A man whose cat had to be put down after it was shot with an air rifle has labelled those responsible as “monsters”.

Grandfather Brian Lloyd, of Stradbroke Road, Ipswich, said his family have been left “distraught” after Maisie, a seven-year-old black and white moggy, had to be put to sleep following the sickening shooting on September 6.

Vets found three pellets embedded in the cat, one which fractured her spinal cord.

Mr Lloyd, 74, urged other pet owners to be extra protective following the incident, adding: “Whoever did this must be a cat-hater. They’re monsters.

“Why would someone want to shoot a cat? If you don’t like cats there are other ways of keeping them out of your garden.

“But what worries me is that they could have shot children instead.”

Mr Lloyd took Maisie to Ryder-Davies & Partners in Woodbridge Road, Ipswich, after a passer-by found the stricken cat in a hedge outside their home.

Vets confirmed the cat had been shot three times by an air rifle – with X-ray images showing one pellet had fractured her spine.

The other two pellets were found lodged in the lower part of her body.

“We thought at first it was a car accident but we couldn’t believe it when we found out she had been shot by an air rifle three times,” Mr Lloyd said.

“We were told to bring Maisie back to the vets the next day but they said they couldn’t do anything to save her.

“They said she could never recover any use of her back and had to be put down. We are distraught. It devastated us. She was such a lovely cat.”

Mr Lloyd said Maisie’s death has been particularly hard to take for his grandchildren, Jessamy, five, and Freya, three.

“Maisie used to sleep on the end of their beds when they stayed over,” he added. “She was really good with our grandchildren. They loved her.”

Maisie was buried in the family’s back garden. The incident has been reported to the police.

“Apparently there’s a rumour going round that another cat has gone missing,” Mr Lloyd added. “So I think what happened to us should act as a warning to other cat owners in the area.”

Lucy Burrell, senior vet at Ryder-Davies & Partners, said the cat was paralysed after the pellet damaged her spine.

“A pet being shot isn’t that common but it is still more common than it should be. We get a handful of cases every year.”