A woman is devastated after her kitten died when a piece of string went ‘straight through her guts’ - from a new chair. Joanne Moriarty, 49, says an attached tassel came loose from the pink 'pouffe' and was swallowed by her cat.
Joanne, who runs a dog walking and pet-sitting business, says vets were unable the save the five-month-old cat, named Bonnie Blue. She has since been left heartbroken and with a £1,400 bill from the vet.
Sellers Freemans have now added a line to its care leaflet saying that ''claws and teeth may tear/dislodge fabrics and fillings, which may pose a choking risk''.
Joanne said: “The vet said it was like a cheese wire, it just went through her guts. There was nothing he could do.
“He didn’t know how she was presenting as being a happy little kitten when she was like that, not for one moment did he think he wouldn’t be able to save her.''
The incident occurred on August 31 when Joanne noticed a piece of string coming out of Bonnie Blue’s bottom. From her professional experience, she knew not to pull on the string and to contact the vet immediately.
She said: “The vet initially quoted £4000 for the surgery and the hospital care. It was a huge amount of money, but I didn’t care, I was prepared to sell my car to save her if I needed to.”
The vet operated on little Bonnie Blue for over two hours, but ultimately couldn’t save her and only charged Joanne for half an hours’ worth of surgery time. At 10pm that night, the vet and Joanne decided it would be best to put Bonnie Blue down as the risk of infection grew too high.
The feline’s death has caused massive heartbreak for Joanne, her family and her other pets. She said: “My whole life revolved around animals so this is devastating for me.
“I haven’t had a night’s sleep since it happened, I feel really traumatized from the situation. I keep waking up and calling Bonnie Blue’s sister, Norma Jeane, to check whether she’s still breathing or okay.
“Norma Jeane had never even been away from Bonnie their entire lives – she’s been devastated. The dog and my other two older cats have been upset too, and the people responsible just don’t care.”
The string came from a tassel attached to a chair Joanne bought from the popular online retailer, Freemans. Ms Moriarty said: “I want to spread awareness, no animal should have to die this way.
“It’s absolutely devastating, if I hadn’t have gotten that chair, she’d still be alive now.”
A Freemans spokesperson said: ''We have been in contact with the customer and appreciate what a difficult time this must be for Ms Moriarty and her family. We once again take this opportunity to offer our sincerest condolences for the loss of the family’s kitten.
''The safety of customers is of paramount importance to Freemans and something we take very seriously. As such, every Freemans product goes through stringent testing to ensure that it is safe to use.
''We’ve sold a number of these pouffes and have received no other complaints. Even though this is an isolated incident we have taken Ms Moriarty’s comments on board and have let her know (20 September 2022) that going forward, as well as the existing advice printed on the care leaflet (that states that animals should be kept away from the poufee, to avoid damage) we have also added a line, as requested, that states that claws and teeth may tear/dislodge fabrics and fillings, which may pose a choking risk.''
