Cat left fighting for life after vile thugs '˜strapped a firework to his legs'

Percy, an all-white tomcat, could lose both of his back legs following the attack which happened around the Park Crescent and Crewe Road area of Airedale on Saturday night.

His devastated owners, Johnathan and Charlotte Doyle, could now face the agonising decision to either have the four-year-old put to sleep, or face vets’ bills of more than £10,000 with months of surgery and treatment ahead of him.

Mr Doyle stood outside on his Park Crescent home on Saturday night to try and find Percy because he had not returned home, and at first thought he had just been hiding because of the fireworks being set off around the area.

He said: “I heard a meowing at about 10pm and I saw a group of people walk past covering their mouths as if they were going to be sick and that’s when I saw Percy over the other side of the wall.

“There was blood everywhere, wee did not know the extent of how bad it was until we got him to the vets, it was worse than I thought.

“All you could see was muscle and bone sticking out, it was awful. I was screaming blue murder.”

Percy has since undergone x-rays and scans and has been heavily sedated to help manage his pain.

Although now stable, the decision will be taken in the coming days to amputate one or both of his legs, however, with vets bills expected to soar above five figures, he may have to be put to sleep.

However, residents have rallied with one even offering a cash reward for the names of the culprits to be given to police.

In addition, a crowdfunding page has been set up to help pay for Percy’s treatment, which has so far pulled in more than £1,500.

Mr Doyle, who has two young children and two other cats, said: “The community have been brilliant, people are just outraged by this.

“We have thanked them for their kind words and helping to raise money, it’s not something we asked for, they have just done it.

“It’s just a case of getting the treatment done, or making decisions we don’t want to make.

“I think we’re both over the initial shock of what has happened and we are think about how we can get Percy home.

“We want these horrible, sick people who did this to be caught.

“They need to be brought to justice. As as soon as their names come out they will be shunned in this area.”

Meanwhile, anyone wishing to donate to Percy’s treatment can log onto www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/gemma-annal

Meanwhile, anyone with information is being asked to call police on 101 quoting reference number 0120 from November 5.