A family from Coleford left with an expensive veterinary bill to pay have said they were amazed by the kindness of a man who gave them money on overhearing their plight. Nikki Selway’s cat, Patch, had to have his tail amputated last week at a Midsomer Norton veterinary practice, which left the young family facing a bill of around £500.

Handing over their last £40 for the month, Nikki and her partner sat back down to think about a payment plan for Patch, having already spent over £900 on the unfortunate feline, who had only a few months ago had to have his leg amputated when he returned home, not being able to put any weight on it.

The couple had managed to get some money together and paid £200 for the first operation using funds given to them at Christmas, the rest being loaned to them by a family member, which they are paying off monthly.

Nikki says: “Patch is three-years-old and we’ve had him since he was born. He has always been a character, and has a funny breathing noise, which is worse when he purrs. The vet found he has an enlarged heart, but could not find a reason for the noise.

“A few days ago, we noticed his tail wasn’t right and felt really stiff. On closer inspection, we could see he had a nasty wound on it. We took him to the vets and we had an estimate for the operation, which went well and Patch was happy. I planned to pick the cat up when my partner came home – we also have a two-year-old son.

how much we could pay at the time of picking Patch up and asked for £200, which we knew we couldn’t afford. We paid our last few pounds and arranged to set up a payment plan. We left it at that and despondently sat down.

“Watching the people around us while we waited for Patch, there was a tall man with a springer spaniel puppy in his arms. A few minutes went by and the man and puppy had left, but he returned with some money in his hands. He said quietly to us, ‘Did you drop this outside?’ We said no, we have no money on us like that! He then put the cash between us and said ‘use it for your pet’ and left. We sat there in silence for a minute in complete shock – it was £100 in £20 notes.

“I just wanted to let him know that I gave the money straight to the receptionist and paid £100 off the bill, exactly as he intended. We are so grateful to him for this amazing act of kindness.”

Kilmersdon resident, Jim Plunkett-Cole, who was in the veterinary surgery at the time, blogged about the story online and by Friday evening, 5,000 people across the country had seen it. Despite now only having three legs and no tail, and certainly having lost one or two of his nine lives, Patch is now doing well and adjusting to his new physique!