A PET cat was shot and kicked by yobs during a shocking incident in Poole last week.

Moggy Buddy was left battered, bruised and barely able to walk following the savage attack on a green outside a home in the Sterte area.

The cat’s shocked owner Jack Bennett found him bleeding from a wound caused by a pellet fired from an air rifle.

And when vets shaved the hair on the six-year-old cat’s stomach they found it was black and blue from being kicked.

Mr Bennett, 40, who works as an ambulance driver, said: “He came back in the morning and he normally comes right through the cat door.

“But he could barely walk.

“When I took a closer look he had also been hit with a ball-bearing pellet because there was a small hole from which he was bleeding out of.

“I took him to the vets and they said he was shot with some sort of a projectile.

“They said it was most likely an air gun or BB gun.

“He was also struck or kicked in the gut multiple times. We know that due to the heavy bruising to the stomach and ribs.

“I believe it happened on the green near my home as that is where he normally ventures off to in the early morning or night.

“All I can think of is maybe it is rampant kids thinking it might be a funny thing to do.”

Mr Bennett called the attack “disgusting”.

“I think it’s absolutely disgusting how some people can think it is fine to be so evil to an innocent animal,” he said.

“I really don’t know what goes through some people’s heads.

“I wish those responsible would own up and explain why they did it.

“They also need help because they have something wrong with them.”

Buddy’s vets treatment cost almost £500 which is mostly covered by pet insurance.

Mr Bennett reported the attack to the police, who are investigating.

A cat was put to sleep during the summer after it was shot with an air rifle in Oak Road, Alderholt sometime between 11am and 11.30am on Thursday, August 15.

In June, a female cat was shot in Hainault Drive, Verwood.

Officials from the RSPCA have called for tighter air gun controls.

The animal welfare charity revealed there were 64 gun attacks on animals in the South West last year.

As well as mandatory licensing, the charity is calling for a range of measures to tackle the problem of air guns.