Cat monstrously hungover after seven weeks trapped in wine cellar

A cat has emerged with alcohol poisoning after drinking up to three bottles of wine while trapped for seven weeks in a wine cellar.

What Aljosha may have looked like after drinking three bottles of wine

The Turkish Angora cat, named Aljosha, went missing from a home in the town of Würselen in the Aachen district of Germany in July. Aljosha’s owner printed ‘missing’ flyers and posted them up around the town but to no avail, the German Bild newspaper reported.

After seven weeks, the cat emerged from a wine cellar a few houses away. During that time he had managed to shatter three wine bottles worth around £28, apparently lapping up the booze – reportedly all Riesling – and becoming increasingly inebriated as he did so.

Recognising that Aljosha was unwell following his subterranean binge, his owner rushed him to the vet.

“He was more dead than alive when I picked him up,” she told Bild. “We went to the vets straight away, where they diagnosed him with alcohol poisoning.”

Aljhosha spent three days on a drip, but eventually recovered and is now enjoying his sobriety – though with an aversion to water, which he fears may be white wine, Bild reported.

The incident gave the newspaper a gift of a headline in ‘Katze mit Kater in Klinik’ – to ‘have a cat’, or ‘haben einen Kater’, is a German idiomatic expression meaning ‘to have a hangover’.

Aljhosha was lucky to survive his ordeal given that alcohol can be fatal to cats. A spokesperson for the RSPCA commented: “Alcohol is poisonous to cats and other animals, and can cause serious harm to them if they ingest it, even in very small amounts.

“We would urge pet owners to always keep an eye on their pets and if they become concerned about poisoning they should seek a vet’s advice immediately.”

The RSPCA has printed guidelines for owners who believe their pets have become poisoned by alcohol or other intoxicating substances, which can be viewed here.