2015.

To donate money for Fez, visit www.gofundme.com/uhth9j4