Nine Lives: Cat makes full recovery after being shot

A two-year-old cat named Kit from England’s Consett town in County Durham survived a pellet gun wound injury.

According to Vets Now in Gateshead, Kit had to undergo an hour-long operation to get the pellet out, which was threatening close to his spine.

His owner, Rhianna Bates and her partner Tony feel like Kit is a “miracle cat.”

“It was actually the first anniversary of us getting him and he came racing in through the cat flap,” Bates told Vets Now.

“We thought he’d just been spooked by something and he went into his bed and went to sleep. It was only when it came to dinner time and he wasn’t interested in his food that we realised something was wrong and then spotted the wound on his neck,” she added.

“It had been bleeding, but not massively and we thought he had maybe caught himself on a stick or a nail or maybe another cat had nipped him. We never for a moment thought he’d been shot,” said Bates.

Senior vet nurse Ashley Wemple said, “When we clipped and cleaned the wound, we were highly suspicious that it had been caused by an air gun pellet.”

“An operation was required, but there was the risk of nerve damage,” said Vets Now

It appeared as if Kit’s bone stopped the path of the pellet, but it had gone deep and it took more than an hour of surgery and numerous radiographs to locate it.

Kit was given painkillers for a few weeks and had to wear a suit to protect his stitches, but has made a full recovery.

Bates said, “We don’t know if he was shot deliberately or hit when the idiot was aiming at something else. But it really doesn’t matter, people just shouldn’t have these weapons.”

“There is always the danger of hitting an animal or even a child, so it can never be worth that risk. We’ve been so scared of letting Kit out just in case it happens again,” she added.