Wrong cat may have been buried after mix-up at vets

41 minutes ago

Jason Arunn MurugesuNorth East and Cumbria

Zoe Downs fed Bells the cat three times a day for two years

Zoe Downs Close-up of the face of Bells the cat. He is black and white and has sharp green eyes, a pink nose and long, white whiskers. He is on the grass. — Zoe Downs fed Bells the cat three times a day for two years

A woman may have been given the wrong cat to bury due to a mix-up at the vets after it was run over.

Zoe Downs, from Seaham in County Durham, who had been feeding the stray animal for two years, took it to Seaham Vets and requested the body be returned to her if an owner could not be found.

But, after she had buried the animal, the vets called to say she may have been given the wrong cat, which she said left her "heartbroken".

Head vet Susan Turner apologised for Downs' distress. She said it was the practice's policy to not release the bodies of stray cats to members of the public in case the owner came forward but in this case an exception had been made as a "goodwill gesture".

Downs said she had been feeding the cat, which she named Bells, three times a day and took him to the vets after the accident on 13 October.

Turner said the mix-up had occurred because the team had received two dead stray cats within days of each other and both had been labelled "stray cat black and white" in cold storage.

On 21 October, Downs was given one of the body bags but Turner said she could not be sure if this was the correct cat as there were no other details on the labels.

Downs said the call from the vets to explain the possible mistake came about 15 minutes after she had buried the cat in her garden.

Downs said she had a little house for the stray to sleep in

Zoe Downs Bells the black and white cat in a small wooden hut. Bells is poking his head out of the entrance of the hut. The hut is made of white wood paneling. The hut is on the grass. — Downs said she had a little house for the stray to sleep in

Downs said she and her husband had become attached to Bells over the past two years but accepted she was not his legal owner.

"He practically lived here and we bonded with him and we had toys outside for him and a little house for him to sleep in," she said.

"We wanted to put him to rest in a place that he loved.

"I'm heartbroken."

Downs asked to be given the body of the second stray cat so it too could be buried in her garden but Seaham Vets refused.

Turner said nothing like this had happened at the practice before because of the usual policy of not handing over dead animals to anyone but the owner.

"If an owner then comes forward later, whether that cat's still in our care or not, the buck stops with us," she said.

Turner said the team acknowledged the mistake and measures had been put in place to ensure it did not happen again.