£500 reward offered to find who shot Jack the cat in Mansfield

Jack the cat is currently fighting for his life at Park Hill vets after being shot with what police believe to be an air weapon in Meden Vale yesterday (Thursday, February 13).

The moggie had to have extensive surgery after the pellet entered his body through the stub of his tail.

Owners Mark and Jan Sears, known in the community for running the Vinyl Passion Music Room, have been rescuing and rehoming cats for 20 years and say the incident has ‘broken their hearts’.

To make matters worse, Jan was recently diagnosed with incurable peritoneal cancer.

Mark, of Prest Avenue, said: “Jan and Jack are inseperable and this has devastated her. My grief is inexplicable.

“We have been to visit Jack as he would not eat- as soon as he saw Jan he burst into life purring.

“She took his favourite foods and he was eating in no time. It was very hard to leave him behind- his brother Squeak is missing him terribly, looking all over the house for him.

“I just want to bring this sick individual to justice.”

Inspector Nick Butler, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "We received a report from a Meden Vale resident, just before 10.20am on Thursday, February 13 that a cat had been shot with an air rifle.

“This is an awful incident and I cannot imagine how the family must be feeling.

“We will be doing everything we can to identify the person responsible and bring them to justice. If anyone has any information please let us know.

"It's not known where the incident happened exactly but it's believed to have happened within the last 24 hours.

"The cat suffered substantial injuries and is currently in the vets receiving treatment."

Anyone with any information relating to this incident is asked to call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 208 of 12 February 2020.

You can also Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.