A CAT whose kidneys and bowel were punctured after being shot by a crossbow lived to fight another day thanks to the tireless work of vets - but his owner admits he’s definitely used up more than one of his nine lives.

Badly-injured Sooty was taken to Vets4Pets, in Wilthorpe, by his owner, Stuart Benson, 72, from Darfield, who found him cowering in the wheelie bin.

Stuart told the Chronicle: “When we looked at him we thought that he had an arrow sticking out from a bow and arrow.

“But when we looked closer, we realised that he had been hit by a crossbow. We took him to the vets straight away.”

Louise Gwyn, practice manager, said: “We found the arrow had gone through his abdominal wall, with an exit wound close to his tail.

“Sooty was treated for shock and given immediate pain relief, the vet discussed the options with Sooty’s owners, they opted for a CT scan to be able to assess the damage so appropriate surgery could be carried out.

“The CT scan revealed the arrow had penetrated one of his kidneys and gone through his bowel.”

Stuart admits that it was a terrifying moment for the family, especially for his granddaughters 18-year-old Abbi and 17-year-old Izzy both of whom live with him.

“It was scary for the girls they were really shocked,” he added.

“You don’t wake up one morning and think that someone is ever going to shoot your cat with a crossbow.

“It’s the last thing that you expect.”

The damage was unlike anything the vets had seen before and husband and wife team Dr Peter Richards and Caroline Richards got straight to work.

“Peter and Caroline then had the major task of removing his damaged kidney and repairing his bowel,” Louise added.

“This had to be carried out carefully so as not to cause any contamination from his bowel.

“At each stage of surgery, the arrow was withdrawn carefully and slowly to avoid any further damage.”

Stuart has thanked the staff at the vets for their hard work and despite the bill now rising to almost £5,000, he says he had to pay it as Sooty is part of the family.

“Apparently Peter and Caroline came in on their day off to help out,” he said.

“It’s absolutely marvellous what they’ve been able to do.

“We’ve had Sooty for ten years he only cost £10 when we picked him up as a kitten.”

Sooty is now recovering at home much to the relief of Stuart and his granddaughters.

Louise added: “Sooty spent several days in the hospital during his recovery.

“Initially we were all on edge, as it was up to his body to fight the potential infection risk.

“Sooty did well during his recovery and took it all in his stride and lives to tell another day.”

Stuart added: “He’s doing well I think he’s probably lost about seven of his nine lives now...”

A spokesperson for the RSPCA told the Chronicle that animal cruelty incidents are more common this time of year.

They added: “We’re extremely saddened to see these distressing images and hope the cat is able to recover from this horrific attack.

“It must have been terribly upsetting for Sooty’s owners.

“We receive hundreds of calls to investigate weapon attacks every year and sadly cats and wildlife are usually the animals most often affected simply because they are out in the open with no one to protect them.

“We’d urge anyone with information about this callous incident to call our appeals line on 0300 123 8018.”