A Burmese kitten has remarkably made a full recovery after its owner accidentally put on a front loader washing machine not noticing the feline was curled up inside.
The owner said the nine-month-old cat, named Pablo, was napping inside the tub at their Gold Coast home after the door was left open.
Pablo was tossed around during a 55-minute tub clean cycle, which did not contain any clothes.
When the owner opened the door after the cycle was done, they were horrified to find the beloved pet in critical condition.
They rushed him to the Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH) for emergency care.
SASH staff member Ella Yarsley told Seven News that Pablo had suffered a ‘brain injury, lung injury’, and ‘lost several toes’.
‘He was probably in the most dire condition I’ve seen in a case in a long time,’ she said.
‘Not many have seen cats go through a whole cycle and survive … it was pretty close to a miracle.’
The vets wrote online that similar incidents were more common than many believe.
‘A big thank you to Pablo’s family for allowing us to share his story and raise awareness about the dangers of one of the favourite hiding spots for cats,’ they wrote.
‘Believe it or not, this is a relatively common occurrence we see at SASH.’
Pablo is now reportedly ‘almost back to full health’.
A similar incident occurred on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in July 2020, when a two-year-old Burmese cat named Oscar became trapped inside a warm cycle.
He had also climbed into the machine for a nap before enduring a 12-minute wash with detergent.
In 2019, Poppy, a six-month-old kitten from Launceston, Tasmania, was pulled from the front-loader machine after a 30-minute cycle.
Her horrified owners, who did not realise Poppy had made her way into the machine, rushed the kitten to the CBD Animal Medical Centre for treatment.
Poppy was disorientated and suffered bruising but luckily escaped without serious injury.
