Family’s shock as beloved pet is shot on greenway

Nicola Wharton found fluffy tabby Diesel gasping for breath and was shocked to discover that the cat’s collar was stuck inside her neck.

She took the cat to PDSA Pet Aid Hospital in Bradford, where she was told that Diesel had been shot.

Vets operated on the feline on Monday morning to remove the pellet that was still lodged in her throat.

Much to the relief of Nicola’s three children, Kia, 14, Keigan, nine, and Kian, five, Diesel was allowed back to their home in Groves Hall Road, Dewsbury Moor, on Tuesday.

The much-loved pet usually plays on Spen Valley Greenway during the night, and Nicola believes this is the area where the cat was shot.

She said: “I went to let Diesel in on Sunday morning about 7am and noticed she was wheezing. As soon as I saw her collar, I started crying in panic and tried to cut it off her. I took her straight to PDSA in Bradford and they immediately said she had been shot. When I told the kids, they were heartbroken.

“The pellet had got lodged in her throat and had caused her collar to get stuck in her neck - she was lucky in a way as the collar caught the impact.

“I’m surprised how many stitches she had - the whole ordeal has made her really nervous. The vets were uncertain at first whether she’d recover at all but I’m happy to say she has started to eat again and her breathing is improving.

“It was a completely cruel and heartless act and whoever did it had no reason to shoot her. We’re lucky to still have her here.

“It’s worrying that an incident like this has happened, especially as a lot of children play down on the greenway, where we think Diesel was shot.”

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “Police are investigating an incident in which a cat appears to have been shot by a pellet gun.

“The incident is thought to have taken place on Sunday morning when the cat was found with an injury to its neck close to the greenway in Dewsbury. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.”

Anyone with information should contact the Dewsbury and Mirfield NPT via 101.