A CAT has escaped with her life but not her tail after someone snapped her spine.

Mittens is thought to have had her spine broken by someone but she was lucky – had it broken in a slightly different place she would have had to be put down.

Her owners now want to warn people to be careful and think before they grab a cat’s tail.

Owner Gemma Stevens said: “I don’t think anyone would do it intentionally, but what if a child was trying to stroke her, she tried to run away and so they grabbed her tail?”

Mrs Stevens, of Kohima Drive, Norton, near Worcester, does not know what exactly happened to Mittens.

“She went out the night before and did not come in which was very odd,” she said.

“The next day she was in the garden and I thought she was sunbathing.

“But then my husband pointed out there was something wrong with her tail. When we went out to have a look, it was completely dead. When we tried touching the base of her spine she moved a bit and cried.

“At first we thought she had maybe been run over but the vet took one look and said this was a tail pulling injury.

“What’s more, it couldn’t have been caused by an animal. This has been done by a human being.”

Mittens was kept in overnight and the next day her owners were shown the X-ray, which clearly pictured the break near the base of her spine.

Mrs Stevens was told she might have to be put down, as the break could have affected her bladder control.

What followed was a tense wait to see whether she could still urinate – and when she finally did, there were cheers and hugs all round.

Vet Jonathan Niccol, of Companion Care, said: “It’s hard to tell exactly what happened unless we were there and I think it was probably an accident.

“In Mitten’s case we were quite lucky but it depends on how high up the spine the injury is. A lot of cats cannot be saved.”

It cost the Stevens about £635 in veterinary charges to treat Mittens, who ended up losing her tail but otherwise made a full recovery.

Mrs Stevens now has Mittens back at home – albeit a little less of her than there was before.

“I just want to tell people to be careful,” she said. “We had the best outcome but it could have been different.”