ENGLAND – The cat scratched a nurse before it made a break for freedom.
A couple has been left completely devastated after their pet cat escaped through a vet’s window.
Their black and white cat, whose name is Timmy, broke free while he was being examined at a surgery in Prestwich on Monday and hasn’t been seen since.
He scratched a nurse just prior to bounding up a flight of stairs and jumping from a window onto a garage roof and running away.
Timothy’s owners, Linda and Mike Haworth, who are from Crumpsall , are now urging nearby residents to help with the search.
Linda, who is 62, took the six-year-old cat into the Park Veterinary Clinic on Bury New Road at approximately 3pm on Monday afternoon, July 18, after he had stopped eating.
After an initial examination, she was informed they couldn’t see any obvious thing wrong with him but they would need to take some blood.
However, after taking the cat into another room to draw the sample, they returned around 10 minutes later to explain he had escaped. The nervous cat, who they rescued as a stray when he was a kitten, is said to have scratched a nurse before fleeing.
The company which owns the vets have apologised and stated they are now reviewing procedures but Linda says she is ‘devastated’ at what’s happened and fears she might never see her beloved cat again.
She stated: “We’re both absolutely devastated and disgusted. He’s such a nervous cat and I warned them he would struggle. They left me in the main treatment room and when they came back they were all flustered and said ‘we’re really sorry to tell you he’s escaped’.
“I couldn’t believe it. When you take an animal to the vets you expect a safe and secure environment. You certainly don’t expect windows to be left wide open.
“We’ve been bringing our cats here for 25 years and never had a problem but this just shouldn’t have happened.”
Despite both staff, Linda and Mike spending many grueling hours searching for him as well as putting up posters and appeals on social media, they have so far not been able to find him and Linda says she now fears for his safety.
“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, he could be anywhere”, she concluded.
