A much-loved family cat has been killed in a savage dog attack.

Chessington resident Kieron Kirk, 63, found two dogs mauling the pet, when he followed the sounds of women shouting and a cat howling.

At first, he thought the dogs were fighting each other, but he soon realised they were fighting over his neighbours’ cat Bruno, who they have had since it was a kitten.

Mr Kirk said: “As soon as I saw it was a poor cat, I leapt in to save it. I am a cat lover, that’s why I went in.”

Mr Kirk, who has two cats himself – Celyn and Olwyn – managed to prise the 15-year-old cat away during the attack on Monday and was then taken to Kingston Hospital with injuries to his hand.

His partner Chris Orton, 53, stayed to look after the cat until an emergency vet came, but it sadly died in her lap before anything could be done.

The mauling came just a day before a petition was presented to Downing Street calling on the Government to tackle dangerous dogs in London.

Deputy Mayor for Policing Kit Malthouse delivered the petition, which called for stiffer penalties for owners of banned dogs and swifter justice in dog attack cases.

He said: “The message today is clear – the Government needs to act urgently to protect Londoners and their pets from savage attacks by weapon dogs.

“Unless legislation is toughened up, these attacks will continue.”

Mr Kirk said the dogs were seen later that same day, still unmuzzled and off leads.

He said he was so concerned he went to Kingston police station and warned the cat could easily have been a child.

He said: “I wanted them to take it seriously so I said ‘The next time I see them in York Way and I feel they are going to attack, I will kill them’.”

He said police told him he should not have intervened and that a dog warden said his injuries were his own fault for stepping in.

He said: “If that had been a child, I would now be a hero and nobody would dare suggest I’d brought it on myself.

“People think ‘It’s only a cat so it doesn’t count’, but it’s all we can think about.”

He described the dogs as a “staffy-type” breed, one of which was brown, and the other lighter in colour.

A spokesman for Kingston police said: “This type of incident is a matter of judgement in relation to the control being exercised over the dog or dogs.

“Officers considered a warning to the dog owner to be appropriate.”