Seagull tears out Cleo the cat’s tongue as it makes terrifying bid to snatch pet from stunned owner’s garden
- Cleo the cat was rushed to a Lincolnshire vet in the hope of saving her tongue
- Owners Kim Washbourn and Callum Hedley noticed she had blood on her mouth
- This comes one month after Gizmo the chihuahua was snatched by a seagull
A cat had its tongue torn in two by a seagull who made a horrifying bid to snatch the pet.
Cleo, a Siberian-mix cat, was rushed to the vet in the hope of saving her tongue.
She underwent microsurgery in Lincolnshire where vets were able to remove the damaged area and reconstruct it.
Cleo, a Siberian-mix cat, was rushed to the vet in the hope of saving her tongue after a seagull tore it in two
Her owners, Kim Washbourn (pictured) and Callum Hedley first started to worry when they saw that Cleo was drooling and had blood around her mouth
Her owners Kim Washbourn and Callum Hedley first started to worry when they saw that Cleo was drooling and had blood around her mouth.
She was taken to taken to Vets Now in North Hykeham.
Mr Hedley, 26, said: ‘I saw her sitting on the window sill and I could tell straight away that something was wrong.
‘When I took a closer look, there was blood around her mouth and she was drooling constantly.
‘We think that’s she’s gone for a bird and pierced her tongue.’
She underwent microsurgery in Lincolnshire where vets were able to remove the damaged area and reconstruct it. Pictured with Mr Hedley
Senior vet Claire Hill said: ‘It was clear Cleo’s tongue had started to go necrotic, which basically means the cells had started to die, so surgery was essential.
‘After carrying out a thorough examination and discussing the options with Cleo’s owners we made the decision to go ahead with the operation that night.
‘It was a very delicate procedure where we had to cut away the damaged section of the tongue and then reconstruct it.’
This comes after Becca Hill was left distraught after Gizmo the Chihuahua was snatched. An RSPB spokesman told MailOnline the gull is likely to have been defending one of its chicks triggering the fierce attack.
The four-year-old dog (pictured) was carried away by a seagull from from its owner’s garden in Paignton, Devon in July
This comes one month after Gizmo the chihuahua was snatched from its owner’s garden by a seagull in Paignton, Devon.
An RSPB spokesman told MailOnline the gull is likely to have been defending one of its chicks, which may have clashed with Gizmo, triggering the fierce attack.
Tony Whitehead, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: ‘
Two things might have happened here. Given the time of year, the first possibility is that a recently fledged herring gull nesting nearby has come into conflict with the dog and the gull’s parents have defended it.
‘The second possibility is that it is simply predation, and gulls can certainly take small mammals and other birds. However, on both counts, this is still a very rare thing to happen to a dog.’
Why are seagulls so aggressive?
Herring and lesser black-backed gulls are the two species most commonly referred to as seagulls.
They can measure up to two feet long, have a wingspan of nearly five foot, and weigh up to 2.5lb.
Gulls can swoop down on people and their pets, leaving seaside-goers and animal owners terrified (stock image)
Notorious for being noisy, messy and brazen when it comes to attacking humans or small animals, seagulls are generally considered a public health risk in the UK.
They usually dive on people or animals because one of their chicks has fallen from their nest and they want to frighten off any potential threats to stop them being hurt.
Their sharp beaks, webbed feet and powerful wings mean they are capable of lifting small animals or whole containers off the ground and flying away with them.
Several councils in England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland have by-laws in place to ban people from feeding gulls and encouraging them to nest and breed.
Killing gulls should be a last resort, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, but measures are often put in place to rid them from towns and villages.
Their loud squawk and footfall are often considered to be a source of noise pollution, while their droppings often carry diseases and cause people and their pets to fall ill.
Gulls often pick at roofing materials and nest in gutters, which can cause serious damage to people’s homes, particularly if gas fumes are stopped from venting properly.