Cruel thugs responsible for shooting a cat in the face with an airgun have been condemned by its owner and animal welfare charities.

The cat, named Lucky, was discovered to have the pellet lodged in its snout for more than a year when it was admitted to an animal charity hospital by its owner, who noticed it was bleeding and sneezing profusely.

Milly Cook, a retired accounts manager from Mitcham, took Lucky in as a stray in 2010 and had already got a vet to remove a previous airgun pellet which had been lodged in its shoulder.

Mrs Cook said: “I was so shocked when they did the x-ray and it was another airgun pellet.

“I was really worried when blood started coming out of Lucky’s nose, I thought I was going to lose her.

“It just appals me that anyone could be so cruel to a harmless animal.”

Staff at the Blue Cross hospital in Victoria initially thought Lucky’s sneezing might have caused a burst blood vessel but an x-ray found the cat had an airgun pellet stuck in her nostril and was admitted for surgery.

Nihal Kay, the vet that treated Lucky, said: “It’s amazing that the pellet didn’t cause a more serious injury, it was so close to her eye.

“It’s incredible that it could have been there for more than a year without causing her any problems - it’s possible that it was further up inside her head and something dislodged it.”

An RSPCA spokeswoman said cats and wild birds were the most frequent victims of airgun attacks and described Lucky’s case as “the tip of the iceberg” as there had been an increase in airgun incidents.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said cats and wild birds were the most frequent victims of airgun attacks and described Lucky’s case as “the tip of the iceberg.”

She said: “We certainly have seen an increase in airgun incidents against animals, particularly during school holidays, but it is against the law for children to use these weapons unsupervised.

“While this cat was treated, many wild animals are just left to die and we would urge anyone who has seen such cruelty to call us immediately.”

To report animal cruelty call the RSPCA on 0300 1234999. For more about the Blue Cross visit bluecross.org.uk.

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