WHEN Nikki Greening saw her cat Jock, after he had been hit by a car, she did not believe he would survive.

Four-year-old Jock suffered horrific injuries and had to undergo three operations, but against all the odds he survived and is now back home.

He was hit as he crossed Windsor Drive. A taxi driver rushed him to Macqueen's veterinary practice in Devizes.

Miss Greening, 35, of Cunnington Close, Devizes, said: "His face had swollen to three times the size. When I saw him I thought the kindest thing to do would be to put him down but the vet persuaded me to wait and see. Now he is alive and kicking although he is blind in his right eye."

Jock was nursed for five weeks and was fed through a tube for a month.

Ian Macqueen operated to wire up his palate which had split from his nose to the back of the mouth. Jock also suffered a dislocated jaw and his tongue had to be stitched up after it split in half.

Mr Macqueen said: "Jock is among the worst cases I have seen but having seen the way he picked up and recovered in the first 24 hours I thought this was a cat with character and he was going to pull through. He was a lovely patient, a terrific fella."