A KITTEN is yet another victim in a spate of vicious attacks on cats in Ensbury Park.

A cruel animal abuser shot the six-month-old kitten with an air rifle, narrowly missing the young cat's vital organs.

Fortunately the black kitten survived.

Its owner - who asked not to be named - told the Daily Echo: "He was very, very lucky because it just missed his spine and internal organs."

The owner said after further investigations by the Ensbury Park Vets, it was shown that a pellet was lodged under the skin in the kitten's side.

"He wasn't unwell or anything," the owner added. "The bullet had basically just gone inside and lodged in the skin.

"I was horrified when the vet said he had been shot.

"I have lived in the area for more than 30 years and there has never been this level of problem. It's a fairly nice place to live.

"It is so distressing and we don't let him out because we're scared of him being hit again."

She added the kitten was recovering well after its ordeal, "thanks to the brilliant treatment by the vet".

The incident happened at Gorsecliff Road - just yards from where four-year-old Whisper was killed.

As previously reported, cherished Whisper was shot four times over the course of two-and-a-half years. The final attack, which happened at Glenmoor Close earlier this month, claimed the life of the pure white male cat.

Kathy Batten, Whisper's owner, told the Daily Echo she's been putting leaflets through residents' letterboxes advising them to keep their animals indoors.

She said: "I'm hoping we're going to find out who this maniac is.

"Nobody is letting their cats out," she added, speaking of the attack on the kitten. "Suppose the pellet had ricocheted and hit a child. It could have been much worse.

"And if someone knows who this is they are as bad as the person who is shooting the cats. This has been going on for two-and-a-half years and it's not good enough."

Anyone with information should call Dorset Police on 101, email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk, or visit dorset.police.uk quoting occurrence number 55170022908.