A cat was shot in the face by a BB pellet gun in Llandrindod Wells on Monday afternoon.

The cat, George, was hit between his eye and nose and required an operation for the pellet to be removed.

His owner, Sarah Godman, said: "I really don't know why someone would do this to an innocent animal."

"He is lucky it didn't go any higher, because he wouldn't be here now," she said.

A statement from the police said: "Dyfed-Powys Police received a report that a cat had been shot in the face by a BB pellet gun in Llandrindod Wells.

"The incident took place between 3.30pm and 4.30pm yesterday (February 11), leaving the cat requiring an operation."

Sarah went to the vets the day the incident happened and George was taken in to have the pellet removed the following day. The vets gave Sarah a container with the pellet in to show her how big it was. She was also told it was the third time since September a cat had been shot by an air rifle.

Sarah posted about the incident on Facebook as a warning to other cat owners in the area. The post, on Llandrindod Solutions, gained a huge amount of attention, with over 250 people liking or reacting to the story, as well as over 80 shares and 50 comments.

Lucy Scotford said in a comment: "My cat was killed by someone shooting her with an air gun, it's horrendous. I hope you find whoever did it."

Ddole Road Veterinary Clinic said they had one case of a cat being shot by a BB gun the other day, which left a little hole with a red mark. "It looked like a puncture wound," a spokesperson said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference 321 of February 11.