A pet owner has been left devastated after her cat was shot in the leg and left in agonising pain for hours.

Martha King, 45, from Ramsey Forty Foot, said her cat Rocky went missing for 24 hours on Wednesday, September 22 and appeared in the garden the next day in "horrible" pain.

Martha immediately took Rocky to the vet where an X-ray showed the cat's leg had a nasty wound. The leg had to be amputated later.

Cambs Times: Rocky and his sister Pebbles at home in Ramsey.Rocky and his sister Pebbles at home in Ramsey. (Image: MARTHA KING)

Martha said: "I let Rocky out as usual and he didn’t come back which was unusual, because he usually comes back for a nap at lunch time.

“We also usually keep him and his sister Pebbles in at night as we have a lot of foxes and badgers round here and we have had a cat attacked before.

"When he didn’t come home on Wednesday night, we tried not to worry too much, however, I got up on Thursday morning and saw him in the garden.

“I opened the door and saw him crawl away from me, and my heart began to sink as I picked him up and his back left leg was huge and swollen.

“He had tucked it under him and it looked like he had some puncture marks, so my first thought was he had been in a fight.

“I brought him in and he was in a really bad way, I got him to the vets immediately and he had an X-ray it showed he had a buckshot.

“Somebody had shot him, unfortunately due to the swelling Rocky’s leg had to be amputated which was devastating.”

Martha wants to raise awareness of the situation and is urging all cat owners in the area of Ramsey Forty Foot to be vigilant.

Martha reported the incident to police, however, at the current time, there is no investigation pending.

Martha said: “Rocky was in indescribable pain for a long period of time before being found and I think it is important to share his story.

"I would hate other cat owners to ever go through the same thing we have had to go through.

"We are just so glad that we still have Rocky with us."