Police in Northland investigating reports of “loud banging and clanging” found their suspect in an unfortunate position and avoided a potential cat-astrophe.

Residents of a Northland home called for help late last night when they heard strange noises coming from outside their home, in the pitch-black night.

Police said that two officers headed to the scene - only to find that the source of the noise was an unfortunate ginger cat that had managed to wedge its head inside an aluminium teapot used for watering plants.

The cat was freed from its self-imposed imprisonment and “scampered off into the night uninjured,” police said in a post on Facebook.

Kiwis were quick to respond to the hilarious incident, with one noting that “curiosity nearly killed the cat”.

“Fur-tunately, what could’ve been cat-aclysmic, turned out to be purr-fectly innocent. I hope the kitty in the kettle is feline better and is free from cat-astrophe,” another punned.

“Community policing at its best! Thanks for your efforts on behalf of us all, and for maintaining your sense of humour ... it can’t be easy!” another wrote.