THE ‘luckiest cat in the world’ was shot in the head on its street last Friday afternoon - one in a number of recent reported animal cruelty incidents - but miraculously survived and underwent successful surgery to remove the pellet on Tuesday.

Ten-year-old Jesse is the pet of Michelle Parkin and her family and was cruelly shot with an air rifle nearby her home on Bellbrooke Avenue, Darfield, after being out of the house for no more than 20 minutes.

Jesse returned home and appeared to be walking fine but the owners said they noticed the blood on her head and damage to her eye socket when she entered the house, leading them to think she must have been attacked by a fox or other animal - given their street backs onto open land.

It wasn’t until owner 38-year-old Michelle took her to the vet where she was scanned that they realised there was a bullet lodged in her head.

The bullet had entered just above her eye socket, tore through her optical nerve and has left her blind in her right eye and deaf in her right ear.

“I broke down in tears when the vet said it was a bullet, I was in complete shock,” she said.

“It’s just absolutely awful that somebody would do this.

“She’s lucky to be alive.”

In Text Promo Image

Darfield ward Coun Kevin Osborne added: “I urge anyone who knows anything about this crime to come forward to the police.”