A young cat suffered the worst injuries a vet has seen after being shot at close range by a thug with an air rifle.

Dottie, a two-year-old white moggy, came home covered in blood, but thanks to quick action, looks set to make a full recovery.

Owner Mike Watkins, from Steeple Aston, said: “I was angry that somebody would take a pot shot at a pet.

“I know we live in the countryside and plenty of people go out and shoot rabbits, but she is a household pet and they would have known that.”

It is thought Dottie was shot around 10.30pm on Monday, September 5.

Mr Watkins said: “She just came in and was vomiting and there was a bit of blood on the floor.

“She sat all hunched up and then we saw there was quite a lot of blood all over her underside and there was a puncture wound.”

But it was only after emergency surgery to repair the wound and remove part of her gut that it became clear Dottie had been shot.

Mr Watkins said: “The vet said she must have been shot at close range for it to cause that much damage.

“We have had Dottie since July last year, when we got her as a rescue cat.

“Since then she’s become part of the family. She is growing up with the children.”

Mr Watkins said one of the hardest parts was telling children Ben, nine, Hattie, six, and four-year-old Oliver.

He said: “We did not know whether to tell them or not because we did not want them to be scared that someone was out there with a gun.

“But they were really good about it. She is getting very spoiled for a few weeks when she comes home.”

Dottie is back at home now and is currently on antibiotics and morphine for the pain at the Hart Veterinary Centre, in Bicester.

He added: “We will be worried about letting her out again, but hopefully lightning will not strike twice.”

Vet Clare Hart, who carried out the surgery, said: “The cat is lucky to be alive. The airgun pellet had gone into the abdominal cavity and made three holes.

“I’ve come across this before, but this is the worst I’ve ever seen.

“Other cats have been lucky because the pellets just go under the skin, but this caused a lot of damage.”

She added: “She has had to be nursed around the clock, 24 hours a day by our lovely nurses.

“She is doing very well now.”