Vicious trap nearly killed my cat

11:08am Tuesday 5th December 2006

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A gruesome trap has snared a pet cat in Worcester, leaving it badly injured.

The metal gin trap is eight inches long and is illegal because its jaws are serrated, enabling it to hold its prey.

But that didn't stop someone using it in the Bath Road area of Worcester.

Marianne Davies believes her three-year-old silver tabby, Codie, is lucky to be alive after getting her leg trapped in the lethal device.

Codie went missing on Sunday, November 19, and Miss Davies put up posters around her home in The Hill Avenue, off Bath Road, the following day in the hope someone might have seen her.

Later that night a resident in nearby St Dunstan's Avenue heard a wailing sound and spotted Codie stuck between their garden fence with the trap around her leg.

The trap had torn a hole in Codie's paw and she had to have veterinary treatment and take anti-inflammatory medication for the swelling.

Miss Davies has now reported the matter to the police and RSPCA and is calling on them to find the trap's owner. She said she believed it was placed on the allotments off Hill Avenue.

"Luckily she didn't break any bones but what if it was a child? I was absolutely disgusted as she was out minding her own business and then gets caught in this trap," said the 25-year-old office worker.

RSPCA spokeswoman Judith Haw said an inspector had been called and had seized the gin trap.

She said door-to-door enquiries had been carried out to see if anyone knew who it belonged to. "Obviously whoever set the trap is committing an offence - they're indiscriminate and cause a lot of pain and suffering to animals," she said.

"A child could even get caught in them so they're very, very dangerous."

A Worcester police spokesman said officers were investigating to see if an offence had been committed. "Unfortunately, it's not un-common for domestic pets such as cats, to be caught in snares.

"There are many regulations relating to the use of snares and similar apparatus. Although there are, in reality, 17 different types of snare that can be used legally in the UK, others not included in legislation are periodically found in use.

"It is, however, too early to comment further on this particular incident."

Anyone with information about the trap's owner is asked to contact the RSPCA's cruelty and advice line on 08705 555999.