A TABBY cat was found tied to a fence by his neck eight days after going missing.

The RSPCA is appealing to the public for information after 18-month-old Archie was discovered on a building site in Hartley Wintney.

Archie went missing from his home in Hartley Wintney on June 3.

His worried owner, Louise Heckford, delivered leaflets asking people to look out for him, and searched the local estate, which is still under construction, to try and find him.

On June 11, a construction worker on the estate found Archie lying on the ground with a tight ligature around his neck and the other end tied to a temporary metal fence.

He was very thin, dehydrated and not moving.

Louise was contacted immediately and took her cat to the vets, where the nylon cord around his neck was cut away.

The tie had caused an open depression wound around Archie’s neck, and it is suspected that it was tied around him deliberately.

Fortunately, Archie is now recovering well but the RSPCA is hoping someone from the local area may know how he came to be tied up.

Louise said: “We were distraught when Archie went missing, we leaflet dropped 200 houses and made posters.

“He usually goes out at very regular times and has never been missing before.

“I don’t know where he had been as we searched the area where he was found. We were lucky the builders had been keeping an eye out for him.

“We are so glad to have him home now and are grateful he was ok, although he has lost a lot of confidence.

“Now we just want to make sure no one else has to go through this.”

Jan Edwards, an RSPCA inspector, said: “This was a horrible ordeal for poor Archie and his owners too. He must have been terrified when he was tied up and we don’t know how long he had been there.

“We’d like to get to the bottom of what happened to prevent this possibly happening again to any other cats.”

Anyone with information should call the RSPCA on 0300 123 8018.