Cat survives four hours inside clothes dryer
They say a cat has nine lives and Minam sure proves that.
The 11-year-old with a heart condition managed to survive the four-hour ordeal inside a clothes dryer at his Melbourne home.
Syma realised Minam had gone for a spin on a four-hour cycle with no way out. A Current Affair
Owner Syma rushed out the door and put the dryer on one Wednesday morning, unaware her beloved old tabby had cosied up in a doona inside.
“Oh I’m still so guilty and I’m still traumatised,” Syma said.
“I couldn’t imagine what he would have felt like.”
She came back about four hours later and wondered where Minam was.
“So I was like, ‘oh my God where’d you go?’” she said.
Syma then realised he had gone for a spin on a four-hour cycle with no way out.
“I heard a little scratch after I said ‘Minam’ and then a little meow and I was like, ‘oh my God, is that coming from the dryer?’
“That’s when I opened the door and he was just standing there.
“He looked sort of normal at first but then when I picked him up he had clearly drooled or vomited all over the side of him and he was panting quite heavily.
“He doesn’t have many teeth so his little tongue usually hangs out, so it was just hanging out, so I was like oh he looks kind of normal.”
Minam had persevered through an ordeal most don’t claw their way out of.
Syma said she felt guilty and traumatised by the incident. A Current Affair
“I was picturing him tumbling around and then I was trying to make sense of how long it would have gone on for,” Syma said.
Syma rushed the tabby to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital where head vet Kassandra Makeham put him straight on oxygen.
“I’ve never seen one live before, so it was incredible that he survived,” Makeham said.
“Especially not with a heart condition, an older gentleman of 11.
“He’s a senior, he’d have his senior’s card.”
Minam suffered full body bruising, swelling to his face and dehydration.
“Lort Smith said it would have helped that there was a doona ’cause it would have sort of helped with the impact,” Syma said.
Minam has persevered through an ordeal most don’t claw their way out of. A Current Affair
He stayed in the intensive care unit for two days.
“I couldn’t believe that it had occurred,” Syma said.
“I’ve heard of cats going into dryers, he’s never shown any interest in the dryer at all, he’s never crawled in there.”
Vets are warning cat owners to be mindful during winter.
“Shut the dryer and check, pat it down before you actually start it because if you pat and you feel something lumpy, then of course there’s going to be a cat in there who’s found a really cozy spot to actually go and hang out,” Makeham said.
“That door is forever going to be shut, I’m paranoid for the rest of my life,” Syma said.
“I have so much more love to give him.”
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