A CAT escaped death by a whisker after being callously shot in the eye at point blank range.

Five-year-old feline Roxy, which still has a pellet lodged in its lungs after being shot in the shoulder four years ago, has had to have its left eye removed after the pellet shattered its eye socket in the latest attack.

The cat narrowly escaped death after the bullet went downwards, shattering its jaw – part of which also had to be removed – and knocking half of its teeth out.

Stitches now take the place of where its eye used to be, and shocked owners Robert and Pauline Davies are offering a reward for any information leading to conviction of the culprit.

Mr Davies made the grim discovery after finding a distressed Roxy sitting on their garden wall with its eye “hanging out of its head” at about 10am last Friday.

“She was out as normal,” he said. “I came back home and went outside and noticed her sat on the wall and thought ‘what’s that red stuff on her?’ Her eye was hanging out of her head. She was shot at close range and she’s lost an eye.

“She was sat down and completely in shock. I rushed her to the vets. It was very distressing finding the cat like that. We thought that she would have to be put down, so we’re pleased that we managed to save her life.

The vet said it was lucky that the bullet went downwards.”

He added he feared there was a cat killer on the prowl around the Sutton Park area following a spate of shootings and anti-freeze poisonings and wanted to warn pet own - ers to be vigilant.

“There’s a lot of this going on, “Mr Davies said. “A lot of neighbours have had their cats shot at. It’s been going on for several years. This isn’t the first incident.

“Someone has obviously got a vendetta against cats here. We’re not very happy at all with what’s going on around here.

“If someone’s got a firearm in this area, what’s next – a child’s going to lose an eye? At some stage someone’s going to get injured.

“They shouldn’t be shooting at animals that can’t protect themselves.

“[Roxy] has had to have stitches where her eye used to be and around her mouth and jaw. She’s quite seriously damaged and we’ve got to keep her in the house.”

Mr Davies added he was left with a hefty £800 bill for Roxy’s care.

“We want people to be aware of what’s going on and for someone to come forward if they find out who is doing it,” he said.

“We are offering a reward for any information lead - ing to a conviction of this person. Someone has obviously seen them about in some form. We’re going to post leaflets to see if anyone has got any information."