Dovercourt cat raises £25,000 vets bill after dog attack

Katie Courts, 47, a yoga instructor and her husband Paul Giller, 51, a computer programmer, from Dovercourt, were leaving their house last month when dogs attacked their cat, Billie.

One of the off-lead dogs managed to bite down on Billie's head, leaving him with an almost severed tongue and crushed jaws.

Paul ended up being scratched whilst saving Billie and defusing the situation.

Katie immediately took Billie to an emergency vet in Colchester and was told he might not make it through the night.

Beloved pet - Billie (Image: PA)

Billie then spent three weeks in a specialist animal hospital where he came close to dying several times after developing sepsis and anaemia before being discharged.

This left Katie and Paul with a £14,000 bill – half of which was covered by their insurance.

The couple, who have two children, Myla, 10, and Aidan, six, are now facing another £6,000 bill for surgery after Billie managed to remove his cone collar during the night and gnaw his leg, which may have to be amputated.

Katie and Paul decided to sacrifice their savings for their beloved cat and have now been forced to cancel their summer holiday to Ohio in America as they cannot afford it or to leave him alone.

In bad health - Billie after the attack (Image: PA)

Shook up - Paul after saving Billie from the four dogs (Image: PA)

Billie previously cheated death a few years ago when he contracted cat Covid, a disease which at the time usually proved fatal, but survived after Paul paid for a £4,000 trial treatment.

The couple say in total they will have spent £25,000 on Billie’s vet bills.

Katie said: “Basically, all our savings are now gone and we’ve just had to cancel our holiday to America in a couple of the weeks.

“Billie is the bravest and most expensive cat, I can’t believe he survived everything life has thrown at him and as long as he wants to live we will keep finding the funding.

Family pet - Billie in 2021 (Image: PA)

Happier times - Katie Courts with BIllie (Image: PA)

“If you have a dog that can cause damage to any other living creature, whether it’s a cat, human or another dog, they should just be on a leash and under control at all times.”

Due to an infected dog bite, Billie may lose his leg and the couple are raising money towards the £4,000 carpal arthrodesis surgery which may save it.

Essex Police have said the attack on Billie is not a police matter and Katie has now reported the incident to the dog warden.

To support Katie and Paul visit, gofundme.com/f/a9psw-saving-billie.