Somewhere between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Leo was shot in Kirkstall.

Kirsten Walters was shocked to discover her cat had been injured.

"Leo didn't come home for food on Wednesday night or Thursday morning which is unusual as he loves food," she said.

"When he came home on Thursday night he was carrying his leg and I thought something was wrong. He's a bit of a show pony so I didn't think too much of it and I thought I'd just see how he'd go over the weekend.

"When it still wasn't better on Monday I took him to The Vet Group and they did an x-ray straight away.

"I thought it was just a broken leg but when they said he'd been shot by a .22 I got such a shock."

The x-ray of Leo's front right leg showed the bullet which shattered his leg was a .22 calibre bullet, the same kind found in Port Fairy cat Carrots who was shot in Port Fairy between Thursday night and Friday morning last week.

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Putting Leo down was not an option for the family so the nine-year-old had his leg amputated on Tuesday morning.

"I can't believe someone could be so cruel," Miss Walters said.

"Leo doesn't travel far from home so it's very concerning someone did this so close to home.

"I'd love to have some answers but we'll probably never get them.

"I hope people are more aware of their cats and can keep an eye and an ear out for this behaviour."

Leo is expected to return home on Thursday afternoon.

Koroit Police are being contacted about the incident.

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