A pet lover has run up vet's bills of more than £1,000 after her cat was shot by a mystery marksman.

Dusty, a six-year-old moggie was badly wounded by someone with an airgun in the fields behind High Ongar Primary School.

Now his owner, London Ambulance Service paramedic Heather Casselden, is keeping a vigil for her pet as he hovers between life and death and the bills mount.

Ms Casselden, who lives in The Street, said: "Dusty seemed to be making a good recovery but then he had a relapse and had to go back to the vet's.

Now, thank God, he is improving again. The vet's bills are well over £1,000 and are rising but, luckily, the cat is insured so I should be OK.

"What I think of the person who could do this to my baby is unprintable. It was so cruel. Even a cat has the right to live in peace.

''I hope the police manage to catch whoever did it but, in the end, all I want is Dusty back."

Dusty was shot in the back but the pellet lodged in his bladder. He managed to crawl home and was found crying out in pain.

He was taken to an animal surgery at Norton Heath where vets held out little hope of him surviving.

An operation seemed to have improved his condition but he has since deteriorated.

Pc Chris Caten, of Ongar, this week appealed to Gazette readers for information about the shooting, which is believed to have happened at about noon on June 19.

He said: "This was a cruel attack and we're anxious to find who was responsible because this sort of thing could escalate and anyone could be hurt.

''We'd treat any information given to us in confidence."

The cat was shot as balloons were being popped at the village school. Teachers heard a different sounding noise and remarked upon it.

Please give any information to Pc Caten on 01277 362013.

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