A cat owner fears for the safety of her pets and family after two of her beloved moggies were shot within weeks of each other in "callous and deliberate" attacks.

Kerry Pearce, from Faversham, says two-year-old Teddy was shot in the eye with a pellet a few weeks ago, which led to him having his eye removed.

Then, on Wednesday, her other cat Tabitha returned home covered in blood.

The one-year-old was rushed to the vets where an X-ray discovered a pellet lodged in the poor animal's nasal cavity, narrowly missing her teeth and eye.

Ms Pearce says she was very fortunate to walk away from the incident, which could have proved fatal if the pellet had hit Tabitha 1mm either side.

Although it was removed, the maimed moggie has been left suffering with breathing difficulties and requires further treatment for her injury.

The two incidents have already led to Ms Pearce, who lives in Cole Road, racking up vets bills totalling almost £4,000 - but she is expecting to have to fork out more for Tabitha's treatment.

The attacks have been reported to police and the RSPCA is now appealing for information as the charity investigates what happened to Ms Pearce's beloved pets.

It is feared the animals were deliberately shot with an air rifle.

Ms Pearce, 36, said: "My cat came through the cat-flap [on Wednesday] with loads of blood coming from her nose and she couldn't breathe very well.

"I took her straight to the vets but they couldn't tell what it was straight away.

"They did an X-ray and they could see an air rifle pellet had gone through her nose and right through to the roof of her mouth.

"You could see a trail of debris on the X-ray and it has shattered inside her.

"She was really lucky because if it had landed 1mm either way she could have lost teeth, an eye or she could have died."

She now fears her other cat Teddy was also shot after discovering he had injured his eye on October 11.

Initially, the cause of his injuries were unknown, but she now believes he was also targeted with an air rifle due to him having a pellet-sized wound on his face.

"I felt really angry and really sad because why would someone do that to an innocent pet?" she said.

"People don't like cats because they go in their gardens, but you can use a hosepipe or shout at them so there is no need for that kind of hatred.

"Even if they don't like cats, they've not thought about the impact on the owners or the cost of the bills."

Treatment for Teddy cost Ms Pearce about £1,700, and she expects Tabitha's bill to set her back more than £2,000.

Kerry rescued her cats as they were living as strays, and Tabitha had recently had a litter of kittens.

Teddy is coping well with just one eye but Tabitha has a long road to recovery ahead of her.

"This was a callous and deliberate attack on two defenceless pet cats..."

Ms Pearce added: “She is struggling to breathe, she has barely eaten, and she wants to go back outside but I don’t want any of my cats out now.

"It doesn’t feel safe for them, or for my family."

RSPCA animal rescue officer Lynn White is now investigating and appealing for anyone who heard or saw anything on Wednesday in the Cole Road area to get in touch.

"This was a callous and deliberate attack on two defenceless pet cats, and the fact that this is the second time this has happened in just a few weeks is extremely worrying," she said.

"We believe these two cats never wandered far from their home so it must have happened in the local area.

"We’re now appealing for anyone who may have information about this to please contact us in strictest confidence.

"It is very distressing to think that people take pleasure in causing such horrific injuries to defenceless animals. These are deliberate and brutal acts of cruelty.

"We are calling for tighter controls on air weapons.

"This, along with better education and explanation of the law when buying an air gun, and requirements that everyone must receive basic safety training before being allowed to walk out of the shop, could help relieve the problem."

If you have any information which may help this investigation, contact the RSPCA’s inspectorate appeal line on 0300 123 8018.