Kitten survives washing machine spin cycle

A kitten called Scampi was close to drowning after he climbed into a washing machine moments before it was put on a spin cycle. The inquisitive eight-week old ginger and white cat hopped into the washing machine when his owner Frances Leate, 29, left the room to collect some laundry. Frances, of Colchester, Essex placed more clothes into the drum and switched the load on for a 40-degree wash.

The mother-of-one was texting friends when she suddenly realised Scampi was not about and a "feeling in the pit of her stomach" told her that the tiny terror in the wash. She rushed into her kitchen to be confronted with the awful sight of the the washing machine filling with water before starting to spin. The hysterical mum switched the machine off but the water remained in the drum and she watched her beloved kitten "drowning" in front of her because the automatic lock initially prevented her from opening the door.



Frances dashed outside and frantically knocked on her neighbour Pam Morris' door and the pair finally managed to pull the sodden and lifeless moggy from the machine. Frances said: "I could see his little body squashed up against the glass. He was looking out at me and it was just awful - I could see that he was drowning and I was desperately trying to get the door open. I completely and utterly panicked and was thinking whether to phone the police or the fire brigade but rushed out of my flat to get help."

She picked up her bedraggled and lifeless pet and was initially convinced he was dead. But when she realised Scampi was still breathing she rushed to her car and drove him to her local vets. She was told the little kitten had a large amount of water on his lungs and was lucky to be alive. After a night at the vets and a course of antibiotics, the tiny tearaway is back at home and has even been jumping back into the washing machine.