One leg, one life less for Thumper

Christina O'Dell is reunited with her cat Thumper. Photo / Richard Robinson

A missing cat that lost a leg in an illegal gin trap was yesterday reunited with his tearful owners.

Thumper the moggy went astray from his home in Henderson, West Auckland, almost two weeks ago.

He was found on Thursday night by members of the public.

His front leg was almost severed in the trap, which had bitten to the bone.

The leg was amputated the same day, the SPCA said.

But the tale had a purrfect ending when the Herald on Sunday traced Thumper's owners.

"We had another cat go missing three months ago that has never been found, so we feared the worst for Thumper," owner Christina O'Dell, 25, said.

"Thumper must have been in agony for days.

"The thought that it could be somebody who lives near us that did this to him is just sickening."

O'Dell - who starts a degree course in animal welfare at Unitec tomorrow - said she'd had three-year-old Thumper since she found him hiding down a rabbit hole on a farm.

The SPCA is investigating the incident.

"This is a horrifying case in which terrible pain and suffering - and permanent disability - has been inflicted on an animal," SPCA Auckland executive director Bob Kerridge said.

The Government restricted the sale and use of gin traps in 2008.