A CAT has given birth to four kittens just weeks after being shot several times with an air rifle and left for dead.

The black and white cat was discovered by Sarah Barker, a 44-year-old carer from Marchwood, who found her hiding in a neighbour's garden.

She was frail, unable to walk and had blood all over her face and paws.

Sarah suspected the animal had been hit by a car and took her to Seadown Veterinary Services in Frost Lane, Hythe.

She said: "I knew something wasn't right as soon as I saw her, poor little thing.

"I gently placed her in one of my own cat's travel baskets and took her straight down to Seadown. There so much blood I didn't feel it was right to even take the basket home. I felt so dreadfully sorry for her."

The cat, who has been named Hope, was in so much pain she needed a large amount of analgesic before she could be examined and X-rayed.

Veterinary practices have been hit by the lockdown but are still able to treat emergency cases under rules laid down by the government and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Seadown vet Emma Owen said: "I was shocked when I looked at the X-rays and saw three air gun pellets.

"The poor little creature had been shot three times - two of the pellets were in her neck and the other was sitting in the roof of her mouth."

One of the pellets had caused nerve damage, restricting the cat's mobility.

Emma, who managed to remove all three, added: "After a day or so of pain relief and antibiotics she started to eat and she is now able to use her leg normally."

Hope was not wearing a collar and had not been microchipped, suggesting she was either a stray or had been abandoned.

Emma said: "She's very fortunate to have no lasting problems from her injuries and I do hope she finds a really good and loving home. She certainly deserves it."

Anyone wishing to adopt Hope and her kittens should contact the Southampton branch of Cats Protection, which is currently looking after them.

They will be available for rehoming once the kittens are more than eight weeks old and the coronavirus-related block on adoptions has ended.

In the past five years more than 800 cats in the UK have been shot with air weapons.