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Cat almost strangled after getting caught in netting

Cat almost strangled after getting caught in netting <i>(Image: Cats Protection)</i>
Cat almost strangled after getting caught in netting (Image: Cats Protection)

It was not that long ago that I wrote about the importance of microchipping your cats and dogs and the fact that soon it is going to be a legal requirement that all cats are microchipped, just as it already is for dogs.

Last week while I was on annual leave (apologies for my absence from these pages last week) my colleagues had a case that highlighted this advice beautifully.

A call came into the surgery from someone who was working on their allotment near our building, he had found a cat caught in netting.

The cat had become so distressed that no one could get near it, two of my colleagues went out with various bits of equipment and had to cut the netting to get the cat out (wire and all), the wire was cutting into the cat’s neck causing near strangulation.

Once back at the surgery they scanned for a chip to discover this cat was called Eddie and his owner was phoned. They then had to sedate Eddie in order to remove the netting from around his neck.

Luckily there were no more severe injuries and after a day of observation in our cat-ward Eddie was able to go home none the worse for wear.

Undoubtedly the fact that Eddie had a chip and his owner’s contact details were up to date with the central register made it much easier to reunite him with his owners than it would otherwise have been.

So please, do remember to get you pet chipped and always make sure your contact details are up to date – a chip is only useful if we can use it to find a valid contact number.

*Alice Moore is a vet at Castle Veterinary Clinic, Dorchester and Weymouth. Tel 01305 267083