A woman who found a badly injured cat – covered in what appears to be cigarette burns – on a doorstep is hoping whoever did it faces justice.

The Comet: The cat was found around 7.35pm on Saturday.The cat was found around 7.35pm on Saturday. (Image: Archant)

Gemma Brown immediately phoned her mum Carmen when she found the light brown male cat on the doorstep of a house in Mackenzie Square in Stevenage on Saturday.

The 25-year-old said: “It was dark and initially I thought it had been attacked by a dog, but having a closer look it looked like cigarette burns. One of his eyes was completely red and his nose was really swollen around two cigarette burns. His hair was all matted and he smelt bad.”

Gemma works for Stevenage Borough Council and was out canvassing for the electoral roll at about 7.35pm when she found the cat.

As soon as her mum arrived she returned home to pick up a cat carrier and took the animal to Great Ashby Veterinary Surgery.

Despite its injuries, the animal was not scared of people and waited patiently with Carmen until Gemma returned to take it to the vets.

When there it would not let the vet open its mouth and had to be anaesthetised for them to treat it.

Gemma doesn’t know the animal’s current state but is hoping it makes a full recovery.

She said: “I posted a picture of the cat on Facebook to try and find the owner and loads of people have been commenting saying that they’ve seen it being abused for a long time, but why I am the first person to report it?

“I am hoping that the cat is OK and makes a full recovery and is put in a decent home. Whoever did this should be caught and face justice because it is disgusting.”

The Great Ashby Veterinary Surgery is treating the cat and actively looking for the owner.

A spokesman for the RSPCA said: “This sounds like an extremely upsetting incident and a horrific attack on a defenceless animal.

“We urge anyone with any information about what happened to call us, in complete confidence, on 0300 1234 999.”