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Cat shot in head with crossbow bolt in St Helens Cat shot in head with crossbow bolt in St Helens
(about 4 hours later)
A cat has been shot through the head with a crossbow bolt in Merseyside. A cat shot in the head with a crossbow bolt in Merseyside has made a "miraculous" survival after four hours of surgery.
The ginger tomcat was found with a 12in (30.5cm) bolt embedded in his skull after being attacked near his home in Sutton, St Helens. Spike was found with a 12in (30.5cm) bolt embedded in his skull near his home in Sutton, St Helens, on Tuesday.
The cat's owner called police after neighbours told her it had been fired at on Tuesday. The bolt was removed and has been retained by police for forensic tests.
Officers found the eight-year-old, called Spike, at about 1600 BST. It underwent a four-hour operation to have the bolt removed. Vet Catriona O'Brien of Alder Veterinary Centre, which carried out the operation, said it did not know how the bolt missed Spike's vital organs.
The bolt has been retained by police for forensic tests. "It went in at the right of his sinuses and pinned his tongue down and then came out of the back his neck somehow missing his brain and his jugular vein," she added.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact police. "We have not had to deal with a crossbow attack on a cat before and it is shocking.
"Unfortunately we see many cats shot at by airguns."
It has emerged that a previous cat belonging to Spike's owner was killed by a shotgun pellet four years ago.
Anyone with information about the attack on Spike, who was found at about 1600 BST, is asked to contact police.