A PET cat almost died after she was shot with an air rifle near Stow Hill in Newport.

Two-year-old DV, short for Darth Vader, went for an evening stroll on Wednesday last week (July 15) but ten minutes later returned home in agony to Stow Park Drive.

Her distraught owners sat up all night with their beloved black cat, with no idea what was wrong until the vet opened first thing on Thursday morning and they could check her in.

X-rays taken that day, pictured, show a pellet lodged in DV’s tummy.

BT account manager Janet Perrett, aged 52, said: “I couldn't look at the pictures, it was so upsetting. To be honest, we thought she was going to die overnight. Because of the impact, the police think it was caused at close range by an air rifle. The pellet had gone through her skin, intestine and gut. She had to have what they call an enterectomy [when part of the intestine is removed]. It has cost us nearly £1,000 but I’m not bothered about the money, I just want her to be alright.”

Vets operated on DV, gave her antibiotics and hooked her up to a drip, keeping her in the clinic all day until she was allowed to come home.

But now Janet is worried whoever shot DV could strike again. “It’s just worrying to think somebody within a five minute radius could be sat in their garden with an air rifle,” she said. “It is obviously somebody that doesn’t like cats. There are a lot of young children and other people with animals including elderly people. I’m going to get a tracker for DV in case it happens again. I just want people to be vigilant.”

She added: “DV is a home cat, not one that wanders or anything. We couldn’t understand what was wrong. All night she looked as though she couldn’t move her head – her eyes were really weird. She looked like a stuffed cat on the bed, as if she had already died.”

The family adopted DV when she was just five weeks old, after her mother died giving birth to her litter. The shock of nearly losing her has been a strain, Janet said, including on their other cat Rufus who has been following her around protectively.

“It has just been a worry as well because we have got a child severely disabled with autism,” Janet said. “He doesn’t talk and we spoon feed him – he is totally reliant on us. DV seems to have a calming effect on him – when he lies on his bed, she lies with him as if she knows that he is distressed. More than anything, if anything happened it would have been noticeable for Alex because he does like having her around. It has just been extremely worrying, really.”

Police are appealing for information following a cat being shot with an air rifle on Stow Park Avenue, Newport at approximately 6.30pm on July 15.

Anyone with information relating to who is responsible is asked to call 101 quoting 1500257268.