Snug, who lives with his owner Jessica Wood at First Tower, had to have an operation to remove a pellet which was fired from a high-powered air gun, breaking two bones in his right front leg.
The rescue cat was operated on at New Era Vets, who said it was a ‘worrying case’.
Miss Wood (28) has thanked the vets for operating on her pet and added: ‘It’s so worrying that this has happened in Jersey which is somewhere I think is a safe place.
‘It was really shocking and horrible when I was told by the vets that Snug had been shot.
‘I thought maybe it could have been a farmer who thought he was a rabbit but the vet said the pellet wasn’t the same a farmer would use.
‘I really hope this is a one-off incident because I don’t want to stop Snug going outside again.’
Miss Wood took Snug to the New Era Vets after he returned home on 1 November after some hours spent outside. She said that she noticed he was limping and decided to take him to the vet the next morning.
She was told he had been shot by a powerful air rifle which had broken two of his bones. Snug, who sucks his own tail – something common among orphan cats – has had five pins inserted so he can now use his front leg.
He is said to be recovering well at home and Miss Wood hopes to let him outside again on Friday.
A statement posted on New Era’s Facebook page says: ‘The worry is this is an air gun pellet, so the cat was aimed at deliberately. The bullet travel and shape of bullet would suggest it was a high power gun as the pellet flattened on impact with the bone.
‘Further, the entry wound in the triceps would be right by his chest if his leg was backwards – so someone may have been aiming for his chest.’
