A pet owner wants people to be more careful when painting their fences after his curious cat was left covered.
Jemma Mossop, 32, was scared when her cat, George, came home covered head to toe in what she thinks is brown paint.
She claimed one of her neighbors had left a can of paint without a lid in their yard – and mischievous George decided to check it out.
Mossop, from Morecambe, England, rushed 6-month-old George to the vet to have his eyes checked.
Jemma Mossop, SWNS/Zenger
Rags and towels were then used to wipe off as much paint as possible before applying clippers to the fur which was too poorly coated to save.
George is home safe and sound, and Mossop issues a warning to people who leave paint cans uncovered in their yard in hopes of saving other animals from the same fate.
She said on Facebook: “If you’re using paints or stains in the garden to brighten things up for the summer…put the lids on or put them away overnight!
“Even if you hate cats – it could have been a hedgehog, a squirrel, a fox or any other small garden creature, all because someone couldn’t be [bothered] put away their creosote.”
And the photographer, who lives with husband Duncan, 34, and their daughter, added: “My poor boy usually goes out late for a quick walk before bed.
“He came out around 11 p.m., and when I got up to go to the bathroom around 11:15 p.m., he was sitting dripping wet outside my daughter’s bedroom door.
“I first thought it was mud due to the torrential rain we had that night, but when I picked it up I realized it was greasy.
“When I turned on the light, it was completely covered in a thick, dark brown oil-based stain.
“I let my husband wipe it off his eyes as he struggled to open them and called the emergency vets for help.
“They said to put him down immediately because of the risk to his eyes and skin, as well as poisoning if swallowed while trying to groom himself.
“We were there for about two hours trying to clean him up in an incredibly slow process of shampoo and wipe him down with rags and towels, and cut his fur when the oil slick came off – it was too thick to put clippers in initially.
“His vet was absolutely amazing.
“We were lucky he was cooperating otherwise he would have had to be anesthetized but he seemed to know we were helping him and just sat watching us work.
“He was such a good boy and let me just hold him while she triaged him. The poor vets must have wasted about 20 pads on him.
“We were very lucky to have caught him so quickly before he had a chance to try and groom himself and before he had a chance to lay in his eyes and skin. – it causes ulcers in the eyes and skin irritation if not removed quickly.
“Fortunately, he is now at home feeling very sorry for himself.
“He had a very lucky escape, but it scares me so much that wild animals could do this to themselves without getting help, or that he could come in after I went to bed and not be found. before morning when he would have almost certainly died trying to groom himself as he is poisonous if ingested.
“It’s going to take months for his fur to grow back, and he’s dyed brown, but it could have been so much worse!
“Even if you hate cats – it could have been a hedgehog, a squirrel, a fox or any other small garden creature, all because someone couldn’t be mad to put away their creosote once was done using it for the day!”
Produced in association with SWNS.
This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.