Lucky cat nearly washed up
AFTER being washed, tumbled and spun dry Me-Lu is one lucky kitten.
The four-month-old feline was accidentally put through a 20-minute cold wash cycle, but miraculously survived.
Her owners, who chose to remain anonymous, administered CPR to the Persian pussy cat after they pulled her limp body out of the machine.
The family, home at the time and consisting of the cat's owner, her mother and her daughter, suspect Me-Lu had climbed into the washing machine when it was empty.
"We leave the door of the machine open so the rubber doesn't go mouldy... and Mum just chucked some clothes straight in there," the cat's owner said.
"When it stopped and she pulled the clothes out she just started screaming.
"(Me-Lu) was really cold and looked limp. I thought she was dead.
"Mum was panicking and started giving her mouth-to-mouth.
"We ran her outside and put her on the warm cement.
"My daughter called the vets and they said to bring her in straight away."
After a rushed drive to the vet, with the heater on flat-out, the staff at Better Pet Vets worked quickly to bring Me-Lu's temperature back to a normal level.
"When she came in she wasn't conscious and only just had a heartbeat," Better Pet Vets senior vet Ashley Young said yesterday.
"We worked on getting her temperature up with heat packs; she was hypothermic when she came in."
Despite having some soapy water in her lungs, sores on her eyes from the detergent and some bruises from the spin cycle, Me-Lu is now a picture of health.
Her owners said the incident should be a warning to check their washing machines before starting a cycle.
