A LUCKY East Renfrewshire cat has used up one of her nine lives after miraculously surviving a 30-feet fall from a second-floor flat. 

Eight-year-old Nugget cheated death by a whisker, much to the relief of her owner Veronica Deary.

Vets at the PDSA charity were astonished to discover the clumsy moggy had escaped with nothing worse than some bruising and a few scrapes on her face.

Veronica, 38, told how her 21-year-old son heard a scratching sound coming from his window late at night, followed by a thud from outside.

“We were in a complete panic, thinking the worst,” she said. “Nugget often sits happily by the window, so we couldn’t believe she’d fallen.

“We dashed downstairs, worried about what we’d find. We were astonished to find her limping along, trying to get back home.

“She was very shaken and we were extremely worried she could have broken bones or suffered internal injuries.”

Barrhead News:

Veronica, of Burnfield Road, Thornliebank, rushed Nugget to an emergency vet but was told that X-rays and treatment could cost more than £1,000.

“We just couldn’t afford that kind of money,” she added. “Thankfully, we were referred to PDSA and Nugget was seen at the pet hospital.”

Olivia Anderson-Nathan, PDSA vet, described Nugget as “one incredibly lucky cat.

She said: “We X-rayed Nugget to check whether she had suffered any traumatic injuries but, amazingly, tests revealed she hadn’t broken a single bone.

“The bruises and a couple of scrapes to her face are the only signs of her remarkable tale of surviving a 30-feet fall.

“She will have been very sore from her bruises for the next few days but we were so pleased she was able to make a full recovery.”

Veronica is full of praise for the “fantastic” team at PDSA.

“They were brilliant and we don’t know what we would have done without them,” she said. “To have PDSA there for Nugget during this crisis meant so much.

“She’s already back to her normal self and we’re making sure all the windows are safe so this can’t happen again.”

Olivia is urging animal lovers in East Renfrewshire to support the charity’s Pet Care Crisis Emergency Appeal so it can continue to provide urgent care for much-loved pets like Nugget.

She said: “Nugget is just one of many pets we’ve treated since lockdown. From March to September, PDSA’s pet hospitals in Scotland carried out over 62,000 phone appointments, performed more than 1,000 emergency and essential operations and took 2,500 X-rays, caring for on pets whose owners can no longer afford vet fees.

“For many pets, like Nugget, whose owners are struggling financially, the PDSA pet hospitals are their only emergency service.

“Sadly, pets will continue to fall ill or get injured throughout this coronavirus crisis and many owners will be in desperate need of our help due to changes in their financial circumstances.

“I hope people will support PDSA’s Pet Care Crisis Emergency Appeal so that, together, we can reduce the impact of pet poverty caused by the pandemic.”

For more information on PDSA or to support the appeal, visit PDSA.org.uk/whywematter.