Wairarapa's SPCA is investigating after two cats were brought in with deliberate injuries.
A 3-month-old tabby, Survivor, was found in a garden shed with its ears cut off.
SPCA manager Val Ball said that while the injury was not causing Survivor any pain it was obviously a deliberate act.
"It was definitely a cut, probably about a week old,'' she said.
Mrs Ball said the SPCA had seen this type of injury before, this is about the third cat with its ears cut in the past year.
A second cat, Stu, was taken to the animal hospital after it was found to have been victim of an attempted DIY neutering, with a cut across its testicles.
Mrs Ball said she suspected the cat was someone's pet and that the owner might have been trying to save the cost of desexing - about $75.
The SPCA was keen to hear from anyone with more information.