Cat caught in bear trap survives — by dragging trap home with him

On Thursday morning, Scruffy the cat stepped on an illegal bear trap. The trap clamped down on his right front paw.

And while most animals who get caught in traps don't survive, the determined Royal Oaks, California, house cat refused to be one of them.

Scruffy dragged the large metal trap to his owner's driveway. His owners immediately rushed him to East Lake Animal Clinic in Watsonville where it took a vet and a nurse to pry the trap off the cat's leg.

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With no feeling in that paw, Scruffy might be facing amputation.

"When they step on the metal plate, it releases the trap, and the bars come up against the leg. This one was big enough where, if a person stepped in it, it would have broken your ankle," veterinarian Dave Carroll told KSBW, crediting Scruffy's "scrappy spirit" for helping him drag the trap where he could get help.

The clinic is treating Scruffy free of charge.

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The SPCA is currently investigating the case, hoping to determine who set up the illegal trap.

As for Scruffy, he's recovering well.

"He's bright, alert, happy, purring, and doing all the kitty things that he should be doing," veterinarian Elizabeth Martin said on Friday.