A cat owner fears her pet could be permanently disfigured after he suffered horrific facial injuries.

Michelle Boyd found her pet tom Herbie with his bottom jaw hanging loosely and pouring with blood when he returned home.

Devastated and in tears, she rushed Herbie to Newnham Court veterinary surgery where staff said it was highly likely the three-year-old feline had been kicked.

He has since undergone surgery to have its jaw wired.

The 45-year-old, of Clerke Drive, Kemsley, said: “He’s usually back by 9.50pm so when he didn’t come back so I was outside calling and calling for him.

“About 11.30pm I had another look in the garden and he was sitting in the middle of the grass.

“As he came in and I shut the patio door, I heard a gurgling noise so I turned to look at him.

“At first I thought he had a mouse or something in his mouth so I bent down but he ran off upstairs and I went after him.

“When I turned on the light I could see his jaw was hanging down and blood was dribbling out the side of his mouth.

“I took him to the vets in Maidstone and the vet confirmed he hadn’t been hit by a car or fallen as there was no fraying of the claws and that he had probably been kicked in the head.

“I’m convinced someone hit him.”

The following day Herbie was transferred to Borden Veterinary Surgery and underwent an operation to repair his mouth.

She said: “It’s a long road ahead for him to recover and they can’t say what the future holds for him because there’s still too much swelling.

"He might be permanently disfigured and his jaw may remain open with his tongue hanging out.

“It makes me feel sick to the stomach that someone could do this.

"You don’t kick or hurt any animal, they’re defenceless, it’s no different to them hitting a baby.

“They can’t protect themselves. It’s just mindless cruelty.

“To see him like this I get very upset.

“I will be scared to let him out again but as much as I want to protect him, if he does get upset about not going out I will have to let him go.”