A CAT was left fighting for her life at the weekend after she was shot in Darwen.

Two-year-old Sox was let out on Friday morning to play in the sun.

But when her owner Ben Richardson returned to his Cavendish Street home at 1pm, he heard Sox crying and discovered her lying in a pool of blood.

Ben, 27, rushed the pet, who is also the mother of his kitten, Tilly, to his vet's.

They found she had been shot by a pellet gun and that the bullet had entered her abdomen.

Vets told Ben that Sox needed an emergency operation, which she underwent at a bigger practice on Friday night.

Ben said: “I got back from work, I could hear her crying and I found her lying there with blood everywhere.

“I just can't believe somebody would do it.

“I could understand if somebody threw a bucket of water at her, or shooed her away with a broom, but not shoot her. It's sick.”

The assembly fitter said he struggled to sleep worrying about his pet, while Tilly pined for her mum.

He said: “I was up at six on Saturday morning hoping she was all right.

“Tilly looked lost. They normally sleep together downstairs but she slept on my bed on Friday because she's not been on her own before.”

After another 24 hours wait, Ben was told yesterday the operation had been a success and that Sox could return home.

The surgery cost £350, and Ben does not have any pet insurance.

But he said he was relieved just to know Sox was okay and lucky enough to be alive.

Sox was treated at Abbeydale Veterinary Centre, Railway Road, Darwen and was taken home by Ben yesterday.

He said: “It’s a big relief that she is doing well.”

A spokeswoman for Abbeydale Veterinary Centre said: “We are hoping Sox will have a full recovery.

"The pellet itself had gone through her abdomen and liver.

"The owner brought her in pretty quickly and we operated on her.

“She is comfortable but is not very trusting and may be mentally scarred.”