Cat blinded after being shot in face
by Caoimhe Hegarty
The owners of pedigree cat, which has been left blind in one eye after he was shot the face, have said that their beloved pet is now ‘imprisoned’ in their family home as they are too ‘fearful’ to let him outside.
The champagne, silver and cream Maine Coon, called Leo Austin Martin Teca Newman, was shot close to the family home at Halfgyne Road outside Maghera on Saturday, September 9.
After hearing what owners, Maureen and Sam Newland, described as an ‘unmerciful bang,’ they observed the two year-old friendly feline come staggering across their garden.
Leo then went into the garage where he took refuge in a gap between the rafters. Unable to reach Leo, the owners suffered an ‘agonising’ four hour wait before he came out.
Recalling what happened, Sam told the County Derry Post; “It was around 8.15pm on the Saturday evening, and I was playing with Charlie, our King Charles pup in our back yard. It was almost dark when I heard an unmerciful bang. It was no more than 50 years away from our house. I never heard anything like it before and I lived through the troubles. When I heard the shot, the first thing I thought off was the cat.
“I shouted Leo’s name and a couple of minutes later, he appeared through a gap in the hedge. He was all over the place, completely disorientated and there was a trail of blood behind him,” said Sam.
Maureen, who was in the couple’s home at the time, said that we she heard the shot, she ‘panicked.’
“I ran outside and I followed Leo into the garage but he went straight upstairs and climbed up into the rafters. We couldn’t reach him. We tried our best to coach him down but he wouldn’t budge. We rang the vets and she told us there was nothing that we could do, he would come out in his own time,” she said.
Maureen added: “We waited for over four hours on him to come out. It was the most agonising wait of my life. I thought he was dead.”
It was only when Leo came down four hours later that Maureen and Sam were able to access the extent of his injuries.
“His eye was bleeding and he lost part of his ear and paw. He was totally traumatised. We brought him straight over to Maghera Vets and they said that they would have to keep him overnight. Despite the horrific injuries, the vet was never downbeat, she gave us hope that he would be ok,” said Mrs Newman.
The following day, Leo underwent surgery to have his right eye removed. It’s now just over two weeks but Leo is recovering well.
“He is such a strong cat, he is made a remarkable recovery. He is an absolutely hero but the sad thing is, how can we ever let him out of our house again? From now on, to keep him safe, we have to keep him inside. We are too fearful to let him outside again. He is imprisoned,” said Sam.
Despite Leo’s recovery, Maureen said that she is still very ‘annoyed and distressed.’
“I just can’t understand why someone would want to do this, especially as it was so close to home. If someone had a problem with Leo, why did they not come and talk to us instead of taking matters into their own hands,” said Maureen.
Daniel Barclay from Northern Ireland Says No to Animal Cruelty, said this incident is another reason for ‘stricter’ sentences to be introduced.
“This attack is absolutely disgraceful. There is absolutely no justification for anyone to inflict cruelty onto animals but people do these things because they can. There is no fear or respect for the law so we are ultimately putting responsibility with the courts. The police investigate cases like this and then bring it to court but time and time again, we are let down by the court. We need stricter sentences to stop people from carrying out these crimes.”
Police have confirmed that they are investigating the incident but have appealed for anyone with information to contact them on 101 quoting reference number 1319 of 9.9.17.
Information can also be given anonymously through the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”