“We rushed him to the emergency vet, where they instantly suggested he had been shot.

“They found an opening for the bullet and an X-ray revealed it was lodged near his spine.”

At the time, the vet told Zeplyn’s owners that he may not ever be able to move his back leg or tail again as a result.

“I’m so enraged that somebody did that to our cat … He will never be the same again,” Lawless told Stuff, referring to the Maine Coon as “the star of the show”.

Zeplyn is showing promising signs after a five-week period of crate rest, with movement slowly returning to his tail and leg.

However, vets decided it would be too risky to remove the bullet from Zeplyn’s body, given its proximity to his nerves.

Courtois said overall, the incident has cost them over $5000 in veterinary bills.

The incident has been reported to police by Zeplyn’s owners, who have since learned at least one other cat and a kererū [wood pigeon] had also been shot in the area.

Lawless said while some people in West Auckland are adamant about rigorously protecting native birds from the threat of pets, what was inflicted on Zeplyn was “brutish” in many ways.

“That is not the answer, going and shooting other people’s cats,” she told Stuff.

Courtois and Taylor haven’t had any new leads regarding the perpetrator of the “heartless, gutless crime”.

However, the situation had been distressing to think about and she questioned why the person had been motivated to hurt animals in the first place.

“Justice at the very least would be a huge fine for animal cruelty,” Courtois said.

“[They should] reimburse us for the huge cost this inflicted on our family and, if he is using a licensed gun, remove his licence or fine him for holding a weapon without one.”

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