POLICE are probing a spate of vicious attacks on pet cats in an area of Wrexham.

In one of the most horrendous incidents a two-year-old ginger tom was hit by three bullets which almost killed him.

Despite struggling to pay for his treatment, his elderly owner reckons he is lucky to have survived.

Police, working with RSPCA officers, are now carrying out house-to-house inquiries in Llay in a bid to track down those responsible for the attacks, which have seen
three animals shot and poisoned since February.

The pensioner, who does not wish to be named for fear of reprisals, keeps a family of cats at her home.

She was devastated when two-year-old Timmy recently came home soaked in blood.

She said: “At about 7pm I opened the back door and I will never forget the sight that greeted me. Timmy was huddled in the porch with his head down covered in blood with a pool of blood underneath him.

“Blood which was dripping down his neck and pooling on the floor and he was coughing it out of his nose and mouth. He is such a faithful, wise looking cat and good companion to me and we thought he was lost to us for sure.”

Vet Owen Monie, who came out to Timmy, confirmed he had been shot and X-rays later showed he had been hit three times with bullets rather than airgun pellets – twice in the head and once in the stomach.

The pensioner said: “He was operated on the next day and they removed a large piece of bone which had punctured his throat causing the horrific internal bleeding.

“The bullets to the head had literally missed his brain by about half a centimetre and had gone into the side of his face and travelled right through his head to the other side near his neck.

“The vet only performed an operation to remove the broken bone and will have to monitor him from time to time as the bullets are still inside. It is nothing short of a miracle that Timmy has survived.”

A police spokesman said: “There have been three incidents in Llay in which cats have been shot or poisoned since February. There are no suspects at present and house-to-house inquiries are being undertaken. We are working alongside the RSPCA.”