South Warwickshire couple's cat saved by vet after being shot by pellet gun

A South Warwickshire couple have spoken of their shock and horror at discovering their pet cat had been shot by a pellet gun.

Zoe and Matt Breakwell, from Bishops Itchington, admitted they feared the worst after finding their beloved pet, Stanley, seriously injured on the doorstep

Thankfully, the one-year-old Russian Blue survived the shocking incident but he needed emergency surgery and months of expert treatment at Linnaeus-owned Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service in Solihull.

Zoe said the Willows team had done an incredible job to ensure a happy ending to what had been an incredibly traumatic and stressful experience for Stanley and his family.

She said: “Stanley somehow dragged himself back to our house, bleeding profusely and without the use of one of his legs.

“He mewed faintly outside the front door to alert us he was there and upon the door being opened, he collapsed.

“Stanley was clearly in a very bad way and we had no idea whether he would survive.

“We initially assumed he had been attacked but the vet said he’d been shot at close range and sustained severe damage to his front leg.

“Matt and I were totally shocked.

"The children were very upset and none of us could fathom why or who might shoot an innocent pet.

“We were all incredibly concerned as we were unsure whether he would survive.”

Simone Anesi, a European specialist in small animal surgery at Willows, took charge of Stanley’s treatment and admitted he was shocked by the shooting.

He said: “Stanley had been shot with a pellet gun and this had caused a fracture of his left scapula (shoulder blade).

“He had surgery to reconstruct his fractured scapula, which was challenging.

" Although many of the pellet fragments were removed there were many that had to be left behind.

“An ongoing concern was that Stanley could still not use his left foreleg four weeks after surgery.

“Willows’ neurology team examined Stanley to see if his poor progress was a consequence of severe neurological deficits but only minimal neurological deficits were found.

“We concluded that his poor function was most likely due to severe fibrosis around the scapula as a result of the original gunshot trauma.

“Stanley was swiftly referred to our veterinary physiotherapist Holly Finelli and began a prolonged period of intensive rehabilitation.”

Veterinary physiotherapist Holly added: “Stanley was readmitted to Willows as an inpatient for a full week purely to receive intensive physiotherapy in order to try to avoid further surgery.

“He went through a series of physiotherapy and laser treatments which worked really well.

“He is now consistently using the leg well and is back to his usual self at home but with a slight limp, as his operated leg is now slightly shorter than the other due to his injury.

“A mild lameness might persist but he’s recovered well and his owners, and everyone here at Willows, are very pleased with the positive outcome.”

Matt said the family were full of gratitude for the great work by Willows, adding: “Willows were incredible and we would absolutely recommend them – and already have.”