A stray cat found with a massive head wound in the Far North had social media audiences fired up about animal abuse, but all was not as it appeared.
The word on social media earlier this week was the cat, found at the southern end of the Awanui Straight near Kaitaia, had been set on fire.
Online comments included some who thought the wound looked like burns. "Has someone tried to burn it...?" asked one commenter.
Said another: "Did someone set him on fire he look very singed?"