Gus recovering at home with the Toohey family in Tufnell Park

A RESILIENT cat has survived an unfathomable horror after his paw was ripped off by a suspected fox trap leading to amputation.

Gus lives with the Toohey family – mum Eleanor, dad Andy and their children Cam, 18 and Kitty, 16 – in Burghley Road, Tufnell Park.

After his evening feed on Monday, Gus vanished and did not return until the next evening.

Eleanor said: “I saw Gus outside the window and opened it up to let him inside. I thought he seemed quite different. He was very still and when I looked at him his mouth was hanging wide open, his eyes too – he was in total shock.

“His face was so heartbreaking. I pulled him away from me and then noticed his leg – which was just shredded blood and bone.”

Cam added: “There wasn’t much left of it from the thigh down. The whole foot was gone.”

In complete disbelief the family immediately sprung into action, getting blankets for Gus and calling the 24-hour Village Vet in Belsize Park. Poor Gus was rushed right in.

“It was the most disgusting and shocking thing I have ever seen,” said Eleanor. “I was shaking. We had no idea what was going to happen. I told the kids to come and have a look at him before he went to the vet, in case he didn’t make it.”

Apart from the leg, Gus’s health seemed absolutely normal and the vet advised the family they could operate immediately, amputating the entire back left leg.

Gus is slowly getting used to life with three legs

Eleanor said: “The vet said it was completely consistent with a fox trap. They said because the leg was shredded the leg had been trapped meaning Gus had to pull his leg free leaving his foot there. It must have been a complete instinct – thinking he was going to die there unless he left his foot there.

“These traps are inhumane. The vet said that snare fox traps tend to do something called de-gloving – which just rips off the skin, this was more like a bear trap, it went into his leg and broke his bones before he ripped himself free. We want our neighbours to be wary as we don’t want what has happened to Gus to affect any other pet.”

Foxes aren’t protected under conservation legislation, but strict laws apply to how they are controlled. Self-locking snares are banned.

Eleanor added: “He’s very undemanding, sweet and a bit dim. Our other cat has an edge to her but Gus is peaceful and playful, running around in the garden and playing with sticks.

“We just see him as a person. For his sweet fluffy little white foot to just not be there anymore. How can that be?”

Gus is now on the road to recovery – but the road ahead is long. When the Tribune visited the family home he was hopping around still trying to figure out how to manage with three legs.

“The vet said cats and dogs can do really well on three legs and he’s young and light and it was all in his favour,” said Kitty, adding: “I just keep thinking about the fact that he got home – he knew to get home.”

The runt of the litter, Gus had to be hand-fed as a kitten, which is why he is so small for a two-year-old. Cam added: “I thought giving him an old man’s name was funny for a small cat.”

The two teenagers expected to pick up their GCSE and A-level results yesterday (Thursday) and next week.

Horrific injuries caused by traps

THE RSPCA said they that suspect Gus was trapped in an illegal “gin trap”.

The inhumane locking traps were outlawed in 1958 but they can still be legally bought and sold.

The Village Vet in Belsize Park who tended to Gus said his injuries were consistent with a trap of this kind.

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “It is against the law to set a gin trap, and it is also illegal to cause an animal to unnecessarily suffer as a result.

“We have sadly seen domestic animals fall victim to these traps many times.

“Gin traps are cruel and anyone setting one faces prosecution. They cause horrific injuries as they usually ensnare the whole leg of an animal.

“They are totally indiscriminate in nature – victims can be wildlife or family pets but whatever the animal, these devices cause a great deal of pain and suffering.”

It is legal to set traps and “free running snares” for foxes on private land – but only with the landowner’s permission and if abiding by strict rules.

Self-locking snares, poisons, gas and the use of live bait are banned along with placing traps in public spaces.

Snares must be checked daily, and non target animals released. By law any captured fox must be killed humanely.