Cat is scalded with boiling water

Samantha Simmons, who lives in the Causeway Meadows area of the city, spoke out about the sickening incident to urge other local cat owners to be vigilant and to report any similar incidents to police.

She revealed how her cat, two-year-old Diesel, returned home on Saturday evening (March 11) covered in bleeding sores.

“He came back in about tea time and he had all these patches where he had no hair. He was bleeding and I thought he must have been in a cat fight,” Samantha explained.

“I phoned the vet and they told me to bring him in on Monday morning. I took him in and the vet said his wounds weren’t caused by a cat fight, but it looks more like someone threw boiling water over him - like someone had thrown hot water from a cup or a kettle round him.”

Diesel was left with serious injuries to his head and neck, his back and the top of one of his legs. He is now receiving treatment with antibiotics and will have to be taken back to the vets for further check-ups.

Samantha, who has had Diesel since he was just six weeks old, continued: “I’m absolutely raging. I can’t believe someone would pour boiling water over a cat deliberately. Surely no-one could be that cruel. If someone did this on purpose it’s an absolutely rotten thing to do.”

Stressing that she will be reporting the incident to police, Samantha added: “The vet said they’ve seen this sort of thing before - not where I live, but in other areas.

“I just want to know if it’s happened to anyone else’s cat in this area. I also just want to let other people know what happened and to ask them to report any similar incidents to the police.”