In a deeply distressing act of cruelty, three cats from the same loving household in Salford have been shot with an air rifle and required urgent surgery.
The separate incidents have seen a home in Salford disrupted, by life-saving surgery to remove pellets embedded in their pets bodies.
Leigh and her husband, Scott, from Eccles, realised on the 16 June that one of their cats, Candy, was quiet and uncharacteristically withdrawn.
Leigh said: “We have never had any problems with our neighbours and we live in a nice area, but we came downstairs in the morning as normal, and one of our cats, Candy, was acting really odd.
“She looked odd, and in pain, and we had found a small wound on her side which didn’t look significant, but she was in pain – and we couldn’t offer her any pain relief as we didn’t have it. So we took her to the vets, and they investigated it further.”
And after taking her to the veterinary practice MCR Vets, an X-ray revealed a shocking discovery: an air rifle pellet lodged close to her spine, narrowly missing vital structures.
Leigh continued: “It was millimetre’s away from her spine, and she had to have been shot fairly recently, we believe it was that night because it was bloody.
Veterinary surgeon Sinéad, at MCR Vets had sadly seen similar injuries before, immediately suspected a pellet wound.
And after a successful surgical operation followed, with the team carefully tracing the pellet’s path through three muscle layers and removing debris and embedded fur.
Thankfully, Candy made a remarkable recovery and was back to her affectionate, playful self just 24 hours after the procedure.
“We didn’t know what to think and we were horrified that someone had shot her and as we didn’t and still don’t know the circumstances, it was worrying but we now knew what to look for. It was a tiny, tiny hole,” Leigh added.
However, this was a lone incident – as she continued: “We knew what to look for, and that led to us checking one of our other rescue cats, Molly.
“And she had a minor wound on her side too, but it was not like Candy’s as it was healing nicely and we didn’t think it would be the same – but we knew after what Candy had gone through, that it was best to take her to the vets.”
After realising their cat Molly also had a similar injury, and fearing the worst they returned to MCR Vets – where tragically another x-ray showed that a pellet had been fired at her too.
“Fortunately her incident was only a surface injury, she was still in pain but it was a smaller procedure. We were so thankful to the vets.”
Once again, MCR Vets swiftly carried out surgery to remove the foreign object, thankfully Molly is now recovering well also.
And the worries of a fatal attack were shared between both Leigh and veterinary surgeon at MCR Vets, Sinead, who had previously seen a similar case.
Sinéad recalled an incident a few years ago, a cat that had been shot went missing for seven days before its devastated owners found it collapsed under a hedge.
The pellet had ruptured its intestines, causing widespread damage. By the time the cat was brought in, much of the bowel was no longer salvageable.
The surgery was extensive and life-saving — but the outcome could have been tragically different. Without intervention, the cat would have endured a slow and extremely painful death.
However, with the injuries already sustained and the stress caused to the household – they were shocked to find yet another incident on Wednesday 25 June.
Leigh said: “We found that our cat Martin, also had a scab on his shoulder, we found it when we were playing with him, as he is a playful kitten.
“We noticed the scab, and after one look I realised what it was, he wasn’t in pain so we took him in the next morning to our preferred vet.
“The pellet had gone straight through to his intestines and had lodged inside, so he had to have a portion removed.”
With the damaged to Martin, he had to undergo major surgery and have a portion of the pellet taken out – and it was estimated that it occurred only two days before.
Luckily Martin was able to pull through, however, these incidents have had damning impacts on both Leigh and Scott’s life, as well as the cats.
“It has been a nightmare, we couldn’t believe it – but since then we had shut our doors to protect them. But we are not equipped to that.
“Our cats have been losing their minds, whilst we have arranged alternatives like different fencing to be set up.
“They have been highly stressed, and highly susceptible to stress related illness – but lucky we have sorted our garden fencing which should allow them to go outside safely, hopefully.”
And although her cats are safe, and fencing has been installed it has also had a financial burden on the pair, as Leigh continued: “The costs of all of this has been phenomenal.
“We have got a wonderful vet, and I can only speak highly of them, and they have helped to keep the costs down, but there are costs nonetheless.
“We have spent around £3,000 to £4,000 on the vets, and the changes to the garden have seen us demolish our garden which was nearly £2,000.
“As well as new gates and fencing which cost us over £2,000.”
However, she was quick to share the support that she has received from both the vets, and especially the fencing company, ProtectatPet, who installed the new safety fences.
Leigh continued: “Everyone has pulled into help us. I will add that these prices have been reduced due to our circumstance, but it is still a lot.
“These are prices we never imagined we would need to pay. But we are lucky we are able to pay for this, there will be others with rising costs who simply can’t go cope with it.
“We are lucky to have that option at the moment, but it is going to lead to us making tough financial decisions now, but there will be others who aren’t as lucky.”
Although, following these incidents involving the air rifle she shared that her life has been completely changed and said it will have lasting impacts.
Leigh said: “These incidents have changed our life plans, and we will probably be moving in a year or two.
“And we have been warned by our vet that the cats might have psychological damage, and it shouldn’t be like this and it will affect the way we look after them.
“It has been an intense couple of weeks, but it is finally relief they can go outside again safely in our garden.”
And with the impacts felt towards her cats, and her own households life, she encouraged other Salford residents to look out for their cats.
As Leigh added: “Make sure you keep an eye out for your cats, and do a thorough body searches on them. Check all of their fur, as these a tiny holes and they might not show any blood but it is important to check.
“I have complete sympathy for people who do not like cats or like them in there garden, but one way to not deal with it is shooting at them and leaving them in agony.
“And with cats they are so resilient they will only come to you and show pain when they are in absolute agony, and they may not want to show it. My 11-month-old kitten had a pellet in his intestine and wasn’t showing any symptoms – it is so important to check.”
Leigh continued: “We are lucky that we have had three cats shot, and they are able to walkaway and continue living a happy and healthy life.
“But there will be examples and cases where animals will be suffering and dying in absolute agony and pain. I hope they stop, I am not after revenge, just stop. It is just dangerous.”
The injuries have been reported to the police for all three occasions, and anyone with information about the incidents is urged to come forward – Salford Now has also reached out to the GMP for a comment.
But following the incident, Sinéad, lead vet and owner of MCR Vets said: “It is unthinkable that someone could deliberately harm such gentle and well-cared-for animals.
“We’re deeply shocked but grateful we were able to help. The cats’ owners are truly devoted and attentive people – these cats are their family.”
Before adding: “Pellet guns are not toys and shouldn’t be used to shoot at animals, they do not lead to a quick and humane death.
“If you have any information relating to this incident, please contact Greater Manchester Police or reach out to MCR Vets confidentially on 0161 532 8000.”
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