Brave Leo before he was shot at the weekend in Co Derry
POLICE are hunting a thug who blinded a cat in one eye and blasted off part of his paw in a savage act of animal cruelty.
Brave Leo underwent an eight hour operation to save his life following the weekend attack in Co Derry
And savage attack on an defenceless animal has left Leo’s Co Derry horrified at the life threatening injuries inflicted on her pet, a pedigree Maine Coon cat.
Leo was on owner Maureen Newman’s property, on Halfgayne Road in Maghera, and climbing along the garage roof, when he was blasted.
The majestic two-year-old feline staggered to safety behind the garage wall, trapping himself.
The cat, whose full name is ‘Leo Aston Martin Teca Newman’, spent several hours quivering in pain as Maureen (56) sought to entice him out.
Maureen told The Belfast Telegraph: “It was about 8.15pm on the Saturday night and I had just fed the cat a few Dreamies treats. We were outside at the aviary, me with the cat and my King Charles Spaniel, Charlie.
“The cat walked along the wall and onto the garage. All of sudden there was an unmerciful bang – we knew it was a gunshot. The dog was terrified and ran into the house and the next thing I saw Leo, he had been shot.”
Mrs Newman said she spent more than three hours trying to reach him behind the garage before rushing him to Glenshane Vets in the town, after midnight.
Leo underwent an eight-hour operation to save his life but lost his right eye and part of his paw. His left ear was also damaged.
“Leo stayed with the vet over the weekend but is now home with a load of painkillers,” said Mrs Newman. “I am nursing him but the poor thing is very nervous, he’s very, very shaken.”
Mrs Newman, who has lived in the area her whole life, said she does not believe the cat was shot accidentally.
Daniel Barclay, from Northern Ireland Says No to Animal Cruelty, said stiffer sentences are needed for animal cruelty.
“Whoever did this should not be walking the streets,” he said. “They do these things because they can, because there is something inherently wrong with them. The police investigate and then bring it to the courts, but time and time again we are let down by a light sentence.
Police in Maghera are investigating.
Anyone who has any information about the person behind the savage act of cruelty is asked to ring police on the 101 non-emergency number.
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