A FATHER-of-two has been left counting the costs after his cat was found with injuries that resembled a “gun shot wound” or a wound from an attack.

Neil Chantry of Sowerby, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, said he was left with a £360 vet bill after Hope was discovered with serious injuries.

Mr Chantry said the cat, who is around six-years-old, had managed to make her way back to his garden, despite suffering from heavy bleeding.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Hope had to have six staples

Mr Chantry, who is the father of 12-year-old Madison and 16-year-old Megan, said both of his daughters had been left “upset” by the apparent attack.

He said: “They were both very upset when I informed them that Hope had been injured.

“They desperately wanted to come back to mine to see her.”

He said Megan, who was diagnosed with autism, was left especially affected by the incident.

Speaking about the discovery, Mr Chantry said: “Hope went out on the evening the night before, she then came back in the morning.

“I went out to see her in the garden where I saw her on the patio pouring blood.

“She continued bleeding and I went to take her to the vets at 7.20am.

“She was there all day because they had to staple her up in six different places and she was losing a lot of blood.”

Mr Chantry said it had been the first time that Hope had been subject to an attack.

He said: “Because I was at the vets so early, the incident meant I incurred a £120 out of hours fee.

“Initially when I took her in, it looked like she had been shot, but then when I went to pick her up at the end of the day, they said she could have been attacked by a small dog.”

Mr Chantry added that he had not reported the incident to police, as he was unsure of the circumstances surrounding her injuries, but said he would now encourage other owners to report similar incidents.

He added “I’d suggest to other people to be more pro-active and go to the police straight away, and at least then it is reported. Hope is getting there – it’s all started to go back to normal, bruises and swelling is going down.”

“On social media three or four days before, someone said that somebody had maliciously put an elastic band around another cat’s neck.

He added: “There is obviously people in the area doing this.”