Falkirk cat dies after being shot in the abdomen

Earlier this month the cruel sniper’s pellet struck Rhea in her abdomen while she was out and about in the Callendar Wood area and, despite owner Alan Smith rushing her to the vets for emergency surgery, she died from the resulting infection.

This was the second of Alan’s cats to be caught in the crosshairs of an airgun, back in June last year his other pet Oreo was also shot – making the attack on Rhea the third cat shooting incident in this particular area of Falkirk in under a year.

Now the Scottish SPCA has issued a fresh appeal for information to find the culprit before they carry out another attack.

Alan said: “My wife and I are devastated beyond belief. There are no words that can or will help. Gutted does not cover how we feel. We have lost faith in humanity after losing Rhea in such a horrific way.

“She did not deserve this, the pain and suffering she must have gone through before her death would have been unbearable, it breaks my heart. The person responsible must be brought to justice before they strike again.

“Someone out there knows something. Our pet died for absolutely no reason. The amount of distress and upset it has caused my wife and I is immeasurable. This will be with us for the rest of our lives, losing our baby girl in this way.”

Scottish SPCA inspector Andrew Gray said, “We are saddened to hear of the death of Rhea. This is the second time the family have suffered something so harrowing. Unfortunately, Rhea wasn’t as lucky as Oreo.

“The person responsible must be caught. This is the third cat within a two-mile radius since last June to have suffered injury from an airgun. We are concerned this person or persons is going to commit more crimes against animals.

“Owning an air rifle without a license has been illegal since December 2016, this is a move we welcomed due to incidents such as this.”

PC Maria Malcolm, from Falkirk Police Station, added: “These acts are extremely dangerous, reckless and illegal. We understand the distress and upset this incident has caused to the cat’s owners and we continue to investigate the circumstances fully.

“We believe the animal may have been injured while being in the Callendar Wood area and we would urge anyone who may have any information to help us identify and trace those involved, to come forward to assist with our inquiries as soon as possible.”

Anyone with information should contact Police Scotland on 101 or the Scottish SPCA’s confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.