Cat dubbed ‘miracle moggy’ after being shot for second time

O'malley at Victoria animal hospital
O'malley recovering from his horrific ordeal at the Blue Cross animal hospital in Victoria, London.

A young cat is lucky to be alive after being shot for a second time by cruel thugs.

Blue Cross vets say the airgun pellet narrowly missed poor O'malley's brain after the two-and-a-half-year-old received emergency surgery at our animal hospital in Victoria, central London, earlier this month.

O’malley, from Clapton, east London, had returned home to his owners with a swollen cheek and a bloody eye. Thinking he had been in a fight, Christine Smith brought the injured cat to our hospital on behalf of her worried mum, O'malley's elderly and housebound owner.

To investigate the injuries, Blue Cross vet Lawrence Crossfield sedated O’malley for X-rays. To his shock, he discovered a metal airgun pellet inside O’malley’s skull. The pellet had entered through O’malley’s eye and was stuck in the tissue at the back of his throat.  

xray of a cat's skull
An X-ray showing the bullet lodged in O'malley's head.

Lawrence said: “It is incredibly lucky the pellet didn’t head straight into O’malley’s brain, which would have killed him outright. We had to remove the remaining eye and the pellet from his throat. It is just shocking that someone could do this to an innocent animal. We hope to see O’malley make a full recovery and get on the best he can with his remaining eye.”

Incredibly, this was the second time O’malley had survived being shot. He also needed emergency treatment after he was shot in 2017, when he was just eight-months-old. Bone in his leg was shattered by the pellet and Blue Cross vets had to remove the dangerous broken metal pieces and repair his leg with a pin.

Christine said: “I was horrified to hear O’malley had been shot. I am appalled that someone has done this to him again. My mum and I are so grateful for the swift action of the vets and for the aftercare he received to care for him and help him start the road to recovery after his terrible ordeal.”

Blue Cross welcomed the swift passing of The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill, this week. When enacted, it will increase maximum prison sentences for animal cruelty from six months to five years.

— Page last updated 14/12/2021