Happy ending after tragic Whangārei cat mauling

Panther has become a popular member of Marion's family, especially with granddaughter Ava.

A deadly pre-Christmas cat mauling has culminated in a warm fuzzy for a Kensington neighbourhood and a Tikipunga family.

In December a small stray mother tabby was mauled to death by a roaming rottweiler in front of her two kittens and an elderly man who had been feeding them. Her kittens had not been seen since the attack and a strong odour coming from under the 83-year-old's house, along with increased flies, indicated they too had died.

However, over the holiday period, there were sightings of one of the kittens, which gradually started venturing into the man's house.

"She just got so friendly. She'd get in the middle of my shrub and squat and sit there camouflaged and watch everybody. Then she started showing signs of being playful and so I reached down to her one day while she was rubbing at the foot of my walking stick and she just walked into my hands."

The mother cat, described as a "good little protective mother" had become a regular sighting around the neighbourhood popular for cat dumpings. Practically a kitten herself, she had given birth to two kittens – one tabby, one black.

Named Vicky by the elderly man, she was last seen basking in the sun on his property with her kittens, believed to then be between four-six weeks old, when the attack occurred.

"I instantly recognised (the rottweiler) and dropped my dinner to the side and got out of the chair and by the time I grabbed my walking stick and got to the door, the dog had disappeared round the house.

"I heard a big thump and, as I was making my way down the steps, I heard an almighty scream and then silence," he described after the incident.

After yelling at the dog, he said it took off with something in his mouth which he believed to be his own cat. Extensive searches, involving his family and the neighbourhood, turned up Vicky's mangled and broken body.

"The poor little thing. She was well and truly dead. Her neck was broken and her throat had been torn out and I realised then that it wasn't my cat."

His own 15-year-old cat was found traumatised and wounded hours later and is still undergoing veterinary treatment nearly two months on. The dog, which resided nearby, was a repeat offender, according to the pensioner who said it had attacked his cat previously costing around $800 in veterinary bills. The dog was put down the following day, its destruction one of 174 euthanised by Whangārei District Council over the past year, and a court case is pending.

However, after fearing the worst for Vicky's offspring, the black kitten began reappearing.

"She had made herself at home under the front of my house and would come and join my cat and old Minstrel, the community cat, and sit and follow them round the lawn and copy what they were doing and it was just hilarious to watch."

Meanwhile the pensioner's carer Marion, who visited on a daily basis, had fallen in love.

"She picked her up one morning and she just snuggled in and wrapped her little arms around Marion's neck and that was it, she took her home. It was just beautiful to see."

Marion, who lives in Tikipunga, named the kitten Panther and said she kept her in the bathroom for the first week in her new home while her resident cat of nine years, Michael, scoped out the new addition through the bathroom door.

"They talked to each other for the week and then when I opened the door, Michael walked in and they touched noses and they've been solid since."

Panther has become a much-loved member of a family after her traumatic start to life.

Estimated to be around 10 weeks old, Panther's vet check was all-clear, although her heart rate was hard to detect due to the purring.

"She's got a really, really loud motor," laughed Marion.

Panther has fitted into the household and is popular with Marion's grandchildren.

Meanwhile, the cat and dog scene has quietened in the Kensington suburb.

"I'm still angry about the situation," said the pensioner. "That nothing was done about the dog for years and it took Panther's mother's death and her other kitten's death and my cat being savaged to the extent that his skull was showing and his throat exposed and it still gets to me, along with the ongoing treatment. It's pretty horrendous really, because people couldn't follow the rules. And that's just one cat that we're looking under the microscope at.

"However, I'm thrilled about the outcomes. One is that something's being done about it – the animal has been put down, which is sad for the dog as it's not really the dog's fault, but I'm pleased for the fact that (my cat) survived, and reassured that young Panther has a home that loves her and obviously loves the lady that's taken her on. In the photos that Marion's been sending me, she just looks like a very satisfied pussy cat. She's a darling little thing.

"She won a few hearts around the place and the neighbours were a little bit weepy about the fact they won't be seeing her again, but I showed them the photos that Marion sends me and they were thrilled."