"I get some people don't like cats - but don't just shoot them."

A beloved 14-month-old cat was shot outside his Sheffield home, leaving him with a shattered leg and his owner terrified about letting her animals outside.

Groucho was outside his home in Bradfield on Friday evening (September 25) when his owner, Samantha Sheldon, heard a ‘huge bang’ outside her home.

Groucho is a beloved 14 month old cat from Bradfield | Contributed

placeholder image — Groucho is a beloved 14 month old cat from Bradfield | Contributed

Samantha went outside to check, but found nothing.

It was only afterwards that they realised Groucho was badly hurt. The white cat appeared in front of them, hobbling towards the house with his right paw dangling and covered in blood.

The injured kitten then ran off, leaving his owners desperately searching for him.

Samantha said: “Initially I thought he’d been hit by a car, and that he was going to die.”

He was eventually found hiding in a stable after the family's dogs helped locate him.

Groucho was rushed to an emergency vet that night and given pain relief, but it was the following day that she discovered what had really happened.

Samantha said vets discovered that the wound was packed with shrapnel, with pieces also lodged in his chest and leg.

The tibia and fibula in his leg had also been completely shattered and twisted over each other.

Heartbreakingly, his leg could not be repaired and he is due to have it amputated on Monday.

Groucho lives alongside his sister Grizzy, three dogs, chickens and ducks, and Samantha said he is particularly attached to the dogs. | Contributed

Samantha said she still cannot understand why anyone would shoot him.

She said: "I keep looking at my cat, just going, why have you done this?"

The 14-month-old is described by Samantha as a loving, affectionate cat who is a much-loved part of the family.

She said: "He's a little sunbeam, really. He's very, very loving."

Groucho lives alongside his sister Grizzy, three dogs, chickens and ducks, and Samantha said he is particularly attached to the dogs.

She said he loves being outside, climbing trees, chasing his sister and playing with the family's dogs.

"He worships them, he waits outside for them to go on a walk and follow along with them."

Samantha said the incident had made her feel less safe in her own home and village, but also questioning whether she can safely let her animals outside.

She said: "I want to let them out and not think they might come back with a gun hole in them.'"

"We want to let them out and not think, 'Oh, well, they might come back with a gun hole in them.'" | Contributed

Following the incident, she has been searching nearby CCTV.

Samantha said footage appears to show Groucho running across a driveway at around 7.46pm, followed by a vehicle stopping nearby before its headlights dim and it drives away.

She said: "We're frantically searching for CCTV to identify the vehicle that the shot was fired from.

"All I want to do is catch the horrible people that have done this,

"I get some people don't like cats - but don't just shoot them."

The incident has been reported to South Yorkshire Police.

Anyone with information is asked to contact South Yorkshire Police, quoting number 0532 of 26 September 2026.