Comet the Kitten used one of his nine lives when he nearly died being tossed around in a soapy washing machine.

The five-month-old cat only survived because his quick thinking owners from Gillingham, performed CPR.

Comet crept into the drum and curled up inside clothes, hoping to get a good night’s sleep.

At around 4am on July 22, owner Naomi Thompson, got up to do an early morning wash and accidentally shut the door on him.

The 44-year-old only realised her mistake when she heard loud miaowing coming from the spinning machine.

Husband Perry woke to the sound of Naomi’s screaming and rushed downstairs, fearing someone was trying to break into the house.

Mr Thompson said: "Naomi was horrified when she realised miaowing was coming from the washing machine.

"The door was locked but she found the strength to rip it off.

“She said Comet was in the washing machine but I couldn’t see anything.

“I put my hand into the water and felt his tail in among the clothes right at the bottom of the big drum.

“He wasn’t breathing and his eyes were wide open. I honestly thought he was gone.

“Just at that moment, though, he twitched. I put him on the kitchen floor and started doing CPR.

"It was the only thing I could think of to try to bring him back to life.

"I was pumping his chest and breathing into his mouth and, thankfully, he came round."

Mr Thompson took Comet to emergency vets, Vets Now in Campus Way, Gillingham.

Vet nurse Victoria Camburn said: “Comet was in a pretty bad way when he came in

“He was disoriented and wheezing, so we put him straight into an oxygen tent and vet Nuria gave him fluid therapy.

“We were concerned about pneumonia, but thankfully the ultrasound scan showed there was no fluid on the lungs or in his abdomen.

"The other diagnostic tests we did, however, did show issues with his breathing and an electrolyte imbalance, which we treated.”

Comet was kept under close observation and on oxygen for the remainder of the night and the following day.

By the evening he was given the green light to go home, much to the delight of the Thompson family.

Mr Thompson said: “I still feared the worst and I dreaded having to call home and tell Naomi and the girls that he’d died.

“But the staff were magnificent and when I was allowed in to see him in his little tent he started purring and I knew that was a good sign.

“We are so grateful that Vets Now were there in the middle of the night when we needed them.

“Comet is so loved and we couldn’t bear to lose him.

My daughter Charlotte, who’s seven, is especially close to him and she wrote her own little thank you note and picture to the vets for helping bring him back to us.

"I think that’s really lovely.”

Of their three kittens, Cocoa and Gizmo, Comet is the most curious and the family now always keep the washing machine door shut and double-check before switching it on.

Mr Thomspon said: “He is totally back to his old self and just as adventurous as ever.”

• Comet was treated at Vets Now Clinic in Gillingham

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