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Sussex vets have saved the life of a deaf cat which was attacked by another animal in her own garden.

Five-year-old Coco, from Brighton, was born completely deaf, which is why her owner, Michelle, doesn’t let her out to roam the streets.

However, in June, while Coco was in the garden, Michelle’s son heard a strange noise which ‘sounded like a nasty catfight’. Alarmed, he ran to the back door to see an animal – believed to be a fox – attacking Coco.

The five-year-old moggy was left with a large injury on her leg which was bleeding profusely, as well as some wounds to her lips.

Coco was rushed to Brighton PDSA Pet Hospital, where vets quickly admitted her.

Vet Katerine Burfield said: “On examination, we found large, deep wounds on Coco’s front right leg. We could see right down to the bone and immediately knew this was a very serious injury.”

“[We] assessed the extent of the damage, and thankfully found no fractures, however the wound was very deep and contaminated with dirt which had to be extensively cleaned and flushed.

“We were very concerned about how Coco’s wounds would heal – due to both their depth and the dirt, but also because the blood and nerve supply had been badly damaged.”

Sussex vets have saved the life of a deaf cat which was attacked by another animal in her own garden. Photo: PDSA

Unfortunately, the wound became infected and it was clear that the blood supply had been damaged – the decision was then made to amputate Coco’s leg to give her the best chance of survival.

Despite this sad decision, Michelle has confirmed that Coco is ‘slowly adjusting to life on three legs’.

She said: “We all felt extremely sad and shocked that this had happened to Coco. She is a massive part of our family, and we all do our best to protect her.

“We’re still making sure she gets lots of rest so that she can return to her old self soon - our little family is so relieved that Coco is on the mend.”

“Without PDSA, I don’t know what I would have done. I can’t thank them enough!”

The total cost for Coco’s treatment was £1,472.38.

It costs £75.4 million a year to run PDSA’s services across the UK which help 390,000 pets every year.

If you would like to donate, visit the PDSA website.

Sussex vets save the life of deaf cat attacked by animal in garden