Lestat a few weeks before he was euthanised by the South Waikato SPCA.

A Tokoroa woman is calling for policy changes at the South Waikato SPCA after it euthanised her family's beloved pet cat.

Tokoroa mother Tina Hitchens became worried after her family's two-year-old black and white manx-cross cat Lestat hadn't return home for a week.

She'd made calls to local vets to see if Lestat, who had a distinct stump tail due to his breeding, had been brought in injured but no one had seen him.

LUKE KIRKEBY/ STUFF Tina Hitchens, centre, with her son Kele Coote and his girlfriend Kourtney Chapman miss having their pet cat Lestat around after the South Waikato SPCA euthanised him.

"At first I didn't think much of it as it wasn't unusual for him not to come home for a night but I was getting concerned when I hadn't seen him by Sunday afternoon," she said.

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Hitchens, who lives in a built up area of Tokoroa, said the last thing she thought was that the affectionate cat would have been picked up as a stray.

"Friends were keeping an eye on Facebook buy sell pages because they all knew he was missing and then the New Zealand Lost Pet Register shared the South Waikato SPCA's post of him being held as a stray hold," she said.

"My mum saw it and instantly sent it to me. At that stage I was so elated I had found him."

But elation soon turned to shock and anger. She discovered the SPCA had euthanised Lestat when no one came forward to claim him after its standard eight day holding period was up.

Their vet had discovered he had a kidney problem which meant he couldn't be rehomed.

"I kind of lost it. I'd finally found my cat but I was too late," she said.

She said she was told Lestat had been caught in a cat trap while the SPCA was trying to catch a white feral cat in her area and a veterinary check up discovered the kidney issue.

Hitchens said while she could understand a sick stray being euthanised, Lestat shouldn't have been caught in the first place.

"Because he did not match the description of the cat they were trying to trap I asked why he hadn't been allowed out of the trap," she said.

"The manager said it was not the SPCA's policy after they had issues with releasing another cat so now they don't let any cats go but he was caught in a residential area, obviously they are going to catch neighbourhood cats?

"There was no way you could mistake him for being a stray either as on the outside he was a perfectly happy, healthy, and playful cat. I am furious that they could take someone's pet like this."

Hitchens said the SPCA needs to change its policy to prevent further heartache.

"Why didn't they paper collar him? He would have come home and I could have rung to say he was not a stray but now it's too late," she said.

SPCA chief executive Andrea Midgen said she felt for the family but denied Lestat had ever been trapped by the SPCA.

"The cat was not trapped by the SPCA but rather by a member of public who had seen the cat wandering around alone for three weeks," she said.

"The South Waikato SPCA then followed our standard processes for all incoming animals. Unfortunately, after eight days, there was no response.

"Due to [his] illness and its poor prognosis, the veterinarian recommended that euthanasia was the best option for this cat."

Midgen encouraged pet owners to try a variety of methods if their pets go missing, including contacting the SPCA.

Hitchens has laid a formal complaint and is waiting for the results of the SPCA's investigation into the incident.