Couple's warning after Wollaston cat shooting (From Stourbridge News)

Couple's warning after Wollaston cat shooting

12:56pm Wednesday 1st July 2009

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A WOLLASTON couple whose moggie nearly died after being shot are warning next time it could be a child.

Six-year-old Smokie is lucky to be alive after an air gun pellet lodged in his spine, leaving him wounded so badly PDSA vets recommended he should be put to sleep.

Smokie’s owners, Beverley and Michael Walton, from Norfolk Road, say they fear the shooting may go on because the offender has not been brought before the courts.

Beverley, aged 43, said: “Somebody else will be hurt, if not an animal then a child, I want people to be aware of what is happening.”

Michael, aged 49, said: “We are angry, we want to see somebody prosecuted, this cat has done nothing to anybody.

“The people who did this are going to be thinking nothing is happening, that is a risk for the future.”

Michael says Smokie was shot on the evening of Sunday June 7 and was missing for three days before being found tangled in vines in a neighbour’s garden.

PDSA vets operated to remove the pellet but the cat was left partially paralysed and unable to urinate, meaning staff had to express fluid from Smokie every day.

The unfortunate feline spent a week in the PDSA hospital in Cradley Heath and needs regular follow-up treatment although he is showing some signs of recovery.

West Midlands Police say they have carried out an inquiry and questioned witnesses but so far cannot prove who shot Smokie.

A police spokesperson said: “We are unable to take the investigation any further at this stage because of a lack of evidence.

“If we receive any new information we would take the investigation further.”

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