Cheshire cat learning to live with three legs after vicious air gun attack

A cat is learning to live with three legs after a cruel air gun attack forced his owner to amputate his leg. Four-year-old Stampy needed emergency surgery after the attack left his bone in pieces.

His owner Jo Godsall – who in a stroke of good fortune is a vet – carried out the surgery herself at Hampton Veterinary Centre near Malpas. Jo’s husband Simon raised the alarm earlier this month.

She said: “My husband is also a vet and we noticed something was wrong with Stampy’s elbow.

“X-rays revealed it was completely shattered to smithereens and while there was no sign of a pellet embedded in his leg, there were fragments of bone consistent with the impact of being shot with a pellet gun.

“I carried out the amputation surgery on him myself as unfortunately, there was nothing more that could be done to save his leg.”

“We’re almost three weeks post surgery now and he’s already bounding around like nothing ever happened. Cats are very resilient and are able to cope perfectly well with just three limbs.”

The mindless attack gave Jo an unwanted new experience – treating a pet deliberately injured by another person. Her experience in her profession leaves her “pragmatic” about operating on her own animals when the need arises.

“Sadly you can’t do anything about the stupidity of others who think it’s OK to harm animals with weapons.

“Luckily Stampy is doing well – it could have been a lot worse. But people need to realise the consequences of their actions and the harm it can cause to pets and their owners.”

Jo has worked for the Willows Veterinary Group for two years – where earlier this year staff had to remove a cat’s eye after it was show twice in the face. Sadly, these incidents are not as rare as people think.

The RSPCA encourages all members of the public to report cases of suspected misuse of an air weapon against animals by calling 0300 1234999.