A CAT-owner from Llanyblodwel has thanked staff at an Oswestry-based veterinary practice for their help after her pet had to have a leg amputated due to injuries ‘consistent with being shot’.

Three-year-old tabby cat Tigger was left with fragments of metal in one her damaged legs an X-ray revealed but was fortunate to not lose two legs.

Her owner, Sarah Clein, has thanked the Market Town Veterinary Practice in Oswestry for going above and beyond in their efforts to help Tigger which helped to save the second leg.

Tigger sustained the injuries on the evening of Monday, September 20, and Sarah took her to the vet once she found her on the following morning.

One of the vets at the practice said the injuries were unlike any he had seen during 22 years of practice.

“Luckily she didn’t lose her other leg,” Sarah added.

“At the time we took her to the vets, she was very poorly and the vet didn’t think she was going to make it.

“They cleaned her up, sedated her and X-rayed her and found that she would lose a front leg, but the other one could be saved.

“She was operated on, stitched up, kept in and we went to get her. She wasn’t eating or drinking because she lost a lot of blood.

“She went back in for a blood transfusion but unfortunately they couldn’t get blood out of the donor cats, so they put her on a feeding tube to get some food into her.”

While Sarah believes it was likely an accident which caused Tigger’s injuries, she wants other cat owners to be aware of the incident and be careful when letting cats outside at night.

She said: “While I’m sure it was an accident, it’s a warning to other people to not put their cats out at night.

“It wasn’t very pleasant for us, so I’d just warn people to be careful if their cats go out at night.”

She continued: “The vets really went above and beyond – they were really, really good,” she said.

“The vets saw a picture of her I’d put on Facebook over the weekend and realised the feeding tube was coming out, and asked if we wanted to take her in to get it taken out.

“That was on a Saturday afternoon and they weren’t even working, but they wanted to help. It’s a fantastic practice.

“They really went the extra mile. You never really know how good your vet practice is until you need them in an emergency. They went above and beyond to save her and then look after her as she started to recover.”

Tigger is now making a recovery following the incident, which Sarah has reported to the RSPCA and police.