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A cat has died after its owner found it with an air rifle pellet in its neck bone in his Northampton garden.

Owner Steven Gray is now calling for other cat owners in the Blackthorn area to be on their guard.

The cat, called Sofa, died on Wednesday after emergency treatment and the RSPCA is investigating the incident.

Mr Gray said: "As an owner you know you could come home to find your cat run over, but you never imagine you are going to find your cat shot."

He said: "The whole event is horrible.

"The RSPCA are brilliant going round knocking on doors to warn people. They need to know there's someone out there shooting cats so they can keep their animals in.

"We had five cats, now we've got four and we're keeping them in."

The RSPCA said it was a horrendous crime and that the cat suffered tremendously.

"The vet said the pellet had paralysed the cat, making it almost impossible for her to move," Mr Gray said.