Kitten joy for owner of mutilated cat

THE devastated owner of a cat found mutilated and dumped in a Wonford garden has been given two kittens by an Echo reader.

Leah Gibbins offered two of her newly-born kittens to young mum Zoe Hoare, after being left "horrified and heartbroken" by the Echo's report into the brutal attack last week.

Seven-month-old kitten Star was beheaded, skinned and dunked in water during the savage incident.

She was dumped in a garden in Burns Avenue – just a couple of doors away from Ms Hoare's home in Shakespeare Road.

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The cat was bought for Zoe's 21-month-old daughter Frankie, whose legs were in plaster casts for several weeks.

Echo reader Leah said she offered the kittens to replace the loss of Star.

The mum-of-six, from the St David's area of Exeter, said: "When I read the story in the Express & Echo, I thought it might have been our kitten that we had sold that had been hurt, as we had a litter of kittens a couple of months ago and one of them looked very similar to the one killed in Wonford.

"It turns out it wasn't the same cat but I still felt so heartbroken for the little girl and it only seemed fair that she had another cat.

"I was horrified by what happened. I'm a cat lover and breeding cats is a bit of an interest for me.

"These kittens will hopefully replace the loss of Star."

Ms Gibbins contacted police after reading the Echo's report and asked if she could donate the kittens to the family.

The young kittens, who have yet to be named, will go to their new home in around four weeks once they have been weaned from their mother.

Ms Hoare said she was delighted by the offer of the kittens.

"The house has felt so empty without Star around," she said.

"The lady rang the police and said she wanted to give Frankie the kittens – one of them looks like Star.

"It is something to look forward to."

The head of the mutilated kitten was found at the end of last week.

The grim discovery was made by workers on a building site in Shakespeare Road.

Police are still appealing for information about the savage cat attack.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting crime reference DE/12/8876.