A CAT has been given a new lease of life – after being fitted with a tiny pacemaker.
Family pet Snooks used to collapse eight times a day as his heart stopped beating.
The episodes got so bad that at time his heart would stop for up to 12 seconds.
But now he has one of his nine lives back after a team at the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine fitted him with a £3,000 pacemaker.
The intricate operation involved accessing his heart through his belly and attaching a special lead to the outside of the muscle.
This lead, which connects to a pacemaker, can detect when Snooks’ heart fails to beat and sends an electrical impulse.
Heart specialist Valentina Palermo said it is the first time the school had implanted such a device into a cat.
She said: “He had a history of heart blockages over three weeks and collapsed multiple times each day.
“Giving him a pacemaker was his only chance.
“We have placed pacemakers many times in dogs but Snooks was the first cat to have one at our hospital.”
A pacemaker recheck, which took place a month after the operation, showed that Snooks was doing well and has not collapsed since.
By coincidence, Snooks’ owner, 70-year-old Ian Anderson, underwent heart treatment at the same time as his cat.
Ian, from Kilwinning, Ayrshire, said: “My heart went into overdrive and Snooks’ heart slowed to a stop.
“Snooks got a pacemaker and I was treated with drugs at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock.
“Doctors warned me I may have to get a pacemaker too.
“Neither of us is getting any younger but thankfully there’s treatment for Snooks and me.”
