A Kaiapoi resident fears her missing cat might have been captured by a neigbour’s trap.

Kaci Rogal told Chris Lynch on Newstalk ZB her elderly neighbour told her another neighbour is fed up with cats coming on to his property.

She says her elderly neighbour was told the anti-cat man is angry at scratches on his car and is blaming residential cats.

It’s alleged he told her if a cat is captured “they’ll be drowned then buried in a hole.”

Kaci Rogal says her four year old cat Midnight has long dark brown hair, with a big dark main and yellow eyes.

Midnight has been missing for two days.

SPCA Scientific Officer Dr Alison Vaughan says drowning an animal is a prosecutable offence under the Animal Welfare Act (1999) due to the intense and prolonged suffering caused. 

She says it is the responsibility of the person setting a trap to fulfill their legal obligations regarding the placement and checking of the trap and to have a plan for how to humanely manage any animal caught.

Dr Vaughan says “if a cat is caught, they should safeguard the animal’s welfare and make every reasonable effort to identify an owner.”

She says “we know that cats face risks when they roam, which includes the risk of being caught in a trap. SPCA encourages cat guardians to take steps to keep their cats safe which can include keeping their cat on their property and aiding identification through microchipping and wearing a collar.”