PET owners in a Hampshire community have been urged to be on guard after a beloved pet cat was brutally shot.

Katie Sibley’s cat Kitty was shot with an air rifle at close range and had to be put down due to the severity of her injuries.

The shooting in Rownhams follows a spate of similar incidents in the area earlier this year, which resulted in two other cats being put down.

Katie, 21, was given 14-year-old Kitty as a present by her parents Sandra and Brian on her seventh birthday.

A seriously-injured Kitty hobbled into Katie’s family home in Upper Toothill Road in Rownhams on Monday afternoon, where her father found the injured animal.

Thinking she may have been hit by a car, they then took her to a vet who told them she had been shot with an air rifle.

Katie’s sister Amy said: “I didn’t think she was that bad at first because she just had some blood on her leg and then when we went to the vet they said that she had shattered a bone.”

And despite the best efforts of the vet, she had to be put down due to the extent of her injuries.

Katie, who works for a charity, said: “The vet said it was a deliberate shooting because Kitty was shot at very close range.

“Everyone in the family is very distraught and we cannot believe this has happened.

“Kitty was a lovely cat, with a beautiful nature and loved by everyone.

“She was part of our family, yet some wicked, horrible person took her life away. I cannot believe anyone could be so evil to shoot my beautiful cat.”

Police are investigating the shooting, but it is not clear whether Kitty’s death is linked to other similar incidents.

In May, the Daily Echo reported that six-year-old tabby Toby had to be put down after being shot by an air gun in Hillyfields, while another cat also had to be put to sleep after suffering similar injuries in Nutshalling Avenue.

Last year and earlier this year, a number of cats were shot at nearby Nursling and some died as a result of their injuries.

A spokesman for the RSPCA said the charity had received ten calls about air gun attacks in Hampshire this year.

The spokesman added: “Every year the RSPCA is bombarded with calls from the public reporting cases of animals that have been seriously injured or killed after being shot by an air gun.

“Cats are particularly vulnerable, because they are out in the open with no one to protect them.

“These attacks can be deliberate by people who just don’t care about hurting animals or are deliberately targeting animals because they consider them a nuisance.”

Anyone with information can contact Hampshire police on 101.