'Help find the savages who did this to my cat' - plea by devastated Preston nurse

Four-year-old family pet Sonny had to be put down by a vet after a foot-long stick was rammed into its rear end, causing catastrophic damage to internal organs.

Now Charlotte Rogers and her boyfriend Alan Wood have issued an appeal for anyone who may have witnessed the sickening attack, or knows who carried it out, to contact the police.

"Whoever did this needs catching," said a tearful Charlotte at home in Walmer Bridge near Preston. "It takes a twisted type of person to do this to a poor animal.

"It has more than likely taken two or three people to really pin Sonny down do this with such brute force. It just ruptured everything inside him and he must have been in agony."

The attack happened sometime between 9pm and 10pm on Friday night, probably on a patch of shared open space between Sea View, School Street and Liverpool Old Road.

Charlotte, who has a six-year-old son, heard the animal crying at the back of her house and when she let him in she was horrified.

"There was a three or four inch piece of stick sticking out of his bum," she said. "You could tell he was in awful pain.

"When the stick was removed there had been a good eight inches inside him.

"We took him straight to the vet's and they did an ultrasound and said the stick had gone straight through him and everything in the way had just been ruptured.

"They had no option but to put him down. It was heartbreaking to see Sonny in such a state."

Alan said: "It was horrific. You don't expect anything like this in a village like Walmer Bridge. I've lived here for 30 years and it's a great little community.

"Someone out there must know what happened and who did this. During this coronavirus outbreak there wouldn't have been many people out, especially groups of people."

Charlotte got Sonny when he was about one and described him as "such a character."

She said: "He was such a happy little thing. Pets like him aren't just animals, they are more than that. They are part of the family.

"I can't think of anyone who would want to do anything so cruel. I've lived here for about a year and I work as a nurse. I do long hours and when I'm home I keep myself to myself.

"Who would do this to a loveable cat who was so friendly he would probably have gone up to them to be stroked?

"My son is only six and the cat was our only family pet. He's going to miss him so much. I've told him Sonny was poorly and has gone to heaven, but I haven't said anything else. It's too upsetting."

Anyone with information can contact police on 101.