A family was left sickened after their pet cat was partially skinned and had its back paws removed.

Police in the Aberdeenshire town of Inverurie are treating the mutilation of the animal "very seriously".

The two-year-old male cat, called Sooty, was so seriously injured that it had to be put down by a local vet.

It was the children who found the cat - they did not take it very well

Garrie Clarke

Owner Liz Williamson, 26, of Conglass House at Provost's Circle in Inverurie, said: "It makes you sick to your stomach that someone would do that.

"When the vet saw it, he said there was nothing he could do and that it had not been attacked by a dog because there were no teeth marks, and it was not run over by a car because the tail wasn't damaged.

"The legs had been snapped and cut with a knife - the skin and fur had been cut away. The back paws had been removed."

Ms Williamson, who has a six-year-old son Garrie, said Sooty was a "much-loved family pet".

Her partner Garrie Clarke, 42, said those who carried out the attack were "very, very sick".

'Absolutely appalling'

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said: "This case is absolutely appalling and quite horrendous - the animal must have suffered incredible pain.

"Cats are strong and can put up quite a fight and the animal would have had to have been contained.

"For anyone wishing to inflict that level of cruelty on an animal is absolutely appalling."

House-to-house inquiries

A Grampian Police spokeswoman said it was a "very rare" incident.

"We are appealing for witnesses and we will also be making house-to-house inquiries," she said.

Sooty was injured between 2030 BST on Tuesday and 1000 BST on Wednesday in the Provost Circle area of the town.

Mr Clarke added: "It was the children who found the cat - they did not take it very well."