An angry cat owner has spoken of her dismay after her beloved pet was shot with what is thought to have been an air rifle.

Six-year old tabby Tally, below, was targeted in Easton, near Wickham Market, some time on Friday.

Last night his owner, who did not want to be named, condemned those who carried out the cruel attack.

She said: “He’s usually a very friendly cat but on Friday he was being particularly fussy. I stroked down the front of his chest and I realised he had something matted in his fur. On closer inspection it was blood.

“When I picked him up to feel what it was I could see that there was something sticking out of a wound. My husband took him to the vets and they pulled out an air rifle pellet.”

Tally – who is named after a type of whisky – is thought to have been injured between 7am and 5pm on Friday. His owner continued: “Nothing like this has ever happened before. It is a very friendly village and there are lots of people here with pets. The police have said that judging by the type of pellet the gun would have had a sight – so it was a distant shot.

“We’re just grateful it didn’t hit him in a different place. Otherwise he might no longer be with us. He’s part of the family. He is a lovely, very well natured cat. We spend a lot of time making a fuss of him.”

The staff at Castle Vets in Framlingham were able to remove the pellet without the need for an operation and Tally is now back home and on the road to recovery.

His owner said: “He seems to be healing quite well, which is good. He doesn’t have to stay in doors but he’s choosing to do that himself at the moment. It’s a terrible thing to have happened and I would urge whoever it was to stop. Tally is part of our family. They wouldn’t want someone taking pot shots at someone they cared about.”

A spokeswoman for Suffolk police confirmed they were investigating the attack, along with an incident where a window appears to have been smashed by an air weapon pellet.

The property, in The Street, Easton, was damaged between 4pm last Wednesday and 9.10am on Monday.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101.