A VET has released pictures of a cat shot by an air gun pellet.

The owners of Pippin, a 14-year-old cat, took her to

Hay Vets

after she became very subdued at her home in Cusop.

After being examined it was discovered that the cat has been shot by an air gun.

The pellet had travelled through her body, entering under her tail, passing through her abdomen, and ending up lodged in the skin over her rib cage.

Pippin's injuries required intensive treatment and lengthy surgery to repair the massive damage caused by the pellet, but Hay Vets say she is now recovering well. They have appealed for gun owners to use them responsibly.