Slough cat impaled with 'sharpened stick'

Kensi is recovering well since her life-saving surgery

The RSPCA is investigating whether a cat impaled with a wooden stick was deliberately targeted.

The pet, named Kensi, needed life-saving surgery after the 1ft (30cm) long stick punctured her diaphragm.

Veterinary surgeon Katie Haught said the stick appeared to have been "modified" and resembled "a spear-type shape with string wrapped around it."

The RSPCA said it was not sure if the incident was an "accident" or "something more sinister".

Warning: An image follows which some readers might find distressing.

Inspector Rebecca Timberlake said: "This is completely shocking and very disturbing.

"At the moment we're not sure how this happened. There is the possibility this may have been done on purpose to harm her."

The injured Kensi managed to make her way to her owners' home in Cippenham Lane on Friday before pulling herself through a cat flap and upstairs.

The sharpened stick was wedged into the feline's stomach

The RSPCA said the sharpened stick had entered the four-year-old through her side, but missed vital organs.

Owner Kim Lawrence said: "Our whole family is just so shocked and upset. It is a miracle she is still alive.

"It makes me sick to think somebody may have deliberately targeted such a loving cat."

Ms Haught said the stick was "firmly wedged" inside Kensi's abdomen and chest, but that she was "responding well to treatment".