Cat’s leg must be amputated after suspected pellet gun attack in Kerry estate – ‘It’s evil to hurt an animal’
Gardaí in Tralee investigating case of animal cruelty.
Carla was badly injured in an incident on Tuesday in Tralee.
A Tralee cat owner was left feeling distraught when her pet received horrific injuries in a suspected pellet gun attack in a Tralee housing estate on Tuesday evening.
Gardaí are investigating the incident that happened shortly after 6pm when a cat named ‘Carla’ was taken to a veterinary surgery with her injuries. Such is the extent of the damage caused, the cat is to undergo surgery to have a leg amputated.
Cat owner Margaret Keane spoke of feeling traumatised by what she witnessed. She initially thought the cat had been hit by a car and brought it to the vet who kept the animal overnight. She received a call on Wednesday morning to say a pellet was found in the cat’s wound.
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“I had just come home from work and when I called her in, she came towards me slowly. She looked like she was in pain and limped into the house. I was worried when I saw the wound,” Margaret said.
“I got a call today to say they think the cat was shot and will have to lose her leg. I had neighbours here a few years ago whose cat died after it was shot with a pellet gun. It’s a warning to other pet owners to be careful. I only have Carla since Christmas, it’s pure evil to hurt a defenceless animal. To think some people think this is fun. It’s shocking,” Margaret said.
Sinn Féin Cllr Cathal Foley called it a ‘despicable and cruel’ act.
"It is despicable to hear that a much loved family pet will lose a leg after a cat was shot by someone using a BB gun," he said.
"This is the deliberate targeting of animals and I would implore anyone with information to report it to the guards who have been made aware of the situation and are investigating," Cllr Foley added.
