‘It’s just downright cruel’: Animal charity worker 'shocked' after cat shot in Cork town

A Cork animal charity worker has described how she was shocked to the core after a feral cat was shot in a Cork town.

Jackie Graham of the Community Cats Network, a Cork-based charity, said they received a call last Wednesday seeking assistance after a feral cat had been injured.

Speaking to Patricia Messinger on C103's Cork Today Show, Jackie detailed how the cat was being looked after and fed by a group of workers in a Cash and Carry in Mallow.

The animal was showing signs of an injury and it was thought it may have been hit by a car.

The charity, which is mainly a trap, neuter and release service, brought the cat to the vet, where the extent of its injuries were revealed.

“When the vet rang me, the vet was shocked, I was shocked....the cat had been shot,” explained Jackie.

The animal had suffered significant injuries to its leg following what animal rescue groups believe was a result of being shot by a pellet gun.

Jackie said that there was no option, but to put the cat to sleep saying that people can’t expect a cat that’s after living wild all his life to be able to adapt into a household situation and nor could it survive in the wild with three legs.

“With a pet cat, you have options, you can amputate a leg, the cat can be kept inside. With a feral cat, it’s a bit of a different situation. They are a wild animal.

“You have to respect their right to live the only way they know how. 

“Unfortunately we had to make the decision to put the cat to sleep,” she said.

The Cork animal charity worker said she had never come across a situation where a cat was shot.

“Every now and again we come across a situation that, even to us, and we are used to dealing with things, it shocks us to the core. This was definitely one of those,” she said.

“It’s just downright cruel. I just don’t understand the mentality that someone would want to cause that kind of suffering,” she added.