A five-year-old cat is lucky to be alive after being shot with an airgun.

Jigsaw was shot in the ear about a month ago but it wasn’t until recently that his owner, Sarah Price, realised what had happened.

“When we first got him, he was feral anyway so when he went missing for a couple of days, I didn’t think anything of it. But he wouldn’t go out after that.

“Then I noticed there was blood on my sideboard where he usually sleeps so I took him to vet who then told me he had a pellet lodged in his ear, which turned into an abscess.”

The animal had to undergo surgery to have the pointed pellet removed and is now recovering at home in First Avenue, Rushenden, near Sheerness.

* The Sheerness Times Guardian has previously reported the shooting of black kitten Ella in the St George’s Avenue area of Sheerness. She had emergency surgery to save her leg.