WEIRD NEWS OF THE WEEK: Vets get cat 'blind drunk' with a drip of VODKA

Although the cat was left ‘blind drunk’, the treatment helped remedy poison contained in the anti-freeze.

18:04 22 October 2014

Vets have saved the life of a cat that was seriously ill after being doused by anti-freeze. Their course of treatment was somewhat controversial as it involved using vodka.

Missey the cat was attacked by cruel thugs who covered her in anti-freeze outside her home. She was rushed to the vets who suggested the alcohol-based treatment.

Sara, a Morrisons supervisor, said: "When we heard about the treatment I was just shocked. I had no idea you could even give an animal vodka.

"Missey was totally blind drunk. She was treated over the course of two days and got through half a litre bottle of 37.9 per cent vodka.

"She was trying to get up, but toppled over. Her eyes were out of focus and when we took her home in a carry basket, her mouth has pressed up against the wire so it looked as though she had her teeth bared.

"At one point she was lying down trying to swipe at a pen and she just kept missing it, she was that out of it. It was totally mad."

Vets monitored the cat’s condition for 24 hours.

Andrew Miller, a vet at White Cross, explained: "The vodka treatment is quite unusual but is commonly used on animals who have swallowed anti-freeze. They are fed the vodka through a drip and they do get quite drunk.

“It is the ethanol used in this particular spirit which helps.

"Anti-freeze is extremely toxic to animal’s kidneys. We specifically use vodka because the ethanol in it neutralises the substance in the poison.”