An animal charity says someone may be deliberately setting snares to trap cats on Teesside. Graham Reeves, who lives in the Crayke Road area of Stockton, had to free the family's cat Polo after she was snared in a nearby garden.
The 20-month-old, which was stuck in the snare for some time, had badly cut its mouth trying to chew through the rope holding the trap.
Insp Mark Gent, from the RSPCA, said snaring a cat is a criminal offence.
 |  I can't understand why someone would do this. A cat's a cat - it chases birds and mice but it's a family pet and wouldn't hurt anyone |
He said: "Luckily, the cat is okay now, but we believe this free-running snare may have been set to target cats in the local area.
"It's an offence to snare a domestic animal. If you were using a free running snare to catch wild rabbits, you would have to put it in a place where there was no risk of another species being caught.
"Obviously that hasn't happened in this case."
Mr Reeves said: "I can't understand why someone would do this. A cat's a cat - it chases birds and mice but it's a family pet and wouldn't hurt anyone."
The RSPCA is appealing for anyone with information about the incident to contact them.
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