An Italian doctor is being investigated after he smuggled his injured cat into a hospital to give her a CAT scan and surgery.
Gianluca Fanelli’s two-year-old pet, Athena, broke multiple bones and damaged internal organs after she misjudged a jump and fell six storeys from a roof, Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.
Mr Fanelli decided to take her to the Umberto Parini Hospital, where he works in northern Italy, and load her into a CAT scanner to find her “between life and death”.
Taking her to a free operating table, he drained the liquid from her lungs – allowing her to breathe and saving her life.
“If I hadn’t done all I could and my cat had died I would never have forgiven myself, particularly since my children adore her,” he said.
“As a radiologist I knew I could only save her by acting fast.”
Athena survived and is now in recovery, but hospital boss Massimo Uberti has since launched an inquiry and referred the matter to the police.
He highlighted hygiene concerns, the ban on bringing pets into the hospital and the misuse of public funds.
“This matter is so incredible I thought it was a joke at first,” he said. “Unfortunately it is not and so we are investigating all possible rule violations.”
Mr Fanelli said he used the hospital equipment after hours when all the X-rays scheduled for the day had been completed, and no other patients were booked in for urgent tests.
Corriere della Sera reported he wrote in a letter to the hospital: “I am sorry if all this has led to a violation of the rules and… should my conduct have caused economic damage of any kind to the company, to personally take charge of its full reimbursement.
“Being a doctor means carrying out a mission, that of dedicating oneself completely to the service of life… The driving force that pushes you to do this is precisely the life that flows in the eyes of those who entrust themselves to your care.”
The incident made front-page news in Italy and sparked a national debate over whether Mr Fanelli’s decision was valid amid long hospital waiting lists.
Mr Fanelli’s wife Nicoletta Spelgatti, who is a senator and former regional governor, defended him and said: “In life, you do the right thing and you don’t worry about the consequences. The laws of man and those of the universe do not always go in the same direction.
“My husband saved a life. Period.”
