An RSPCA officer rescued a cat which had got its head stuck in a tin of dog food.

It has prompted a warning to the public to be more careful with their rubbish.

Try as it might, the unnamed black and white cat could not get the can off when it was found in Winsford.

Inspector Heather Morris, who freed the mog on June 18, said it was something the RSPCA see ‘all too often’.

The charity gets about 20 calls a day for litter-related incidents.

Inspector Morris said: “The poor cat was struggling to free herself, but with a little bit of gentle persuasion I was able to remove the tin from her head.

“She was a bit dazed at first, but was unharmed.

“She sadly wasn’t microchipped so I wasn’t able to return her to her owners to let them know what has happened to her, so she was released back into the neighbourhood to find her way home.”

The RSPCA said it had performed rescues including a fox cub with his head stuck in a wheel hub, a dog with her tongue caught in a discarded can and a seal with a fishing net around her neck.

The charity said all of these were preventable if litter was ‘disposed of properly and responsibly’.

RSPCA guidance

  • Animals looking for food can get trapped in tin cans and the sharp edges can cause injury. The charity would ask people to clean and empty food containers before pinching them shut or cutting them in half when disposing.
  • Elastic bands also pose a big risk to small animals and birds as they can wrap around their bodies or beaks and cause choking. The RSPCA asks that they are reused, where possible, or cut open before being thrown away.
  • Broken glass can cause serious injury and small animals can get trapped in jars so experts advise to clean and recycle glass as much as possible.
  • Plastic bags can suffocate animals or, if they eat them, can cause them to choke. Please tie bags in knots before recycling. And plastic can holders can cause deep wounds to animals that get tangled in them or can even choke them so it’s best to cut the loops before discarding.

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