Pet cat hit 13 times with pellets

Cheeky is one of four cats who live with Mrs Molyneux and her family

A pet cat was shot 13 times with shotgun pellets, police say.

Its owner Rachel Molyneux, from Broseley, near Telford, Shropshire, only realised Cheeky was hurt when he began to limp.

X-rays during a visit to the vet revealed the four-year-old's injuries - one pellet near his eye and the remainder lodged near his spine.

To save the black and white former rescue cat from more stress only one pellet from his leg has been removed.

'Soft as anything'

"He is lucky to have survived," Mrs Molyneux told BBC News.

"He hardly goes outside now. He's very nervous and the slightest noise scares him.

"We think it happened about a month ago but we have no idea who did it.

"He was a very wild cat and now he's gone as soft as anything but, after this, all that hard work may have gone."

Cheeky is one of four cats belonging to Mrs Molyneux, but she says no others have been injured.

West Mercia Police say they believe the shooting occurred in Broseley about a month ago and want any witnesses to get in touch.