Cat used for target practice by gun thugs loses leg

Animal welfare workers thought the cat had been involved in a car crash after he was discovered limping on the the streets of South Queensferry. But after vets took an X-ray (pictured above), they were stunned to discover pellets riddled throughout his body.

It is believed the "friendly" cat, which staff have named Stanley, was held down while being repeatedly shot, leaving him so badly injured that one of his legs had to be amputated.

The Scottish SPCA today appealed for information to trace those responsible for the "mindless" attack before they strike again.

Stanley, who is believed to have been a stray in the area for a number of years, was found last week on Springfield Road by a local resident, who contacted the charity.

Emma Boyd, an ambulance driver with the organisation, said she had never seen an animal that had been shot so many times before.

She said: "If you shoot a cat with a BB or pellet gun, it will just run away, so we're talking about something really nasty here.

"There's no doubt that whoever did this managed to either trap this poor creature or hold it down, and then has just kept shooting until they had no more pellets left.

"We originally thought that he'd been in a road accident, as he had a nasty-looking wound on his back leg.

"It was so bad that we had to amputate it, and, after the vet found a pellet when stitching him up, we decided to take some X-rays to see if there were any more. When we got the results, we couldn't believe it.

"His body was just riddled with pellets, and there must have been around 40 of them.

"We also think he must have been shot a few months ago, because his skin has healed up now. He's obviously been walking around in a lot of pain, and we think he must have been chewing at the wound on his leg that had been caused by one of the shots.

"Thankfully, the pellets were quite small, so they didn't do as much damage as they could have done, but it's still a horrible case to deal with. I don't think I've ever seen an animal that has been shot as many times as Stanley before."

As the pellets are so small – about the size of a grain of rice – animal welfare staff have been unable to remove them, although they are confident that Stanley will make a full recovery.

However, as some of the pellets are lodged near his spine, they have said he could face problems in later life if they start to move around his body.

Stanley is now being looked after at the organisation's welfare centre in Balerno, but he will be re-homed after he has learned how to walk on three legs. A spokeswoman for the Scottish SPCA said that they were eager to find whoever is responsible for the attack.

She added: "We were horrified to hear of this airgun attack on Stanley, who by all accounts is an incredibly friendly cat.

"It is clear from Stanley's injuries that he has been the victim of a cruel and mindless attack.

"Whoever has used a weapon in such a callous way needs to be brought to justice before they have the chance to injure, or even kill, another animal.

"When cats are shot, they often run off immediately and, if badly injured, find a quiet place to lie down and, in the worst case scenario, die.

"We would urge anyone with information about Stanley's attack to come forward.

"He is lucky to be alive, but his attackers' next victim may not be as fortunate."