13845/3CAT owner Madeleine Bastow-Coultis says she will leave no stone unturned to find the thug who shot her four-year-old black tom, Othello, with an air rifle.

Othello returned to Ms Bastow-Coultis' home in Wick Lane, Devizes, on Thursday morning and she immediately realised there was something wrong.

She said: "He didn't look good. His fur was matted in one spot but when I tried to look he hissed and growled, which is very unlike him."

She took Othello to the vet who investigated the wound and found that the air pellet had almost penetrated all the way through his body, missing his spine by millimetres.

Ms Bastow-Coultis said: "If it had hit his spine he would be dead. I cannot comprehend anyone doing something so stupid and cruel.

"If it was someone trying to discourage cats going into their garden, a water pistol would be more effective and more humane. I tend to think this is someone much younger and that is very worrying."

Ms Bastow-Coultis, who has been left with a bill for £250 to cover the treatment required by Othello, has reported the incident to the police.

She said: "I am so angry about this. I am not going to rest until I find out who has done this."

RSPCA spokesman Jo Barr said: "This appears to be a cowardly and senseless attack on a defenceless animal, and I would urge anyone with information about the person or people responsible to contact the police, before any other animals suffer."