A Chichester woman has expressed her shock and devastation after her beloved cat was shot on New Year’s Eve. Elisha Rowland, a resident of Minerva Heights, was left “absolutely traumatised” when she discovered her pet, Heskey, had been injured.
At around 8:30 pm, Elisha opened the back door to let Heskey into the kitchen. The cat jumped onto the kitchen counter and nudged her hand. It was only when she looked down that she realized her hand was covered in blood. Upon inspecting Heskey, Elisha saw a large, open gash above his ear.
Initially, Elisha thought Heskey might have injured himself on barbed wire, so she cleaned the wound herself. However, when she picked him up, she noticed what she believed was a “gigantic tick” on his side. After struggling to remove it with tweezers, Elisha was shocked to discover that it was actually a pellet.
She is still unsure whether the gash on his head was also caused by a gunshot or if it was a different injury.
A neighbor later contacted Elisha, showing her doorbell footage of a man carrying an air rifle on the same night. However, since the footage did not directly show the shooting, police stated that it did not constitute enough evidence for further action.
Heskey, a two-year-old cat named after footballer Emile Heskey, is now recovering from the incident, but Elisha expressed how deeply it had affected her. “I’m absolutely traumatised, devastated. It’s such a shame—he’s the most loving cat. There was no reason for this to happen. He was just out enjoying the outdoors, in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Elisha added that Heskey is still visibly shaken by the attack and is now hiding, clearly affected by the traumatic experience.
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