Cat found ‘alone, cold and covered in blood’ outside family home after being shot

A family have been left facing a £2,000 bill after their cat was shot with an air rifle.
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Sophie Taylor found her cat, Eli, “alone, cold and covered in blood” in her front garden on De Lacy Terrace, Pontefract.

Eli was rushed to an emergency vet, where it was discovered that he had been shot multiple times with an air rifle.

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He underwent emergency surgery and has now returned home, but must be fed and given medication every four hours.

Sophie Taylor found her cat, Eli, “alone, cold and covered in blood” in her front garden on De Lacy Terrace, Pontefract.Sophie Taylor found her cat, Eli, “alone, cold and covered in blood” in her front garden on De Lacy Terrace, Pontefract.
Sophie Taylor found her cat, Eli, “alone, cold and covered in blood” in her front garden on De Lacy Terrace, Pontefract.

Sophie, who also has a four week old daughter, said: “He was an indoor cat for ages and only this year recently we’ve been letting him out.

“He normally goes out for about an hour and then sits at the door crying for his breakfast. But this time he didn’t.

“When we found him he was freezing cold and covered in blood.

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“At first I thought he’d just been run over. I just never expected that someone had caused this.

“When we got to the vets they said he was basically dying. He’d been shot at close range.

“Now we’re home he needs feeding every four hours, he needs medication, he needs watching to make sure he’s not hurting himself. All that on top of a four week old baby.

“Before he was the most loving cat, he slept with us at night and now he will not move from the top of the stairs. He jumps at every noise.”

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Sophie has now been left facing a bill of more than £2,000, with payments of £170 a month.

She has set up a fundraiser to help raise the money, but also wants to raise awareness of the injuries Eli has sustained.

She fears that the bullet could have hit an injured a child.

Search ‘Sophie Taylor’ on GoFundMe to support the family.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact West Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference number 13190616890.