That was most likely the result of some idiot shooting at the cat from great distance to run it off. You put the end of the barrel up to their head it does the job without issues.That's good to know! We've always used the .22 -- the only experience I have with pellets is a cat that was riddled with them. She was shot in the head three times, but they just mangled her face up and took one of her eyes. None of them managed to kill.
I run traps and know many trappers that use pellet guns. Mostly due to the cost of ammo. If I'm lucky running 20 sets and have to dispatch 20 animals 20 pellets are cheaper than 20 .22 bullets.