VETS who nursed a stray cat discovered just ‘hours from death’ in a lake are hoping to reunite her with her owner.

The black short-haired moggy was taken to Shaw Vets after a woman discovered her on the banks of Peatmoor Lake as she walking back from dropping her child off at a nearby school.

Veterinary nurses cleaned the cat up and put her on a drip when she was brought in to their Ramleaze Drive centre. They said the cat was suffering from flu and was covered in fly eggs.

Natalie Hudson, who was on duty when the cat was brought in on September 20, said she was lucky to have survived.

“She was in an awful state and probably would not have survived the night,” she said.

“She had very bad flu and was covered in fly eggs and thousands of fleas – had the eggs hatched into maggots she could have been eaten alive.

“I think being out in those conditions must have made her flu flare up again.

“We cleaned her off and put her on a drip because she was refusing food at first – she was very thin so could have been out there for anything up to a couple of weeks.

“She has regained her strength a little bit now but she is not a young cat, maybe late-middle aged. It may be that her owners thought she had gone away to die and they will have been missing her.”

Fellow veterinary nurse Anita Pile said the cat had no collar or microchip so they had no way of identifying her, but appealed for the owners to come forward and claim her.

She said: “She’s a cracking little cat and there is no sign she has been dumped – it may be her owners are missing her but because she isn’t chipped they can’t find her.

“We are really hoping they see her in the Adver and come and collect her.”

To contact Shaw Vets visit the surgery at Lucena House, in Shaw Village Centre, off Ramleaze Drive or call 01793 881 919.