Cersei the pet cat shot for second time
‘Cats are supposed to have nine lives, but I don’t want to test it’ – owner
A CAT in Paulsgrove has been shot by an air-rifle for the second time – following a series of misfortunes for the family’s Game of Thronesstyled felines.
Tanya Hatcher, the owner of Cersei the cat in Chedworth Crescent, said she ‘couldn’t believe’ her family pet had been shot for a second time when she discovered a wound in the unlucky moggy’s chest.
Tanya said: ‘It looks like someone tried to kill her.
‘She came in through an open window after being out for the day, and she was covered in blood.
‘I took her to the vet – somehow the pellet went down the line of her trachea and caused a blood clot.
Staff at Portchester Vets, in White Hart Lane, decided leaving the pellet inside the cat was the best course of action. Last summer they were forced to operate when she was shot through the bladder.
Tanya, who also owns a tabby named Jamie, said: ‘Last summer she came home and my other cat looked at her funny.
‘I went to stroke her and my hand came away covered in blood.
‘We found out she was shot through the urethra and the pellet was lodged in her bladder.’
Without insurance at the time, the injury cost the catlover £2,000 – and the most recent incident, at 8.30am on Wednesday, January 29, will see her put in a claim for more than £350.
The 54-year-old said: ‘But it’s not about the money.
‘It feels like someone has shot a member of my family.
‘I’ve started to only let Cersei out in the garden on a lead. She hates it, but I'm so scared of letting her go out on her own.
‘I know cats are supposed to have nine lives, but I don’t want to test it.’
Two other women have reported their cats being shot in the area in the last five years, according to the Tesco customer assistant.
She said: ‘One woman messaged me on Facebook and said both of her cats were shot – and one was killed.’
Tanya’s cats, all named after Game of Thrones characters, have had ‘a run of bad luck’ fitting for their namesakes, with Jamie having another tabby named Tyrion for company until his disappearance three years ago, leading to the adoption of Cersei – whose own mother was run over shortly after giving birth.
A Hampshire police spokesman said: ‘We have received a report of a cat being shot in Chedworth Crescent on January 29.
‘Anyone with information can call 101, quoting 44200036068.’