POLICE in Westbury are hunting a cat-killer following a fourth shooting incident that has led to a cat being put to sleep.

Three-year-old black and white cat Molly was put to sleep by vets at Harris, Hill and Gibbons on Sunday after being shot for the third time in three years.

She had suffered terrible internal injuries to her gall bladder, liver and bowels after being shot last week.

Her angry owners, John and Sheila Standen, of Cedar Grove, Westbury, have since informed police after Molly died. The incident is being investigated as criminal damage.

Mr Standen, 46, said: “You can’t print what I think about the person who has done this to Molly.

“My wife Sheila and I are very upset. All I can say it that I hope that they don’t do it again.”

Mr Standen said they noticed Molly had been off colour and by Thursday the couple took her to the vets to get checked.

“Initially, they thought it was only a slight scratch and so I brought her back home on Thursday evening.

“I took her back to the vets on Friday for further tests and she stayed in overnight.

“That’s when they found out that she had been shot on the right-hand side and had injuries to her gall bladder, liver and her bowels.

“She deteriorated rapidly over the weekend and she died on Sunday. Molly was put to sleep on the operating table, as when they started to operate they realised the internal damage was too great to be survived.”

Victoria Mills, the vet at Harris Hill and Gibbons who operated on Molly, said: "It's absolutely horrible. She was a young cat, only three, and she must have been in the most terrible pain.

"To be shot three times is horrific. The suffering she must have gone through is unimaginable."

Miss Mills said the gunshot wound to Molly was not immediately detected by the practice when she went in on Thursday as it was hard to find.

The pellet only showed up when she was X-rayed after being kept in overnight on Friday.

It was the third time Molly had been shot by a thug using a pellet gun or air rifle, Mr Standen said.

“She was shot in a front paw in 2017 and lost her right eye after being shot in August 2018.

“Molly was again shot last week. This time she died of extensive internal injuries caused by the pellet.”

Mr Standen and Sheila, 59, had raised Molly from being a six weeks old kitten. She was aged three years and four months when she died.

She is not the only cat to have been shot at by a gun-wielding thug who the couple believe lives nearby.

In May 2019, Wayne Curie, of Ash Grove, appealed for help to catch the yob who shot his cat Mushu in the head. Mr Curie’s house and garden backs onto the Standen’s home.

At the time, Mr Curie said: “This isn’t the first time this has happened as I had RSPCA knocking at my door last year for any information.

“Please be aware that this type of person won’t stop at one cat. It’s someone fairly close as my cat doesn’t go that far.”

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “We are aware of this report from Mr and Mrs Standen and appreciate how distressing this must be.

“An officer from our local Neighbourhood Policing Team will be in contact with them as part of our enquiries in to this incident.”