A boy has been left "distraught" after his cat was shot twice by thugs - leaving the pet unable to walk.

Nine-year-old Elliott Gower, who has autism, is best friends with little Oreo, who was targeted in an alleyway near Brockley Road, Margate, earlier this week.

X-rays show two air gun pellets were embedded in the young moggie - one against his spine and another in his shoulder.

But it is not certain surgery will be able to save him as he is unable to use his bladder, and his family face the devastating prospect of potentially having to put down.

Elliott's mum, Jodie, said: "I don’t know why anyone would want to shoot a defenceless cat - not once but twice - and leave him for dead.

"He can’t use his bladder because the bullet is pressing on it, so he has to use a catheter, and he can’t use the bottom half of his body.

"Elliott is distraught as he is struggling to understand what is going on.

"Oreo is his best friend and he sleeps on his pillow."

Ms Gower says the beloved pet left the family home at about 3pm on Sunday.

She became concerned when he failed to return home - and was unaware of what happened to Oreo until she saw a social media post.

"On Tuesday, my mum’s friend tagged me in a post on a local Facebook group about a cat that looked like Oreo found in an alleyway," she added.

"I phoned a vets to say they had Oreo and I was told by them they thought he had been run over."

Ms Gower says she took him to her own local vets, where he was X-rayed Oreo.

Staff told her it is uncommon for cats to be shot with air guns - but that they are often targeted with BB guns or catapults.

Oreo went under the knife earlier today for a procedure that proved to be "more complex than the vet thought".

The surgeon managed to remove a pellet, but Ms Gower says experts are now waiting to see if the animal's condition improves.

"There is still a lot of swelling around the area," she added.

"The vets are doing everything they can to make it go down and see if he starts to make an improvement by urinating on his own and using his back legs.

"At the moment, it’s a waiting game."

Ms Gower has been given a £4,000 vets bill, which includes surgery, pain relief, physiotherapy and aftercare.

But Good Samaritans have helped raise more than her £3,500 fundraising target to cover the costs.

A police spokesman confirmed officers were contacted at 12.15pm on Wednesday following a report a cat had been found with injuries in the Brockley Road area.

He says "initial inquiries are under way to determine how the cat" was hurt and "whether any criminal offences have been committed".