Seven cats saved from Wellingborough house fire

Cats and kittens were given oxygen therapy by firefighters

Nine cats were given oxygen after being rescued from a house fire.

Six cats and three kittens were pulled from the blazing building in Birchfield Road in Wellingborough at about 10:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Northamptonshire firefighters used specialist animal oxygen masks on all nine, and resuscitated four, but two of the cats could not be saved.

The surviving animals were taken to a nearby vet, which says they are in stable condition and doing well.

Allyson Cleave, head nurse at Swanspool Veterinary Clinic, said: "They're all stable, although a couple still have respiratory difficulties.

"But they've all eaten and are enjoying being fussed over."

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said a man at the house was treated for shock but was uninjured.

She said the probable cause of the blaze was a cooker being left on.

The house was extensively smoke damaged