A pet charity is asking people to donate babies’ socks to their hospitals to help treat sick cats and dogs.

Staff at the Blue Cross Hospitals in Hammersmith and Merton use the tiny items of clothing to keep pets warm while they are being treated under anaesthesia.

The appeal from the charity, which also has a hospital in Grimsby, highlighted one kind person who hand knits socks for the poorly animals.

Blue Cross says the pets lose heat through their paws when they are under anaesthetic, which can affect their recovery.

Elise Smith, vet nurse at Blue Cross Merton, said: “When animals are under anaesthetic, their body temperatures can drop. This can prolong their recovery time and have an effect on how quickly drugs are metabolised.

A dog shows off some socks

“At our hospitals we have many ways to reduce this problem, but one rather quirky way is to put socks on all anaesthetised patients. We use donated baby socks, but, as modelled by sleepy Dominic (see photos of cat above and below) here, we also have knitted socks.”

And she praised Carol May, from Mitcham, who has knitted more than 20 pairs of socks for the hospital. The 64-year-old, who is retired and has two Yorkshire Terriers called Benny and Buddy, says knitting the socks has helped to keep her occupied since she lost her husband Colin to cancer in 2016.

The socks are used on pets under anaesthesia

She said: “They really are a fantastic team and knitting little socks for the animals makes me feel that I’m giving something back to Blue Cross for all the help they’ve given me. I can’t praise them enough.”

They say the socks can be dropped of at the hospitals or posted to Blue Cross, 7 Hugh Street, London, SW1V 1QG.

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