A 'devastated' family are appealing for information after their adorable kitten was shot near their home in Cuddington earlier this month.

‘Playful and loving’ Pixie, who also goes by the name Pig, is believed to have been shot with an air rifle in the Mere Lane and Blake Lane area on February 4.

Now seven-months-old, she has been a part of the Ashbrooks’ family since she was just six weeks old and is ‘loved to bits’.

Casey Ashbrook, of Mere Lane, explained that Pixie went out for an ‘afternoon wander’ on February 4, but tends not to venture very far as she is so young, preferring to stay close to their back garden.

Casey and Pixie at six weeks old
Casey and Pixie at six weeks old

When Pixie returned, she couldn’t settle and began vomiting.

On checking her over, the family found a puncture wound and rushed her straight to the vet.

An X-ray confirmed the vet’s suspicion that Pixie had been shot, revealing a pellet lodged in her lungs, around 1cm from her heart.

It was decided to keep the pellet inside her as removing it may have caused her even more pain, so Pixie is now recovering at home.

An X-ray taken of Pixie reveals the pellet
An X-ray taken of Pixie reveals the pellet

Casey said the vet told them Pixie was ‘the luckiest cat he had ever known’.

But the Ashbrooks are still reeling from her trauma.

“We feel absolutely devastated and angry,” Casey said.

“I have lived in my home all my life and I would never have dreamt that this could happen here.

“It makes me sad and angry that there could be somebody who lives within throwing distance of my back door that would do this to my family’s pet.

“What’s worse is that the neighbours either side of us have young children. What was to say the shooter missed its target and hit a young child playing in their garden?”

Adding that they want to be able to feel safe in their gardens, Casey is urging anyone who knows anything about what happened to Pixie to come forward.

If you have information about this incident, contact PCSO Karen Nixon on 101.