by Simon Tulett

stulett@thekmgroup.co.uk

A cat owner was feline far from fine when his prized pet was unexpectedly given the snip at the vets.

Ian Renfrew had planned to breed Archie, a 16-month-old half British blue, after he gathered a string of admirers from friends and family.

But the idea was cut short after the animal went under the knife for a routine operation, and was given more of a chop than his owner says he bargained for.

Bosses at The Shrubbery Veterinary Centre in Northfleet claim they were given authorisation to carry out the procedure by the cat owner’s girlfriend.

But Mr Renfrew, 42, says he was left “gobsmacked” when he picked his pet up from surgery and was billed for a castration as well as a procedure to remove a small cyst from its paw.

The Carillion Rail construction manager, of Nelson Road, Northfleet, said: “I took him down there because he’d been limping quite badly for a few days after a scuffle with his dad, Alfie.

“When I went to pick him up the next day I got the bill for an X-Ray, some stitches in his paw, and then a castration.

“I was just so shocked I thought it was a wind-up. I couldn’t believe it. It’s like me going to the doctor’s for a check-up and coming out without my bits.”

The vets, in Perry Street, Northfleet, say Mr Renfrew’s girlfriend, Emma Weedon, agreed to their recommendation that Archie be castrated - a standard practice for male cats to stop them fighting and getting bite wounds, something Miss Weedon denies.

Surgery director David Mason said: “We accept that, with the benefit of hindsight, it would have been preferable to have dealt with Mr Renfrew only in this matter.

“We are unsure as to whether this is a simple case of miscommunication between the couple.”

Mr Renfrew has written to the surgery asking for £2,500 compensation, but The Shrubbery has said it will not contact its insurers until it receives proof of Archie’s pedigree and confirmation that Mr Renfrew’s girlfriend did not have authority to act on his behalf.