A cat lover was stunned when she opened a tin of pet food and found it was teeming with wriggling maggots.

Michelle Cavalli had bought a multi-pack of tinned cat food from the Pets at Home store on Horsted Retail Park in Chatham.

The home help care worker said she realised immediately something was wrong because of the putrid smell coming from the tin – and then she spotted the maggots.

Miss Cavalli also thinks her 14-year-old son Jack may have inadvertently fed their four cats - Charlie, Keith, Maud and Tarquin - with another can of food from the same batch.

All the cats were ill for the next couple of days.

Miss Cavalli, of Cutter Close, Upnor, said: "I think he may have fed them from another tin and not noticed maggots were in it.

"The cats had upset stomachs for a few days afterwards.

"I took the tin back to the store and they offered me a refund and some more food, but the woman didn't even want to look in the tin.

"I asked if that was all they were going to do and she brought a form out and got me to fill it in.

"She said someone from the company would be in touch, but no one has yet."

A Pets at Home spokesman said: "We are passionate about pets and take complaints about any product we sell very seriously.

"All of our products go through rigorous safety checks.

"In the case of tinned food products, all tins are heat-treated to 129C in order to cook and sterilise the product."

Video: Maggots wriggling around in Pets at Home cat food

The spokesman added: "We have had no other complaints of this nature, which leads us to believe that this is an unfortunate but isolated incident caused by damage post-production.

"Any dent or hole in the tin could allow oxygen to enter the can and cause the contents to decay and allow a fly to lay eggs in the breach.

"Now that the product has been returned, we will investigate the matter."

Have you ever found maggots in your pet food? Leave a comment below.