Cat has leg amputated after getting caught in illegal trap in Stoke Newington
Ruby after having her leg amputated. Picture: RSPCA. - Credit: Archant
A cat suffered horrific injuries and had to have her leg amputated after getting caught in an illegal trap in Stoke Newington.
The trap Ruby was caught in. Picture: RSPCA - Credit: Archant
Ruby, a six-year-old tabby, was found caught in a metal contraption in a garden in Lordship Park on December 30.
She had been missing for two days, and it is thought she was stuck in the trap for most of that time.
The RSPCA believes the trap to have been a gin trap - designed to catch an animal by its leg. They have been illegal in the UK since 1958, but are still used by some to catch rabbits and foxes.
After being taken to the RSPCA’s Harmsworth Animal Hospital, Ruby’s leg was removed because the injuries were so severe.
The charity’s London vet director Caroline Allen said: “If only people realised the damage traps like this can do. I was shocked and horrified that such a thing could have been placed in the middle of London.
“When Ruby came to us she was in extreme shock and distress and her paw was hanging off - it was awful. Her leg was almost completely severed above the wrist so there really was no other alternative but to amputate it.
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“She would have been in an incredible amount of pain, and probably for a couple of days from what we can tell.”
Ruby is making a good recovery, though she will be looking for a new home once restored to full health: after the incident, her previous owner feels the area is no longer safe.
Police are investigating the trap.
Llewelyn Lowen, scientific officer for the RSPCA, said: “Gin traps are indiscriminate. The victims can just as easily be a family pet as a wild animal, but whichever the animal, these traps are lethal and cause a great deal of suffering and we are extremely concerned about their use.”
