Te Awamutu cat down to eight lives

OUR HERO: Two-year-old Zena holds Wolfie.

A cat suffered 12 days' agony and a leg amputation after his owners fear he was caught in a trap in Te Awamutu.

Three-year-old tabby cat Wolfie disappeared from Angela Dodunski's house on Christmas Eve.

Almost two weeks later he returned in a bloody, hungry and flea-ridden state.

"I was on the deck eating pudding when he returned," Angela says. "I heard him meow and dropped my icecream.

"He must've crawled home from where he was trapped."

"We're sure he had been stuck in a gin trap."

Gin traps have metal jaws designed to catch and hold an animal by a limb.

According to the Animal Welfare Act 1999 traps must be checked daily and can't be used anywhere likely to catch a pet.

Angela says her 2-year-old daughter Zena was horrified by the sight of their pet.

"Zena was so sad when she saw him. She yelled, 'who cut him?'"

"I couldn't even look at him. His bone was exposed. We think he nibbled away at his trapped leg to escape."

Wolfie was taken to VE Veterinary Services where his back right leg was amputated.

Veterinarian Andrew Mansell says the Te Awamutu vet clinic sees around one gin trap case per year.

He says it was likely Wolfie's leg was caught in one or something similar.

Angela says after care from the vets Wolfie is now recovering at home.

"He is so brave," she says. "He's our hero."