There is a happy ending to the tale of a tiny kitty just a whisker from death.
Most two-legged guests visit the luxurious Macdonald Rusacks Hotel in St Andrews to unwind but one four-legged visitor wound up in a rather tight squeeze.
For the small bundle of fluff, curiosity certainty almost killed the cat.
Because the miracle moggy, only 12 weeks old, ended up jammed in a tiny gap between a wall and a little-used basement window at the hotel.
Unbeknown to staff or guests, the frightened feline was stuck fast, without food or water, and in sub-zero temperatures.
Then on Friday staff heard a faint mewing and investigated, only to see the poor bedraggled male kitten jammed tight.
And it was lucky they did, for the rescue operation which swung into action definitely meant that, while the cat lost one of his lives, he still has another eight left.
General manager Chris Feeney took up the story.
“We saw him and he wasn’t moving so we rushed to the window in the basement, which probably hasn’t been opened in 100 years, to try and get him out,” he said.
“There were some marks on the window where we think he had been try to jump back out.
“When we got him out he wasn’t moving at all, in fact he was barely breathing. To think he is OK is unbelievable.”
Moved by his struggle for survival, big- hearted staff rushed the poorly puss to the Provost Vet Group in St Andrews, where vet Will Goad immediately started work on the youngster.
He was suffering from hypothermia and hypoglycaemia, was barely breathing and semi-conscious.
“He was very close to death,” Will said. “He would not have survived much longer without our help.”
However, the tiny battler responded to the vet’s TLC quickly.
After being warmed and given intravenous glucose, the youngster was on the mend and was soon “ravenously hungry”.
Will thought the kitten, who is still thinner than normal but on the path back to strength, might have been stuck there between five and seven days and there was little doubt he was found just in the nick of time.
“He wouldn’t have lasted another day, I am sure,” the vet added.
Now the search is on for the cat’s owner, although it is thought he is probably feral.
Hotel staff recalled seeing an adult cat in the area more than a week ago and it may be she was searching for her kitten.
However, the cute cat will never be out in the cold again as many potential human slaves sorry, owners are lining up.
At the head of the queue is Rusacks’ porter Jay Goldsmith, who wants to make him a furry addition to his family.