A Bradford woman has expressed outrage and sadness after her beloved cat was apparently shot and had to be put down.

Three-year-old Jaffa had her life cut short after being she was seemingly shot with what is suspected to be an air rifle, late last Wednesday, June 20.

Jaffa’s owner, Nicola Banks, 26, of Ravenscliffe, said: “She [Jaffa] was a little sweetheart. She didn’t have a nasty bone in her body and she certainly didn’t deserve this. I just wish I could get my hands on whoever did it.”

She said her neighbour found Jaffa on Thursday, June 21 under a bush in their garden. The cat was unable to walk.

After Mrs Banks brought Jaffa inside, she tried to get her to stand on her back legs, but they kept collapsing and it was at this point she took her pet to vets, PDSA.

The vet found a pellet hole which had affected Jaffa’s spine, leaving the cat paralysed.

Mrs Banks said the vet told her the kindest option was to put the cat to sleep.

She added: “I’ll truly miss her and the circumstances of how we lost her just makes it all the worse.”

The incident was reported to police and Mrs Banks also shared the tragic story on social media to warn other pet owners to be vigilant.

Her post on Facebook was widely shared and was met with an outpouring of sympathy and anger at whoever carried out the suspected attack.

One commenter said: “That’s so sad. I’m really furious for you, how dare someone hurt a beautiful fur baby. That is so cruel, and I hope karma bites them hard. Once again, so sorry for your loss.”

Others highlighted how they’d also suffered similar circumstances with their pets, including an instance of a cat being poisoned.

There were claims that airgun attacks on pets had occurred before in the BD10 area. A commenter on the post said: “Oh my God, they started again. Last year at least 2 cats died because of shootings and mine, which was pregnant, lost her kitty.”

Another said that her cat had been shot in the back in the area just last month. She urged that people reported these kinds of incidents to the police as she said she’d been told they need more people to keep logging it.

Inspector Diane Collins, who leads the Bradford East Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This was reported to have occurred in the Ravenscliffe area between 9am and 8pm on 21 June.

“No similar incidents have been reported to the team in the last month and we will be making some further enquiries in the area."

Animals are often the victims of air weapon attacks, according to the RSPCA. A spokesperson said: “On average, the RSPCA receives 900 calls a year reporting incidents of animals being shot by air weapons. Poor cats, like this one, are often targeted along with wild animals and birds.”

The spokesperson added that the charity is calling for mandatory licensing of airguns in England and Wales, as is the case in Scotland, where owners and users have been required to have a licence since the beginning of last year. Mrs Burns added: “I have so much praise for the PDSA and Ben (the vet who dealt with Jaffa) was so lovely with her, so gentle. He kept calling her little lady.”

Anyone with information which may assist the investigation is asked to contact police on 101, quoting the crime reference number 13180305970.

Or use the live chat facility on the West Yorkshire Police website.

Information can also be reported anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.