Yoda the cat put down after air gun shot
A family has been left devastated after yobs shot their pet kitten, leaving it so badly injured it had to be put down.
Twelve-month-old Yoda was the fifth cat to be targeted in the Walsall Wood and Aldridge areas in the recent weeks and the second to be killed.
Owner Dawn Edgerton, aged 44 from Ivy Grove, was called by staff at Vets4Pets in Shelfield who said Yoda had been taken in with a pellet in her spine.
She said: "We have three children who are all completely and utterly devastated.
"Yoda was chipped and we got a call from the vets saying she had suffered a severe accident and that she was in pain and distress. They told us it was an air pellet in her spine and she would need to be put down.
"It was horrible for the children and us all.
"It is one thing to lose a cat but to lose it like that."
The family went to see Yoda before she was put down at Vets4Pets in Shelfield.
Mrs Edgerton added: "I can't believe that a person would do such a thing. I just don't understand why these air rifles are legal."
Yoda is the fifth cat to be shot since April.
One was taken into Vets4Pets from Oak Road suffering a broken leg which required an operation to fix.
Another, from Greenwood Road in Aldridge sustained a fractured pelvis and a had bullet lodged in its knee.
A third cat was brought in by an RSPCA officer needing an operation to fix a broken leg while the fourth cat, from the Occupation Road area, had to put down after suffering severe trauma.
Last year there were 48 calls regarding air gun attacks on animals in the West Midlands but there have already been 30 between January 1 and June 11 this year.
RSPCA spokeswoman Sara Howlett said: "This sounds like a very distressing case and we would urge anyone with information about it to contact our Cruelty and Advice Line on 0300 123 4999.
"Unfortunately, air rifle attacks are not as rare as we would like. The injuries caused by such attacks are horrific and often fatal. Cats and wildlife are normally the animals that are more susceptible to these incidents simply because they are out in the open with no one to protect them.
"We are calling for tighter controls with better education and explanation of the law when buying an air gun and that everyone must receive basic safety training before being allowed to walk out of the shop.
"It is illegal to shoot at and cause unnecessary suffering to any domestic animal with an air weapon."
Under the Animal Welfare Act, anyone caught deliberately using an air weapon to injure an animal can face a £20,000 fine or imprisonment.
