Cat survives shooting with pellet in its brain

A cat has survived with a pellet in his brain after being shot for the second time in two years. In 2007, Bobby, a black and white tom cat, was shot in the leg with an airgun and had to have surgery to remove the pellet.

He made a good recovery but his owner, Susan Stone, was horrified on Thursday when she spotted him staggering around outside her house covered in blood — this time he had been shot in the head. “At first I thought he had been knocked down. He was in a bad way,” she said.

Miss Stone’s parents rushed him to A Regan and Colleagues in Bury Road, where vet Archie Cumming X-rayed the four-year-old cat and discovered a pellet lodged in his skull at the back of his right eye. Attempts to remove the pellet by surgery failed because of its location, so the wound was cleaned and stitched, leaving the pellet in place.



When Bobby came round, he was walking around in circles and Miss Stone feared he was brain damaged — but he has since made a good recovery. “I feel as though a miracle has happened,” said Miss Stone, who has spent £500 on treatment for Bobby.

She is angry at the person who targeted her cat, fearing it may be the same person who shot him last time. “Unfortunately, he is a big cat and more white than black and so he stands out,” she said. “He likes sitting on the garden wall, so he is an easy target.”

Vet Mr Cumming also believes the same person could be responsible for both shootings as airgun injuries to pets are relatively rare. And he said Bobby was lucky to be alive “It is sickening,” he said. “If the pellet had gone in any further he wouldn’t have made it. Hopefully, he is going to be fine.”