Not kittu, larry: Larry, the 10 Downing Street cat, sits on the cabinet table wearing a British Union Jack bow tie ahead of a street party to celebrate the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday. (AFP)

Cats, they say, have nine lives. On Tuesday, a Caesarean section saved one.

Kittu, the pet cat of MBA graduate Nazma Tabassum, was rushed to Bihar Veterinary College in Patna on Monday after an X-ray revealed that three kittens it was carrying had died in the womb.

Had there been a delay in bringing it to hospital, Kittu would have died of toxaemia (blood poisoning), the vet who operated on it said.

The cat that had completed full term — 62 to 71 days, for felines — had likely been in a brawl, she said.

“The cat must have fought with a dog because blood had clotted inside her stomach, which might have killed the kittens,” said Dr Archana Kumari, assistant professor-cum-junior scientist in the department of surgery and radiology.

Kittu had gone missing for two days to return on Sunday, said Nazma, who has had the cat for more than two years and takes it to bed with her.

“Kittu sleeps with me and has a habit of sucking my index finger before falling asleep. After the surgery, I rest my palm on its paw at night for reassurance,” she said.

On Monday, after the cat was admitted to hospital and put on saline, a foetus came out. “All foetuses had decomposed. So I had to perform a Caesarean to take the other two out,” said the vet who has performed a C-section on dogs and goats in the past.

The surgery started around 3pm and took 40 minutes, Archana said, adding the cat’s uterus had to be removed because it had started rotting.

When Kittu was admitted, “it was already suffering from vaginal bleeding”.

Kittu was allowed to go home around 5.30pm, with a list of dos and don’ts.

Nazma was told to ensure her two-and-a-half-year-old cat did not get into fights or jump too much, was given a liquid diet and stayed clean. Kittu is on antibiotics now.