Cat pulled to safety from canal by dog lead

A dog-owner managed to rescue a struggling cat from a canal with a little help from his dog, Monty.

Mark Orchard was walking along the Wichelstowe canal in Wiltshire with Monty, when he spotted a cat in the water swimming with the ducks.

At a second glance, Mr Orchard could tell something was wrong, as the cat was frantically swimming widths of the canal trying to escape the swans that were chasing her.

He immediately phoned his local vets for help, but in the meantime, managed to hook Monty's lead around the cat to hoist her to safety. Mr Orchard managed to keep hold of the shivering cat until staff from the vets arrived.

Jane Carter, a member of staff from the practice, said: "Her temperature was low and she was shivering violently so we put her in an incubator. She was one very lucky cat indeed thanks to Mr Orchard and, of course, with a little help from Monty."

Fortunately, the cat, a bengal named Milly, was microchipped, so staff were able to contact her owner, Natalie Smith, immediately.

She said: "When I got the voicemail from the vets saying what had happened, I just thought, 'what a stupid cat'. But when I went to pick her up and they told me everything that had happened, I realised how serious it actually was and how lucky she was.

"I got [Mr Orchard's] details and went and thanked him with a box of chocolates. It is lovely that this man stopped and helped my cat out of the canal."

The bengal breed is known to like water and they tend to be good swimmers, with Milly being no different. Ms Smith said that when she leaves some water in the bath or sink, Milly will get in and start splashing around, and she believes her cat is a regular swimmer in the canal.