Linda Haworth breaks down in tears when she describes how she took her cat to her veterinarian because he wasn’t feeling well. He had stopped eating. Whilst at the clinic the veterinarian decided that she needed to take some blood tests and took Timmy into a different room.
Before she did so, Linda mentioned that Timmy was agitated and that he is a sensitive cat. Nonetheless the veterinarian took him to a room where she could take blood samples. She came back not long afterwards looking upset. She told Linda that Timmy had escaped. Linda thought that she meant Timmy had escaped into the clinic somewhere. However, the veterinarian explained that Timmy had escaped to the outside.
Timmy had escaped the room and then had run up a flight of stairs and jumped out of an open window which overlooked a garage roof. He then ran away. Linda is absolutely distraught as any concerned cat guardian would be. Linda says:
“We’re both absolutely devastated and disgusted. He’s such a nervous cat. 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 his escaped’. I can’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.”
Both Linda and her husband Mike spent many hours looking for Timmy and putting up posters and appealing on social media. So far they have been unable to find him. Naturally, Linda fears for his safety.
Linda says that he’s probably curled up somewhere terrified and of course he is ill and not eating which makes his predicament doubly worrying. Not knowing what’s going on is very upsetting for her. She prays that she can find him before his illness gets the better of him.
The clinic is part of the Regan Veterinary Group and their clinical director said:
“We are devastated that this is happened and have apologised to Mr Mrs Haworth wholeheartedly. We take the safety of animals in our care very seriously but in this case something went wrong and we will be investigating and reviewing our procedures carefully. Our immediate priority however is to find Timmy and we have already printed out posters, carried out a local search and posted hid details on our social media platforms.”
The story is interesting because it is the first time that I have heard of a cat visiting a veterinary clinic escaping from the clinic. I’m going guess what happened. In the hot weather, and it has been very hot, the clinic decided to open a window. And the door to the room where the blood tests were being carried out must have been open as well (perhaps to facilitate a flow of air) and that left access to the outside. Timmy seized the opportunity.
There is a moral here no doubt which is that cats are nearly always agitated at veterinary clinics which means they could struggle and escape the control of the veterinarian or staff and from that point on anything can happen. Precautions need to be taken at all times as disaster can strike in the blink of an eye.
The clinic is the Park Veterinary Clinic, Prestwick, UK.
Michael_ you have made a good point. This clinic is a storefront and he could have been picked up.If not I would search for an injured cat who is hiding from the world. has anyone thought he could be hiding or even fell or ran into a storm drain or even jumped into a strangers vehicle? I would be just so worried and I do feel their frustration.
Eva_
You know it this problem never really occurred to me until I read the story but I now see the danger. Thanks ME.
Thanks for your good advice Jennifer. I am fearful he’ll be run over because the clinic is on the road.
Most vet clinics have a set up that prevents this kind of mishap.
One of the reasons we left a clinic we had used for years was the lax attitude of open doors from one area to the next.
There is a nifty invention called a window screen. Shame on this clinic.
Lets hope Timmy is found soon.
She needs to get to http://www.catsinthebag.org asap! Put out live traps near the clinic and make sure they’re watched every second. Dear Lord, please let this woman be reunited soon with her cat and may he be in good health!!!
I wish she had insisted on being with her moggie for the blood test,my vet allows me to stay with mine especially when my beloved Mysterymine needed to have a blood panel done because he was more calm with me in the room,I hurt for this woman!