Police are on the hunt for a man seen walking away from the area holding a rifle (Picture: SWNS)

Police are on the hunt for a man seen holding a gun after apparently killing a cat.

He was spotted holding a rifle as he walked through Stroud, Gloucestershire, moments after Percy was shot.

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His owner, Melangell Penrhys, took Percy to the vet but he later died from his injuries.

Police said that he had airgun pellets lodged in his body and have launched a search for the man.


He was spotted at 9.30am on May 31 in the Devereux Crescent area of suburb Ebley.

Percy, a British short-haired, ragdoll cross was popular in the area and distinctive because he only had one eye after being knocked down.

Melangell Penrhys with Percy (Picture: SWNS)

Mrs Penrhys said: ‘Percy was a very friendly cat who was well known in the neighbourhood, he would pop in and out of people’s gardens.

They are also looking for a white car that was seen in the area shortly after Percy was gunned down (Picture: SWNS)

‘If someone didn’t like him, I don’t know why they didn’t just shoo him away instead of shooting him.’

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Melangell, who lives with her eleven-year-old son Morvan on adjacent Foxmoor Lane said she received the shocking call from Stroud Welfare Service around an hour later.



She said she had not seen Percy since 8pm on May 30, when he had gone out – but did not suspect anything was wrong until she received the call.

”I rushed to the vets to find Percy in a lot of pain and I told them to do anything they could,’ she said.

An x-ray confirmed that the cat had been shot in the abdomen (Picture: SWNS)

An x-ray at Clockhouse Vets confirmed Percy had been shot in the abdomen but later died and the Penrhys family buried him in their garden.

A police spokesman said: ‘We are seeking any information on the male in this picture and possible identification of the white vehicle, which was in the vicinity at the time of the offence.

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‘The large grey male cat was found in a resident-built cat shelter in the front garden of a house.

‘The cat had been subjected to a pellet from an air rifle. The cat was last seen fit and well at 8pm, Tuesday May 30.

‘The cat was taken to the vets and a pellet was found in the abdomen of the cat. He died at 12.54pm on Wednesday May 31.’