Curiosity almost got the better of the cat after a five-year-old feline gobbled down a toy mouse and required expert surgery from leading Hertfordshire vets.
Poor little Hera had bitten off more than she could chew and ended up on the operating table at Blythwood Vets.
Thankfully, the Burmilla breed has now made a full recovery but still bears the scars of her cat and mouse escapade.
Blythwood’s Dr Christian Levan carried out the surgery and he said the case was certainly something out of the ordinary.
Dr Levan explained: “Hera had been brought to Blythwood after her owners became concerned about her reduced appetite and repeated lip smacking.
“They suspected she had eaten something untoward a few days earlier, so we carried out x-rays which clearly confirmed there were, what appeared to be, a metallic foreign body lodged in her abdomen.
“A foreign body in the abdomen is always a potentially dangerous scenario, so an immediate laparotomy (open abdominal surgery) was required to access these foreign bodies and remove them.
“That’s when we fully realised what had happened. The metallic objects were part of the toy mouse, including a bell.
“It was certainly unusual to treat a case such as this with a cat who had ingested a toy mouse. To make it even more remarkable, we were amazed to find the toy was still pretty much intact with the bell and string still attached.
“The surgery around an hour-and-a-quarter to complete. Hera recovered nicely overnight and was allowed home 24 hours later.
“She had a post-operative check three days later and everything was healing nicely, with Hera progressing well, so it all ended happily.”
