A 4-year-old cat was humanely euthanized by the San Diego County Department of Animal Services because of injuries it suffered from an illegal trap found in Linda Vista earlier this week.
The cat's right front leg had been caught in the trap.
“This is about as strong as the ones I’ve seen,” said Lt. Mitchell Levy, holding the trap. “And it's got extra springs on it and it's just barbaric."
Levy is part of the Department of Animal Services team searching for the person who set the illegal trap and exactly where it was placed in Linda Vista.
“I think that’s crazy. We’re not in the wilderness. We're in the city," said Alina Makinson.
Her neighbor, who asked not to be identified, called for help after finding the wounded cat Sunday morning in his backyard on the 3900 block of Canning Avenue.
“To see the cat suffering as much as it was, we just tried to help it. I put on some thick gloves and tried to get the trap off its leg. The cat was terrified and lunged at me."
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The traps are considered cruel and illegal in California.
Two cats and a coyote were killed last year in National City when they were caught in leg traps.
In January, a raccoon was found stuck in an illegal trap in Tecolote Canyon and was also euthanized.
“We get a few of these a year in different parts of the county,” Levy said.
The contraptions put neighborhood dogs as well as people, especially children in the Linda Vista neighborhood in danger.
“A person could have stepped in this and caused the same damage to the person as it did the cat," Levy said.
“If that happened to my pet, I'd be on every single door hunting down whoever did it,” said Alina.
Residents in the area told NBC 7 that there haven’t been issues with cats.
But gophers have been a problem.
The person responsible for setting the trap could face felony animal cruelty charges and jail time of a year or more, if convicted.
