A cat was was lucky to survive a strangling after it became caught on a home-made snare.

Mia, a four-year-old tabby, was discovered in distress on Sunday morning under a bush by a walker in Housefield, Willesborough.

Thinking the helpless animal had been hit by a car, the walker called the RSPCA.

After arriving at the scene, the team found Mia was caught on a home-made snare and had a thin thread of nylon wire wrapped around her neck.

Owner Sandra Murton said: “We were on holiday over the weekend and our neighbour was looking after our cats.

“Someone walked past and spotted Mia, who was crying.

“They thought she had been hit by a car and called the RSPCA who came and released her.

“Our neighbours took her to the vet who said if she’d have struggled or pulled away the wire would have got tighter around her neck and could have strangled her. It was very lucky she was found.”

Mrs Murton - who got Mia from the RSPCA Garden Cattery in Station Road when she was a kitten - is now warning others of the dangers of snares and appealing to anyone who might have placed it there to think before doing so again.

She said: “It appears to be a crudely-made, home-made snare. The only reason I can think of why someone would place it there it to catch foxes. But even if a fox had been caught it wouldn’t have been very nice.

“It is so awful that someone would do that. I want to warn others of the dangers and make people aware. If this snare is set up again and a dog or cat gets trapped it could be much worse.

“It is so awful that someone would do that. I want to warn others of the dangers and make people aware" - Sandra Murton

”A lot of people walk their dogs down this road. I wouldn’t like to see another animal harmed.”

A spokesman for the RSPCA said: “It can be illegal to set snares like this, especially in areas where other animals can become trapped, like domestic cats.

"We would urge anyone who knows who set this trap, or if anyone sees another one like it, to please report it before another animal is hurt.”

To report animal cruelty call 0300 1234 999.

What do you think? Write to Kentish Express, 34-36 North Street, Ashford, TN24 8JR or email kentishexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk