A BELOVED pet cat has been shot twice in two separate attacks.

Vets are now warning pet owners that airgun shootings of animals are becoming “worryingly” common.

Fluffy, an 11-month-old Chinchilla Persian cat, went missing from its home in Forton Avenue, Breightmet, for three days last week.

It was found last Friday afternoon by its owner Cathy Williams, lying on the garden path.

Fluffy was taken to Petmedics in Worsley, where it received emergency treatment and was kept in until Tuesday.

The wound was to its neck and shoulder, and two pellets were recovered from its chest cavity.

Mrs Williams, aged 45, from Forton Avenue, Breightmet, said: “Fluffy is partially paralysed, and we don’t know yet if it will regain full use of its leg.

“It is such a beautiful cat and it never usually ventures far from the house, so when it didn’t come home it was very unlike Fluffy, I thought someone had taken it. I can’t believe that a human being could be so cruel. When I realised Fluffy had been shot I felt physically sick.

“It took it three days to crawl home.

“The amount of pain it suffered, and is still suffering, is awful.”

The vet who treated Fluffy has said it is “unbelievable”

the cat is still alive.

Veterinary surgeon James McMurrough said: “One of the pellets is lodged in the left shoulder and that looked like a fresh one.

“It hit a nerve causing a paralysis.

“The other one, I suspect, has been there for a while and is right next to the heart.

“Who knows when that happened.

“These wounds are worryingly common.”

Mum-of-three Mrs Williams, who has two other cats called Casper and Purdy, said she hopes the person who did this is found.

She added: “I want to know who has done this, it must be someone local.

“They probably don’t realise that Fluffy is now disabled.”

The incident was reported to the police last Saturday.