15 May 2008

Cats are supposed to have nine lives, but one lucky moggy has survived being fired at 15 times by a shot gun.

Two-year-old feline Reef, who lives with his owner Mark Ames in Stowmarket, was found with the injuries sustained during the attack after returning home last week, the Evening Star 24 reports.

It is believed that the 15 pellets, which all narrowly avoided damaging the cat's internal organs, originated from a single fire from a shot gun.

Speaking to the newspaper, Mr Ames said that at first he thought his pet had been run over by a car; however when he took Reef to the vets a very different story was revealed.

"He went to the vets and an x-ray found that he had 15 shot gun pellets in him," he said.

"In a way it would have been better if he was run over. I don't want to even think that this was done maliciously. To think somebody did this on purpose is awful."

Mr Ames believes that the injuries may have been caused by someone hunting rabbits illegally on fields behind his home.

Fortunately Reef has been left with no lasting damage and is currently at home recuperating.