Cadbury the cat's £10,000 surgery to fix his paralysed larynx has left his owner Jean Kelly distinctly 'paw' – but she doesn't mind one bit.

With 13-year-old Cadbury now back at his Olney home, perfectly healthy – and vocal – Jean insists: "I'll be in debt for ages but it was worth every penny."

She first noticed there was a problem with her chocolate-coloured pet, who she adopted as a stray, when he started making a weird noise 'like a wind tunnel' instead of miaowing.

"He was breathing with his mouth open too...I took him to the vet and was told his larynx was paralysed and causing his throat to become blocked. He needed an emergency operation or he would die."

Jean, 40, did not hesitate, even though she knew the surgery would run into thousands of pounds.

"I know he's not a young cat but I wanted to give him a fighting chance.
"I've had him since he was five months old. He followed my sister home one night and was skinny and neglected. She couldn't keep him so I said I'd look after him for a week," Jean told the Citizen.

A media relations manager for Blakelands based SEAT UK, Jean is an RSPCA volunteer in her spare time and sees hundreds of unwanted cats and kittens.

Fortunately Cadbury was insured with Petplan which reimbursed £6,000 towards the surgery, carried out by a cat throat specialist through Olney's Willow vets.

Jean had to find the remaining £4,000 – which meant she was forced to cancel a dream trip to volunteer on a wildlife sanctuary in Africa.

But even now Cadbury, because part of his larynx has been removed, is incapable of a full-blown miaow, said Jean.
"It's actually more of a hissy sound. But it's good enough for me – at least he has his voice back!"