Shropshire Star

Telford family's shock as cat's leg has to be amputated after shooting

A cat has had a leg amputated by vets in Telford after being shot with an air rifle.

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Vets had no alternative but to operate on Jaffa – leaving owner Zoe Scheepers and her family with a £500 vets bill just before Christmas.

The 30-year-old kitchen assistant said her three children had been left devastated by the attack and she expressed disbelief that anyone would shoot at an animal.

She said Larissa, eight, Harriet, five, and Tyler, two, had been told they had to stay away from Jaffa while he is recuperating at the family's home in Broomfield Road, Admaston.

"They are absolutely devastated," she said. "Especially Larissa, because Jaffa is her cat. She wants to cuddle and look after him and she can't.

"It was a Monday morning, I went out to do the school run and go to work and left the window slightly open so Jaffa could get in and out.

Jaffa the cat who was shot with an airgun and had to have his leg amputated

"My husband came downstairs at about noon and found Jaffa lying in the cat bed.

"At first we just thought he was unwell, but when he was still the same the following morning we decided to take him to the vets."

It was there that Zoe and husband Leon were told that Jaffa had been shot.

"We were given two choices – we could either send him off to a specialist for an operation to try and save the leg, or have it amputated," she said.

"Because we didn't have insurance we didn't really have any choice, although it later transpired that even if we had sent him off, he still would have lost his leg.

"The vets managed to retrieve the bullet and it looks like something from an air rifle. It is just unbelievable, I cannot get my head around why someone would want to harm an animal in such a way.

"The vets bill came in at around £500, which is just what we needed with Christmas just around the corner.

"I wanted to speak out about it to inform others it is happening, and to take care and look out for their cats."

West Mercia Police spokeswoman Chloe Drinkwater said: "We not tolerate such nasty attacks on completely innocent animals. If caught, the person responsible could face charges of animal cruelty."

Anyone with information can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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