Published: Wednesday, 16th September, 2009 9:00pm

Stranger shot family cat with pellet gun

A woman whose cat was shot dead by a man with a pellet gun in the Bealnamulla area has made a public appeal for other pet owners in that area to mind their pets.

The woman, who witnessed the incident from inside her kitchen, said her son, who has special needs, had just come inside after playing with the cat and was fortunate not to have witnessed it as it would have deeply upset him. The family are now so shocked by the incident that they are moving from the area.

The unprovoked attack on the cat, who was called Lucky, happened on a quiet road in the Castlesampson area of Bealnamulla on Friday September 4, between 8pm and 8.30pm.

The woman, who did not want to be named, saw a silver car pull up near her house and a man get out of the passenger side. She said he was carrying something in two hands and then she heard a loud, crackling sound. She couldn't identify the man, as his back was to her and she didn't get the registration plate number of the car.

She later discovered the cat who had now died, and took him to a vet because she wanted to see if there was a way of tracing the pellets. The vet, who was appalled by the ferocity of the attack, x-rayed the body and found that Lucky was shot twice, there were 16 pellets inside his body. The pellets could not be identified.

The family had the cat for nine months and it was a great playmate for the young boy, who was very attached to it.

"It was very deliberate and I think they were doing it for fun. I don't go walking anymore, I'm too afraid. There's cruel people out there," she said, visibly shaken as she spoke to the Westmeath Independent this week.

The family reported the attack to Roscommon gardaí who are investigating the matter. Athlone SPCA is also going to investigate the incident.