Chino was shot in the driveway of the Burrells’ property at the residential end of Valley Road.
“There was a blood trail along the driveway, running from a patch of blood near the front to under the back deck. That is where we found her.”
Mrs Burrell said it felt as though she was the target.
“It is getting really hard. I just don’t know what to do anymore. What have we done to deserve this? I have not been here long.”
Mrs Burrell and her husband moved to Gisborne from Rotorua in November 2016.
“In 15 months it has happened twice. We don’t know many people here so I don’t have a clue as to why I would be a target.”
They had been in the house for less than six months when Bella was shot.
“I said to my husband ‘I just want to pack up and go’.”
She adopted Bella from the SPCA to fill a void left by daughter Ashleigh.
“When we moved here, my daughter stayed in Rotorua so I thought I should get a kitten. It is the next best thing to love.”
Bella was shot in the stomach. The bullet pierced her bladder and bullet fragments went throughout her body.
“It was so heartbreaking. She had just turned one.”
Knew immediatelyBella went missing and when they found her they knew straight away she had been shot.
“She was really floppy and wouldn’t move, so we laid her on the bed and when I picked her up, I saw a big hole in her stomach.
“The vet didn’t think there was a chance to save her. We had the option to keep trying but he said the chances were less than 10 percent.”
She was put down after a few days on life support.
It took a while for Mrs Burrell and her family to come to terms with the death of their beloved pet.
When Mrs Burrell got Chino as a kitten from family friend she never thought such an incident would happen again.
She was wrong.
Chino was shot in the leg, the bullet shattering the bones.
Bullet fragmentsBullet fragments also hit the cat’s stomach but there was little damage.
“The vet has said it would cost $3000 to fix or the leg may be amputated.”
Mrs Burrell said they didn’t find Chino until about 8pm on Tuesday night.
“She finally came out from under the house and we could see all the leg bones and paw destroyed.”
The hardest part was the vet bills, said Mrs Burrell.
“She has to go every second day to be sedated and for the dressing to be changed on her leg.
“It is costing us $100 every two days. We have already spent $800 on her and it hasn’t even been a week.
“We have another two weeks of changing the dressing before we even think about amputating the leg, or paying the $3000 to do the best to fix it.
“It is getting to the point now where we are working to keep our cats alive.”
Mrs Burrell said they spent in excess of $700 on Bella.
With payment looming, Mrs Burrell said she did not know what they would do.
“We have to come up with $600 over the next fortnight and I don’t think it is possible to do.
“I need to work out with the vets if we can pay the bills over time because it is just getting too hard.
“If I can’t, then what am I supposed to do? Do I just let her suffer?
“My daughter is going back to Rotorua on Wednesday and I can’t even help her out because we will have to spend the money on Chino,” Mrs Burrell said.
Family friend Raegan Foley said the shootings were devastating.
“It is a recurring event. It should not happen to the same family, let alone happen at all.
“I just hope someone might know something or has a lead as to who may have done this, because they have caused so much heartache to this family.”
Mrs Burrell reported both incidents to Gisborne police but nothing has yet come of it.
“Unless I have a suspect, there isn’t anything they can really do,” she said.
Anyone with information is asked to get in touch with the police.
