A CAT owner says his pet is lucky to be alive and not paralysed after being shot with an air rifle.

The callous attack on Paddy, a black-and-white cat from Oakdale, Poole, happened on Thursday. His owners, Graham and Christine Trickett did not know what had happened to him at first but could tell he was in a lot of pain when he ‘crawled through the cat flap’.

Following blood tests and X-rays, vets discovered a pellet from an air rifle lodged just half an inch away from Paddy’s spine.

He was operated on the next day and is now recovering from his ordeal.

“He’s a super cat and it broke our hearts when he was injured,” Graham said.

“It was absolutely devastating when he finally dragged himself home. He eats regularly and normally comes home every couple of hours, but that day had hadn’t come home for seven hours.

“When he managed to crawl through the cat flap, I couldn’t get anywhere near him he was in so much pain. We didn’t realise he’d been shot at first as there was absolutely no blood. We thought he’d done something to his rear leg.

“We were lucky as the pellet from the air rifle didn’t pierce his kidneys or his heart, but it was half an inch away from his spinal cord. It certainly would have paralysed him if it had hit him there.”

Graham and Christine have reported the incident to both the police and the RSPCA.

Graham said it was not the first air rifle attack on a cat in the area.

“It’s the first time a cat’s been shot in our road, but it’s happened to someone’s cat only a few roads away.

“If people are aiming air rifles at animals, they could start aiming at small kids if they’re not careful,” he added.

Both the RSPCA and the charity Cats Protection are calling for a change in the law on air guns, to bring England and Wales in line with the rest of the UK.

The charities want to see the law changed so it is illegal to buy, own or use an air gun without a licence.

The government is reviewing the regulation of air guns after schoolboy Ben Wragge, 13, was killed when an air rifle accidentally discharged in 2016.

Conservative peer Lord Black of Brentwood raised the issue in the House of Lords last month, highlighting the number of attacks on domestic animals.