A HEARTBROKEN pet owner says a family kitten 'would still be alive' if the vet had seen her 'straight away'.

Shelby Molyneux, from Walney, said she contacted Grove Vets, the centre where the kitten was registered, at 11am on March 15 after her kitten Nova suffered a seizure -

The mum-of-two explained the vets said that for her kitten’s age (11 months) it was ‘normal’ to have a seizure.

"I was crying down the phone to her, telling her that she needed to be seen," said Shelby.

Shelby explained that Grove Vets said that if she had another seizure to 'call them again'.

The Mail: Shelby with her kitten. Shelby with her kitten. (Image: Submitted)As she wanted the kitten to be seen immediately due to her age and because it had never happened before, she rang a different veterinary centre which saw her at 1pm.

Shelby said: “Grove Vets were not sympathetic with how I was crying over the phone and basically asking for help. They were just like: 'It happens to kittens' and I was like I have never known a kitten to have seizures and this type of symptoms to be ok.

“She went blind as the day went on and she started breathing really heavily.”

Shelby said her kitten had to be put down on that day and that if Grove Vets had seen her straight away she would have still been alive.

She said: “She deteriorated through the day. Her electrolytes went really low to the point where they were not able to save her.

"Her body was shutting down so they had to put her down to stop the stress." 

The Mail: Shelby's son with their kitten.Shelby's son with their kitten. (Image: Submitted)

Shelby said she called Grove Vets on the morning of March 22 two times but with no success.

A spokesperson for Grove Vets said: "The loss of a pet is a really difficult and distressing time, and our sincerest condolences always lie with our clients.

"Our dedicated team at Grove Vets aim to provide a professional and caring service at all times, and the most important thing to us is the welfare of pets in our care.

"Due to client confidentiality, we cannot comment publicly on individual cases. However, we take any allegations of substandard delivery of care to animals or their owners extremely seriously and all complaints are investigated thoroughly.

"We encourage our clients to please take any complaints directly to us at the practice, through the customary channel and our team will endeavour to resolve any issues directly with our clients.”