Family’s horror as cat is shot in head by catapult-wielding thug

Morganna on the road to recovery after life-saving treatment by emergency vets

Emergency vets have expressed their horror after a cat was shot in the head by a catapult-wielding thug.

Seven-year-old Morganna used up one of her nine lives surviving the attack which left a large ball bearing embedded near her brain and spine.

Owner, Ann Marjoram, said she was “sickened” someone could be so cruel.

Her comments were echoed by Vets Now clinicians in Reading who treated Morganna.

Sadly, our emergency vets have seen other cases of cats being shot by air rifles and other weapons this summer.

As our shocking x-ray pictures show, a large metal object entered Morganna’s ear and lodged itself at the base of her head.

Ann explained: “It was a Sunday afternoon and I was just on my way out when my son said: ‘You can’t go, there’s something wrong with Morganna’.

“Morganna was shaking her head and when I first looked at her I thought ‘Oh my god, she’s been in a fight’ – it wasn’t until we got her to the vets that we realised what had happened.

“The vet said no there was something really hard and it turned out to be a huge catapult pellet. I was sickened, absolutely sickened,” she added.

Thankfully, Ann had managed to rush Morganna to Vets Now in Reading soon after the attack.

With the wound still fresh the vet was able to remove the projectile and stitch up the gaping wound it had caused.

Ann is hugely relieved Morganna survived the ordeal, but frustrated police have been unable to trace the culprits.

She added: “The vet said that whoever did this terrible thing must have been very close.

“Morganna has fully recovered now, but she does not wander so far anymore. I think she realises that some people don’t like her.”

Animal lover Ann has three cats, two dogs, a goose, 10 ducks, 23 hens and two ponies on the four-and-a-half acres she lives on – and she hopes none of her other pets will meet anyone as cruel as Morganna’s attacker.

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Laura Playforth, Vets Now’s professional standards director, said she was “appalled” by the case.

She said: “Thankfully we were able to see Morganna soon after this terrible attack. She was clearly in some distress and it’s horrifying to think that somebody could do this to an animal. The pellet was just a few centimetres away from her brain so she’s lucky to be alive.

“Sadly, this is not an isolated case. Our vets do see these incidents from time to time, sometimes with tragic consequences.”

Following her emergency treatment, Morganna was transferred to St Vincent’s Veterinary Surgery in Wokingham where she continued her recovery.

The Vets Now clinic in Reading – where Morganna received treatment – is one of 55 Vets Now clinics and pet emergency hospitals across the UK that are open through the night, seven-days-a-week, and day and night on weekends and bank holidays, to treat any pet emergencies that may occur.

All of Vets Now’s out-of-hours clinics and 24/7 hospitals have a vet and vet nurse on site at all times.