Illegal trap found on missing pet cat's leg

Three-year-old Loki jumped up a 6ft-high (183cm) fence with the trap on his leg to get home to his family

A cat owner said it was "sickening" to find her missing cat return home with an illegal metal trap on his leg.

Three-year-old Loki from Kelvedon, Essex, went missing on 28 March and returned home on Tuesday with the rusted gin trap on his front right leg.

A vet had to amputate his leg and give him strong antibiotics to prevent infection spreading from his wound.

Owner Gemma Hodge said she had received messages from three other cat owners whose pets had been caught by the traps.

"It's sickening, to be honest. I can't stop thinking about what he must have been through to get home with that on his leg," Mrs Hodge said.

"The fact that someone's put that down knowing it's going to cause distress and pain to someone or something is just vile.

"That could have easily been a child."

Gin traps, like this one found on Loki's leg, have been illegal in the UK since 1958

The traps, which have spring-operated jaws with teeth that snap shut, have been illegal in the UK since 1958.

Staff at Spring Lodge Vets in Witham told Mrs Hodge that Loki may have had the trap on his leg for the full five days he was missing.

Loki managed to jump a 6ft-high (183cm) fence at the back of the family's garden while the trap was on his leg, Mrs Hodge said.

"That gobsmacked me the most."

Her 10-year-old daughter had not been sleeping when her "best friend" Loki was missing and was "so excited" he had been found.

"She's been getting everything ready for him - his milk and his treats. She just wants him home," Mrs Hodge said.

An RSPCA spokesperson said it had seen domestic animals fall victim to the illegal traps "many times" and said they were "totally indiscriminate in nature".

"Gin traps are cruel and anyone setting one faces prosecution," they added.