Theresa Laing was puzzled when she returned home from a holiday to find her beloved tabby looking sorry for himself, with a badly swollen eye.

But when she inspected more closely she was shocked to see dried blood in the cat's bed, and immediately took the pet to the vets.

After the moggy had been checked out, Theresa was horrified to discover that her cat had been shot at and would have to loose his eye completely.

The 37-year-old said: 'When the vet said it looked like Timmy had been shot with an air rifle pellet I was a bit shocked. I'd never heard about anything like this happening before.

'In his opinion it looked like someone had aimed at him close range. It's terrible. I don't know why someone would do it.

'I can understand shooting pheasants when they are taken home to eat but not taking potshots at animals.'

But that wasn't Theresa's only concern. The operation to remove Timmy's eye cost in excess of £600.

Theresa, of Step Cottages, Gribble Lane, Chichester, added: 'I had to put it straight on the credit card. It's a lot of money.

'The pellet was lodged in Timmy's jaw but the vet said it is best to leave it there rather than try taking it out. I'm just glad he is alive.'

The mother-of-one hopes that the plight of her cat will envourage the owners of air rifles to think before they shoot.

And she is backing calls for tighter controls to be imposed on the ownership and use of such potentially lethal weapons.

She added: 'They are just not regulated and they should be more controlled.

'When I spoke to a police officer about it he said because Timmy is my property it is criminal damage.'

Her sentiment is echoed by Portsmouth South MP Mick Hancock, who has recently demanded tougher laws on air weapons.

Nearly 40 MPs from all parties have signed a petition calling on the government to bring in a registration scheme that makes gun owners liable for what happens with their air guns.