A YORK woman has asked the public for help in finding the thugs who shot her cat.

Lorena Healey, from Tang Hall, has been forced to take her three-year-old cat Calvin to the vets on two occasions after he was shot by an air rifle.

The latest shooting happened on Saturday night, and the pellet tore through Calvin’s flesh, just below his ribs.

Lorena said: “This was quite severe. It looks like he was shot and kicked. The pellet went through the tissue and lung, and he hasn’t been able to move much since.

“He came in crying in the early hours of Sunday morning, and we noticed blood and an entry wound, so we took him to the emergency vet.”

The vet removed the pellet and administered painkillers to Calvin, who has started to make a good recovery. But Lorena said the £300 cost followed a bill of more than £500 paid last year after a similar incident.

She said: “The first time he was shot through the hip and pelvis, and he couldn’t walk for quite a while. He was in agony and lost a lot of blood.

“Two years ago he was hit by a car and deliberately poisoned, but nobody has ever been identified for it. I think they’re just random acts by cat haters, but I’m hoping that someone will read this and come forward with any information that might help the police.”

PC Wesley Cooper, from York Police, said: “This was a cruel, heartless and cowardly crime which has caused great upset to Calvin’s family and he is lucky to be alive after receiving treatment at the emergency vets.”

Anyone with information that could help the police should phone 0845 6060247.