A £1,000 reward is being offered by an animal charity for information leading to the arrest of a ‘thug’ who shot a cat three times.

PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has been put the large sum of cash in the hope of finding out who attacked one-year-old Whisper the cat, who was shot using an air gun in Ensbury Park.

Owner, Kathleen Batten, 64, of Glenmoor Close, told the Daily Echo of her horror when she took the pure white cat to the vets to find that it had three pellets in its body.

Now the animal charity hopes that by offering the sum of money, the offender can be stopped before they do the same to another cat or potentially a human.

Ben Williamson, PETA spokesperson, described the offender as a ‘thug’.

He added: “It is imperative that any community faced with a violent act such as this take measures to find the culprit or culprits and bring them to justice.

“Animal abusers are a danger to everyone – they take their issues out on whoever is available to them, human or non-human, and must be caught before they act again.”

Mrs Batten previously told Daily Echo: “I cannot believe that someone would want to hurt an innocent animal.”

She added that since the incident, herself and her family have become ‘neurotic listening out for gun shots’ and are warning neighbours with cats to keep a watch over their pets.

Witnesses and anyone with information contact Dorset Police on 101, quoting incident number C:14:c:047310.