Caught on camera: The sickening moment a thug took out cat's eye with a catapult then BRAGGED to police about being 'a very good shot'

Craig Nunn launched a glass marble at Misty the cat from point blank range

Defence lawyer said he 'is a dog person' and had a bad incident with a cat



The pet's eye had to be removed and Nunn was jailed for eight weeks

The 11-year-old cat was left with a partially paralysed face after the attack

West Mercia Police described the incident as mindless



This is the gruesome moment that a mindless thug left a cat needing surgery to remove one of its eyes after shooting it in the face with a catapult.

Craig Nunn, 28, was caught on CCTV cycling up to the cat and firing a glass marble into its face from point blank range.

When police tracked him down and arrested him, he even boasted to officers during an interview that he is a 'very good shot', meanwhile in court his lawyer described him as 'a dog person'.



Nunn has been jailed for eight weeks at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

Mindless attack: This is the moment Craig Nunn fired a glass marble into the face of Misty the cat, leaving the 11-year-old needing surgery to remove an eye

The court heard that he had been shooting rabbits with the catapult when he passed the home of Misty’s owner Terry Ruff in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire.

He was caught on camera firing the marble at the cat as it sat on a wall from less than four feet away before casually cycling away.

The gruesome injuries Misty incurred forced it to have surgery to remove its eye

Misty, an 11-year-old tortoiseshell, had her left eye removed by a vet after the attack which happened at 4.50am on July 13.



West Mercia Police branded the unprovoked attack a 'mindless' act.

He was initially charged with causing criminal damage but the charge was later changed.



The cat was left with a fractured skull after being hit by the missile, leaving the owners with a £500 vet’s bill as they were not insured.



Jailing the father-of-three magistrate Trevor Burgess said Misty would suffer from her injuries for the rest of her life.

He told Nunn: 'The animal has suffered the loss of an eye, the loss of an eye will affect a cat for the rest of its life.

'The offence is so severe that only a custodial sentence can be justified.



'We also disqualify you from owning, keeping, partaking in the keeping or having any part in the keeping of a cat for the period of ten years.



'Because of the custodial sentence we can make no order for compensation, however this does not restrict the owners right to pursue compensation through the civil courts.'

Injured: Not only did Misty have to have an eye removed following the attack but the 11-year-old cat has also been left with a partially paralysed face During the hearing, prosecutor Peter Love told the court: 'He stopped and took out his catapult and a marble and fired at the cat. He saw the marble hit the animal, it fell off the wall and Nunn cycled away.

'He admitted that he had been "stupid’" in interview, he said he wasn’t unable to understand his own actions and was able to provide no explanation for them.

'He admitted his actions were intentional, and said he was a "very good shot".

Thug: Craig Nunn outside Kidderminster Magistrates Court

'He said he didn’t like cats, having had a bad incident with a cat when he was younger and this cat looked like the one from his past.



Mr Love added: 'Misty does not enjoy being in the cage and the family are distressed by how stressed she is now.

'He said the family have now changed the way they treat their animals, being far less happy to let the, go out at night.

'He said Misty has suffered from paralysis on her face as well as the obvious loss of the eye.'



Owner Terry Ruff said the family were left 'disgusted' by Nunn’s actions.

But the cruel attacker could not explain why he had decided to inflict injury on the pet.



Pc Marc Ginder, of West Mercia Police, said Nunn was unable to offer any excuse as to why he had carried out the 'wanton act of cruelty'.

'I haven’t seen anything as mindless as this,' he said. 'When we spoke to him he agreed his actions were stupid but he didn’t really have an excuse for it.'

Charles Hobbs, defending Nunn, said: 'The defendant does not like cats, he is a dog person and has two dogs at home.



'He was scratched by a cat when he was young and has disliked them ever since. It was a moment of madness that he regrets.'



Nunn, of Stourport, was banned from having cats for 10 years.

Mr Nunn's sentencing came as it emerged that a second cat, a ginger kitten named Ron, survived after being shot in the head by thugs with an airgun.

Recovering: 11-week-old kitten Ron was left with a pellet embedded in his neck after being shot with an air rifle

The 11-week-old, named after Harry Potter character Ron Weasley, was found injured in a garden in Driffield, East Yorkshire.



A centimetre-size pellet had narrowly missed his eye and is still lodged in his neck. He was taken to vets and two weeks on has made a remarkable recovery.



Clare Sutton, of Priory Vets, said: 'If it had been a centimetre either way it could have been a lot worse. The pellet could have hit his eye or the soft tissue close to his brain.



'He’s very lucky that it didn’t cause any long-term damage. When he was brought in, he was in a bad way - very thin, because he hadn’t eaten in quite a few days.

'We examined his mouth and found a wound and found the hole next to his eye and worked out that he had been shot.

On the mend: Foster carer Julie McManus says that the kitten has made a remarkable recovery in the space of just a couple of weeks

Near miss: The kitten still bears the scars of the shot which narrowly missed his eye

'We could feel there was a lump under his chin, which is probably the pellet and inflammation, but decided that he was too young to operate on and because it wasn’t causing him any trouble at the moment, we could wait until he was a bit older.

'We syringe-fed him and the next day he was a lot better, even quite playful. He’s a lovely little thing.'



Ron is now recuperating with a foster carer in Bridlington until he can be adopted if its owners don't come forward.



RSPCA shop worker Julie McManus, who is currently caring for him, said: 'He is the most loving kitten you could ever meet, he loves to be fussed over and purrs his head off.



'He doesn’t appear to be in any pain, which is great considering what happened to him.

