Heartbreak after beloved Soham family pet shot
The RSPCA is appealing for information after a beloved family pet was shot in Soham.
Sweet Pickle, aged three, was found on Friday, February 24, by a workman in a hedge beyond the back of the family’s flat in Lode Close, Soham.
The family had been desperately searching for Pickle who went missing on Monday, February 20, after being scared away by some noises. They had checked the area under the hedge and he had not been there earlier in the week.
His worried owners had been out searching for him as he would never normally venture far, and put leaflets through people’s doors in the hope of finding their beloved cat.
When Pickle was found it was clear he was very poorly and he couldn’t use his back end and was unable to stand; the family initially thought he may have been hit by a car.
They rushed him to their vets who then referred him to a specialist vets after X-rays revealed the poor Pickle had been shot in the stomach and leg and he also had a bruised tongue and evidence of trauma to head with scleral haemorrhage to the left eye and bruising around the ear.
Pickle was given an MRI scan which sadly revealed that his spinal cord was damaged and during the spinal surgery it was found the spine was severed and that he’d never be able to walk or go to the toilet again.
The family then had to make the heartbreaking decision for him to be put to sleep to end his suffering as nothing more could be done to save him.
The family said they are absolutely “heartbroken, devastated, overwhelmed and totally appalled” by what’s happened. And said they found it “incomprehensible” what their sweet little cat went through.
RSPCA animal rescue officer David Allen said: “It is devastating to hear what happened to poor Pickle and our hearts go out to his owners. This was a callous and cruel attack on a helpless and defenceless animal and I am horrified by what has happened.
“The family said the fear and pain he must have felt made them feel sick to their stomach and the family want to make as many people aware as possible. We are investigating this and would urge anyone with information to call the inspectorate appeal line on 0300 1238018 quoting incident 01034179 or the police.”
[Read more: RSPCA receives nearly 600 reports of dog cruelty in a year in Cambridgeshire, Deer stuck upside-down in four-inch fence gap in Fulbourn rescued by RSPCA]
The RSPCA receives hundreds of calls to investigate such cases every year and sadly cats and wildlife are usually most often affected. The charity is calling for tighter controls on air weapons.
The RSPCA also wishes to see better education and explanation of the law when buying an air gun, and requirements that everyone must receive basic safety training before being allowed to walk out of the shop.
These weapons can cause horrific pain and suffering and using them in this way can constitute an offence. Anyone caught deliberately using an air gun to injure an animal can face up to five years in prison and/or an unlimited fine if found guilty under the relevant provisions of the Animal Welfare Act.
