Who shot Gringo? Cat has leg amputated after being blasted by shotgun

A cat from Cornwall has had a leg amputated after being shot.

Gringo had been missing from his home in St Blazey for five days just before Christmas before he was discovered with horrific injuries.

His owners rushed him to the vets and believed the poor moggy had been hit by a car.

But the truth turned out to be far worse.

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Following an X-ray, the cat was revealed to have been the victim of a gunman – and had been struck by 20 lead pellets.

Gringo was given a strong dose of painkillers and had to have his front right leg amputated.

Even worse for Gringo, his owners could not afford the £1,086 bill for surgery so he is now looked after by local cat charity, Sally’s Cat Rescue.

Sam Hawke, a volunteer at the centre in St Austell, said: “He’s such a gorgeous cat.
It makes you feel sick when you see something like this.

“He has his front right leg amputated. He is such a gorgeous friendly cat that would approach anyone, which is probably why he was targeted.

“We are unsure when the attack took place, it could have been any of the days he was missing but we think it was likely in the first couple of days.

“The owner is blown away at what we have been able to do and it is likely we will spend many more hundreds on Gringo to get him back to full health.

“If Gringo doesn’t have any further problems from the bullets we hope he will be able to recover – the fact that his leg was amputated isn’t an issue. Cats don’t miss a leg and can manage with just one.

“We are having to keep an eye on him because if he does get blood poisoning he will need antibiotics.”

Over £1,200 was raised to pay for Gringo’s treatment on a fundraising website.

His front right foot was so badly broken and injured that vets amputated the leg.

But since the surgery, he seems to be doing well.

The co-coordinator at the centre, Sally Oldford, said: “He is doing well now.

“He even had turkey for Christmas.”

The incident involving Gringo has been reported to the police and RSPCA.