Pet cat loses his leg after being caught in gin trap

A Christchurch cat owner has issued a warning after his beloved pet got caught in a gin trap and lost his leg.

Heathcote Valley resident Matthew House has owned his black cat Julian for two years and is used to him going in and out as he pleases.

But he was recently horrified to see his feline return home with serious injuries.

“He managed to make his way home and was curled up on the bed,” House said.

“My wife got up in the morning but didn’t initially realise anything was wrong until she turned the light on and that’s when she saw him – all the skin had been ripped off his leg and his paw was basically hanging off.”

Following a frantic rush to the vet, House was given the devastating news Julian’s injuries were so severe he would need to have his left leg amputated.

Worryingly, House says the vet who treated Julian said she has seen an increase in injuries to pets caused by leg-hold traps - often known as gin traps.

“The vet said she’s seeing more and more of these types of injuries and that they’re happening in central Christchurch - not just rural areas,” House said.

There’s no way of knowing where the trap was set, but House believes whoever set it must have found Julian and freed him, as escaping from the traps is virtually impossible.

House is now calling on anyone who uses the traps to reconsider it.

“I know that pests have to be dealt with but there are plenty of safe and humane traps that can be used to catch possums and the like,” he said.

“Gin traps should be banned; even if it caught a possum that’s no way to leave an animal to die.”

In New Zealand, the sale and use of such traps are restricted by size and type.

The Ministry of Primary Industries said: “No leg-hold trap may be used within 150m of a dwelling without the permission of the occupier, or in any area where there is a probable risk of catching a pet animal.”