Whiteley family 'devastated' after beloved cat Casper shot in the face leaving him without an eye

A WHITELEY family has been left ‘devastated’ after their beloved cat was shot in the face – resulting in him having an eye removed.
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Primary school teacher Catherine Mace was sorting through some work at home at around 4.45pm on Friday (March 4) when her 11-year-old cat Casper left to roam in some of the woodland behind their garden, as he often did.

But less than an hour later Catherine and her three children were ‘horrified’ when Casper returned to their home in Buchan Avenue with his eyeball hanging out of its socket and blood ‘dripping down’ his face.

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Casper the cat from Whiteley after an operation to remove his eye. Picture: Catherine MaceCasper the cat from Whiteley after an operation to remove his eye. Picture: Catherine Mace
Casper the cat from Whiteley after an operation to remove his eye. Picture: Catherine Mace
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They rushed him to Companion Care vets in Park Gate as quickly as they could. Initially vets thought Casper had been hit by a car and he was kept overnight so that he could be operated on first thing in the morning.

However, halfway through the procedure they realised something more sinister had occurred.

‘The vets called me and said they’d pulled a pellet from his eye socket,’ Catherine, 45, told The News.

‘They said he must have been shot. One of the girls who works there is familiar with farms and guns and said it looked too big to be from a BB gun – it’s about 1cm in diameter.

The pellet removed from Casper the cat. Picture: Catherine MaceThe pellet removed from Casper the cat. Picture: Catherine Mace
The pellet removed from Casper the cat. Picture: Catherine Mace

‘I just couldn’t believe it, who would do such a thing?

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‘And I can’t believe this happened while it was still light, at a time when there would have been children out.’

Luckily the operation to remove Casper’s eye and the pellet was a success and he was able to return home on the Saturday.

Since then he has been on pain medication and isn’t allowed back out for 10 days.

She added: ‘We are devastated but it’s good that he’s home safe with us.

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‘He seems to be doing well but I am a bit nervous about him going out again.’

It comes after a Fareham cat, Simba, was left in ‘critical condition’ when he was shot with an air rifle in November last year.

A spokeswoman from Hampshire police confirmed the incident with Casper had been reported.

She said: ‘This incident is under investigation and we will follow all reasonable lines of enquiry available to us to determine the circumstances.

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‘If anyone has any information that may assist our enquiries, including dash cam footage from the area at the time, Ring Doorbell footage or private CCTV, they should call 101 quoting reference 44220089463.’

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