Napier shooting: Families and pets recover from three-day ordeal

Kevin Roberts is reunited with his burmese kitten Louie who was cared for by neighbour Ralph Barlow. Photo / Richard Robinson

As most of the cordons were lifted yesterday it was with relief that people got back in - or in some cases out - of their homes for the first time since the siege began.

Part of Chaucer Rd remained blocked off in the immediate area around the house, leaving 11 homes still off-limits.

Nikki Luke was one of those still shaken by her time spent trapped in the cordon.

She dashed across Guys Hill Rd in the inner-cordon to care for an ailing 92-year-old man who was using up his oxygen supply and his wife who suffered from Parkinson's disease.

She spent the entire siege with them, all listening as Molenaar shouted at police "f*** off you bastards", when they tried to negotiate with him with a loudhailer.

They had a direct view of the siege.

Ms Luke and another neighbour, Ralph Barlow, also fed Kevin and Carol Roberts' burmese kittens Louie and Zoe - to their great relief when they got past the cordon yesterday.

Her partner, Mark Anderson, sneaked back into the cordon on Friday - something several residents not in the immediate danger zone did either to get in or out - using neighbour's sections and the various paths down steep parts of the hill.

Suzee McKnight, who had not left her home since arriving home from work on Wednesday, said she was looking forward to eventually being released.

With 10-year-old cat Zachery for company, she spent the time listening to updates on her solar-powered radio.

Ms McKnight said she had been relatively content - out of the line of fire and sight of the gunman - but was terrified every time a round of shots rang out.

"I heard all the gunfire and what sounded like bombs going off," she said.

And after four days it was all getting a bit much.

"I have been feeling really edgy and really tense," she said.

"When people have rung I have had to say 'I'm sorry I can't talk, I just can't focus'," she said.