by Suzy Shanley

Kitty is being hailed a miracle moggy by her owner after surviving being shot twice with an air rifle.

The two-year-old cat was targeted by a cruel gunman who first shot her in the spine and then a day or two later in the head.

Owner Lesley Findlay-Judge, of Preston Road, Northfleet, said she didn’t initially realise her black and white cat had been shot.

“She didn’t make any fuss after the first shot,” Mrs Findlay-Judge said, “I was stroking her head last week and felt a lump, at first I thought it was a sheep tick and tried to pull it out, then I realised she had been shot.”

The distraught owner rushed Kitty to The Shrubbery veterinary centre in Perry Street where the second bullet was found lodged in her spine during an X-ray.

Mrs Findlay-Judge said: “It is appalling that anyone could wish to harm something so defenceless that can’t fight back.”

Fortunately Kitty was saved as both bullets had become lodged to prevent causing fatal damage.

Her owner is now offering a cash reward to help catch the gunman and is urging other cat owners to check their pets.

She said: “A reward is being offered for any information that leads to conviction of the owner or the person who used the rifle for this purpose.”

She added: “Kitty is extremely poorly and it’s very distressing.”