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Little Ted cheats death after plunging on to wooden floor
A clumsy kitten used up one of his nine lives – after squeezing through a bannister and plunging onto a solid floor.
The black and white tomcat, called Ted, fell with an awful thud from the upstairs landing in his owner’s house to the wooden floor below.
Ted, who is just 16 weeks old, had only been in his new home for five nights when the accident happened.
He was so shocked by his fall he began to fit – so owner Georgie Usher rushed him to the Vets Now pet emergency service in Bournemouth.
The clinic, which was recently rated as “outstanding” in the delivery of emergency and critical care by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, is relocating to Station Road in Wimborne on Monday, July 3.
New clinic details for Vets Now in Bournemouth
Panic stricken Georgie feared Ted was dead when she heard the thud, but, thankfully, he was just winded.
She immediately called Vets Now who offered advice over the phone about what to do next.
Georgie, who lives in Bournemouth, said: “It was just awful. It was quite late in the evening, about 11.15pm, when I heard this loud noise.
“It was like someone had thrown a book down the stairs. Then I saw Ted. He was fitting on the floor.
“I ran down the stairs, and he didn’t seem to be breathing.
“My husband and I were beside ourselves. I honestly thought we’d lost him. But it turned out he was just winded.”
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Georgie added: “The nurse on the end of the phone was extremely reassuring and calming – and I was a complete panicking wreck.
“She told us to put Ted on his tummy, to help him breathe better, and to then keep him warm and bring him into the clinic.
“I drove Ted to Vets Now and the vet saw him straight away. He was brilliant, calm, reassuring and checked Ted thoroughly.”
Incredibly, it turned out Ted hadn’t suffered a single broken bone in the fall.
He was kept in overnight as a precautionary measure but was well enough to go home to Georgie and her family the following day.
Georgie said: “He slept pretty much constantly for the next two or three days, but he’s back now to his playful self.
“This happened on a Thursday night, and we’d only collected him the Saturday before.
“We think Ted walked across our landing and squeezed through the bannisters.
“Most cats wouldn’t get through a gap that small – but Ted was so tiny he was able to manage it.
“He must have slipped and fallen off the edge.
“We’ve boarded up the bannisters now to stop him getting through.”
District vet Rebecca Pope said Ted’s story dispels the myth that cats always land on their feet.
She said: “Cats do instinctively try to fall feet first, but they also regularly break bones falling from heights.
“They are very curious animals, particularly when they’re kittens, and most love being up high.
“But they can and do lose their footing and we’ve seen injured cats who have fallen from trees, walls and even the windows of high-rise buildings.
“New kitten owners should consider following in the footsteps of Georgie and kitten-proofing their stairs and bannisters.”
Rebecca added: “In the case of Ted, our vet gave him painkillers and monitored him closely overnight.
“By the morning his condition had improved greatly and he was back to his playful self within a few hours.”
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The Vets Now clinic in Bournemouth – where Ted received treatment – was recently rated as “outstanding” in the delivery of emergency and critical care by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
It’s one of 55 Vets Now clinics and pet emergency hospitals across the UK that are open through the night, seven-days-a-week, and day and night on weekends and bank holidays, to treat any pet emergencies that may occur.