Marcelle Migneco said her 10-year-old cat was part of the family.

A woman who witnessed her beloved pet cat being ripped apart by a Rottweiler is calling for large dogs to be muzzled when taken out by their owners.

Marcelle Migneco, 63, was in the garden of her Attard home with her family where her 10-year-old cat Ira was sleeping outside on a ledge when a couple, carrying a child, passed by with a Rottweiler on a leash.

All of a sudden, she heard the man shout to the dog “let her go, let her go”.

At first, she thought the dog attacked the woman but, to her horror, saw her pet cat in the jaws of the Rottweiler.

“The dog ripped her open and started banging her against my car, which was parked outside,” a shocked Ms Migneco said. “The man tried to stop his dog but he couldn’t control it.”

Eventually the dog let go and the man picked up the mangled cat, placing it on the pavement. A vet who happened to be passing by confirmed it was dead and the Mignecos called the police.

“The owners of the Rottweiler remained there until the police arrived but then left. They did not even apologise,” she said.

Ms Migneco said her cat was part of the family. “We bottle-fed her and her siblings when they were born every two hours. Everyone loved her and always left her treats … she was torn in half right before my eyes.”

An avid animal lover with five dogs and another two cats, Ms Migneco insisted she did not want the Rottweiler put down. “What I want is for big dogs to be muzzled when they go out – what if it attacked a small child?”

Animal welfare director Joseph John Vella said that according to the Dogs Act, owners had to always take out their dogs on a leash and, if they believed the dog to be aggressive, put on a muzzle. The owner always had to be in full control of the dog, which had to include its details on the collar and be microchipped, he added.