Veterinary surgeons at a leading Yorkshire animal hospital have saved the life of a cat who was shot in the face with a shotgun and is "incredibly lucky to have survived".

Six-year-old Dexter had his mouth rebuilt at Linnaeus-owned Paragon Veterinary Referrals in Wakefield using cutting-edge procedures and state-of-the-art equipment.

It’s unknown how Dexter was shot but he suffered severe facial injuries, with most of the damage to his tongue, mouth, nasal cavities and soft tissues of the head.

Shocked owner, Rachel Driver from Sandal, who lived on a farm in West Yorkshire at the time of the accident, said: “We first realised there was a problem when we found a lot of blood on our patio but no sign of Dexter until much later.

Dexter was shot in the face but has made a full recovery thanks to Paragon Veterinary Referrals.

“When he arrived back home, his eyes were bloodshot, his jaw obviously broken and we took him to the emergency vet.

“The first vet said it was blunt force trauma and said he needed to be transferred to Paragon where further tests were done.

“I was then informed he had been shot with a shotgun. We were incredibly shocked.”

Dan Kenny, small animal surgeon at Paragon, was one of the vets who led Dexter’s life-saving surgeries, along with orthopaedic colleagues.

Dan said: “This is an unusual case in the sense that facial shotgun injuries are very rare.

“Given the imaging findings and the extent of his injuries, Dexter is incredibly lucky to have survived.”

Even under normal circumstances, the surgery Dexter required can be tricky but Dexter’s case was further complicated due to the extensive nature of his soft tissue injury and the fact that he was missing a large fragment of bone from his hard palate.

Dexter has now made a full recovery following the operations and is back with his grateful owners.

Rachel added: “Dexter is a different cat now. He’s far more loving to us and doesn’t leave the house for very long.

“However, he’s happy and he was most definitely saved by all the wonderful staff at Paragon. Dan was the most amazing vet whose care to Dexter will never be forgotten, we will always be grateful.”

Paragon provides expert care in anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and soft tissue surgery.

For more information on Paragon Veterinary Referrals, visit www.paragonreferrals.co.uk or search for Paragon Veterinary Referrals on social media.

Cat uses up one of his nine lives after being shot in the face