A DISTRAUGHT pet owner from Bury is desperate to find where her beloved cat was cremated.

Helena Abrahams, aged 46, of Broadoaks Terrace, put out a plea when Gizmo went missing in July 2016 near to her home.

A few weeks later she received what she described as an “abrupt” call from Kathryn Nuttall, a vet at Middleton practice, Jackson & Nuttall, explaining Gizmo’s last hours.

Miss Abrahams was told Gizmo had been hit by a car outside Miss Nuttall’s house and Gizmo’s injuries were found to be so severe she needed putting down immediately.

After being told Gizmo had been buried on a farm, Miss Abrahams asked for the body to be returned, only to then be told Gizmo had in fact been burnt.

Upset about the way she was told about Gizmo’s death, the change in story and the decision to cremate, Miss Abrahams reported Miss Nuttall to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).

Miss Nuttall wrote letters to Miss Abrahams’ and the RCVS giving her account of the incident.

In the letters, seen by The Bury Times, Miss Nuttall says she witnessed Gizmo being hit in Rochdale Old Road, and after examination found her to have a broken back.

She says she made attempts to find Gizmo’s owner using the phone number on the collar and visited houses nearby but failed to check Gizmo's microchip before cremating her.

Miss Nuttall told the RCVS she has reviewed her working practice on microchips and retaining pets’ bodies to ensure it meets industry standards.

Miss Nuttall admits cremating Gizmo, writing: “I did not think enough about whose cat it was and how they may feel about having their cat’s body back.”

Adding: “I am very sorry that I was not truthful about what happened to Gizmo’s body at one point in my phone call to you, when I said that Gizmo had been buried not cremated, and I have no excuse for this.”

A letter from the RCVS closing the complaint notes the Preliminary Investigation Committee’s “concern” about Miss Nuttall’s failure to check for a microchip and quick cremating of Gizmo.

The committee noted there was misunderstanding between the two but “did not identify a realistic prospect of proving serious professional misconduct” because of this.

In response to this the committee issued “formal advice” about the importance of “open and honest” communications.

A record of this is kept by the RCVS for five years and may be taken into account if similar concerns arise.

Miss Abrahams said: “I deserve to know where she ended up after 15 years. I want closure and they won’t give it me. Near me I have found eight farmers.

“I wouldn’t go knocking I just need to know for my head. I just deserve to know what they did with her. They had no right to take her.”

She says has appealed to the RCVS, asking them to reconsider the allegations and consider Miss Nuttall’s decision to burn Gizmo’s body in a boiler.

Miss Nuttall declined repeated requests for comment.