A CAT owner has been left distraught after her pet was killed by a dog in a brutal attack in Horwich.

Kayleigh McCabe was made aware that her six-year-old cat Tigger had been attacked after seeing a post on social media.

David Hickey witnessed the incident from his house at around 1.30am on Wednesday morning after Tigger’s screams woke him up.

He said: "We heard this horrific noise, it sounded like an animal being tortured. At first we thought it was our own cat but when we realised it wasn't I looked out the window.

"I could see these three lads setting dogs on a cat, they were wearing head torches which seemed strange.

"It seemed too risky to go outside so I stayed in the house.

"The next day when I was coming home from the gym I saw the dead cat near the carpark to Kildonan House Medical Practice.

"It was such a sick thing to do, my partner was traumatised by the sound of the cat's cries."

David took the cat to Pike Moor Vets and reported the incident to the RSPCA.

Kayleigh was identified as the owner after seeing a post on Facebook.

She said: “It’s absolutely disgusting, I didn’t know anything about the attack until I saw the photo on Facebook and I knew it was Tigger.

“I’ve had him since the day he was born as I had his mother too, he was my baby and a part of my family.

“He was a lovely ginger tomcat, like a little Garfield and everyone knew him. He never caused any trouble.

“People should be able to control their pets, this shouldn’t happen and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone else.

“They murdered my cat, it’s sickening what they did.

“The police haven’t done anything about it either - this shouldn’t be allowed to happen.

“I’m aware that a fundraiser was set up to help pay for Tigger’s cremation, but I had already done so.

“I don’t even know what to do with that money - I just want my cat back. That’s all I want.

“Seeing him on that slab in the vets, it broke my heart.

“I’ve hardly been able to cope this week, I’m devastated.

“It is such a cruel thing to do."

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said: "This is an awful incident and incredibly sad.

"It has been reported to us and we will be looking into it."

Greater Manchester Police have acknowledged the incident but no one was available to comment.