Cat 'painfully' injured in snare

Kizzy sustained cuts to his mouth while trying to bite free from the trap

A cat has been found trapped in a homemade snare in Fife with fly larvae in cuts to his mouth and leg.

The two-year-old pet called Kizzy was found tangled in the illegal snare in a wood behind Dysart Recycling Point on Stewart Street in Kirkcaldy.

The snare was set 1ft off the ground and the wire, made from guitar string, had tightened around Kizzy's neck and leg, leaving him "painfully" trapped.

He was found in a distressed state on Monday 26 October.

Owner Leeann Montgomery, 28, who lives in Stewart Street with her two children, told the BBC Scotland news website how she heard her cat's cries for help.

The vet said from his wounds that he had been like that for about 24 hours and that maggots were starting to grow in his cuts Leeann Montgomery Kizzy's owner

She said: "I let him out on the Sunday morning but he never came home at night and when he still wasn't home the next day we went out to look for him.

"I was calling his name and then heard him shrieking and we found him in the snare so I ran to my aunt's house for pliers while my boyfriend held Kizzy's weight so he wouldn't be hanging by the nylon.

"When he was being cut free I couldn't look and I was crying as I was terrified he would die and the kids dote on him.

"The vet said from his wounds that he had been like that for about 24 hours and that maggots were starting to grow in his cuts."

She said she thought Kizzy was going to lose his paw as there was no pulse in his leg when they found him.

The nylon wire was tight around Kizzy's leg when he was found in the trap

However the cat is now recovering well back at home after spending two nights at the vet.

John Chisholm, of the Scottish SPCA, said: "Leeann was obviously distressed to find out that her pet cat had been snared, resulting in very painful injuries to his mouth and leg.

"Thankfully Kizzy was discovered early enough to be saved and he was treated at St Clair's vets, Kirkcaldy.

"However, we have attended many incidents where domestic cats have been killed as a result of being caught in both legally and illegally set snares.

"By their very nature snares are indiscriminate in the type of animal they catch and in this particular instance, the snare was deliberately set in a residential area putting both domestic pets and wild animals at risk."

The charity warned that anyone found guilty of setting illegal snares could face up to six months in prison, a £5,000 fine or both.