Vets offer reward to catch shooters after pellets found in cats

Misty the cat from Papakura , recovering after she was shot at point blank range with a slug gun. Photo/Supplied

An Auckland vet clinic is offering a reward to anyone who can help catch those who shot two city cats.

Both cats were seriously injured, but survived, after being shot by pellet guns in less than a week - one in Beachlands on July 29 and the other in Papakura on August 3.

Manukau After Hours Veterinary Clinic staff who treated both cats were offering a financial reward to catch the shooters.

It started a Givealittle page to raise funds for the reward and help pay for the first cat's treatment - it has so far raised more than $1500.

The first feline victim was 1-year-old Ritchie - a domestic short-haired cat from Beachlands.

Gillian Richards returned to her home in Beachlands on July 29 to find her pet critically-injured.

She took him to the vet clinic where he was found to have three pellets in his body - two in his legs and one in the chest.

Richards believed because of the multiple wounds, it was likely her cat was trapped in an enclosed space and shot.

She said the injury to Richie's chest caused blood and air to leak from his lungs and put him at risk of dying.

The cat needed to be given oxygen to help him breathe, intravenous fluids, pain relief and antibiotics.

While Richie was now recovering at home the pellets could not be removed.

Richie the cat, shot multiple times with a slug gun in Beachlands Photo/Supplied

The Auckland pet-owner said what had happened to her cat had left her feeling "pretty angry".

"It's quite sickening."

Manukau After Hours Veterinary Clinic administrator Niki Hotter said three pellets in the cat's body made it unlikely it was an accident.

"It's not a case of 'whoops, I've left off a gun and it's accidentally hit a cat.

"It's deliberate."

Less than a week after Richie was brought into the clinic - eight-month-old tortoiseshell Misty came through its doors on August 3.

Owner Papakura woman Eden McCann said her kitten appeared to have been shot at point-blank range and was lucky to be alive.

The slug gun pellet had embedded itself in the cat's chest - but had missed all vital organs.

McCann was concerned someone might be intentionally targeting cats in South Auckland.

There were two similar cases reported in late March - in one case the cat, from Takanini, lost its eye.

McCann said the community was worried about what would happen next.

"Who else's pets might be shot, or what if a bullet hits a child?"

Hotter hoped someone in the community would come forward with what they knew.

"Unfortunately, there are some people who consider cats a nuisance and we would hate to think this is the outcome of those attitudes," she said. "Someone must know something in our community."

If the reward is not claimed, the funds raised will be donated to Paw Justice.