AN animal lover who took in a stray Bruton cat after it was shot by a pellet gun has described the hitman as evil and despicable.

Vets in Bruton dropped their fees to help pay for the one-year-old animal’s life-saving treatment and it is now recovering in its new home near Warminster.

The injured grey tabby cat was found by two elderly women who had been feeding it after it was clearly suffering.

Lyn Payne, from the Cats Protection League, heard about the animal’s plight and paid for some of its treatment on her credit card. She has now taken him in, naming him Thomas.

She said: “I was told by two elderly ladies about the poor cat being shot. They had been feeding him and felt I had to help.

“I describe the person who did this as evil, despicable and wicked. How can anyone do something like this?

“I spoke with the vet who treated Thomas and she said she had never seen anything like this before.”

The surgery carried out at Bruton Vets involved pinning the bone and stabilising it with an external wire structure.

Vet Charlotte Hilleary operated to remove a pellet and repair the fractured leg.

She said: “I’ve never seen one that caused such a bad injury. The cat was in a lot of pain.

“He would never have walked on that leg again without the surgery. It was a challenging operation.”

Thomas has to be kept in a pen at home during his recovery and is due for an X-ray to see how his leg is healing on December 5.

Mrs Payne said a team of Thomas’s admirers were fundraising to help pay for the treatment.

She continued: “The people at Bruton Vets have been wonderful – totally dedicated and caring.

“Thomas is beautiful. We have to keep him in a pen for a while but he is making progress.

“He’s still getting used to us but I am sure he’ll settle in with our other animals. I absolutely love him.”