A Victoria veterinarian assistant paid $3,000 of her own money to save a stranger’s cat. It’s an act of generosity that has left the cat’s owner and her colleagues at the animal clinic stunned.

Nadine McCully, 26, who works at the Central Victoria Veterinary hospital, was part of the vet team dealing with Leo, a one-year-old cat having urinary issues.

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A procedure was done to insert a catheter but Leo’s owner, Chad Sutton, kept having to take the cat in for several followup visits when the problems persisted.

Sutton was told the cat would need a surgery to make the urethra bigger, otherwise he would have to be put down.

Sutton, a View Royal resident who works as a drywall contractor, did not have the $3,000 for the surgery. He took Leo to the vet on Friday expecting to lose him.

McCully had grown attached to the affectionate feline during the course of the week.

“I offered to pay for him because I didn't want to see the little cat put down,” said McCully, who has worked at the clinic for two years.

McCully said her colleagues were amazed she was using her savings to save Leo.

“There's been people who have worked there for 25 years and they've never seen anyone offer to pay for surgery.”

When Sutton found out, he broke down in tears.

“It just really blew me away that someone would do that,” said the 35-year-old man.

Sutton described the feeling as “sinking in the ocean and you think you’re dead and suddenly the water disappears.”

Sutton said Leo and his brother Mikey are like his family.

“It is pretty incredible. It reinforced my faith a lot because everyone in that hospital seemed to really, really care,” he said. “They saw how connected I was to that cat and Leo touched everyone’s hearts in there.”

Sutton is thinking of ways to adequately thank McCully for her generosity.

“This is not the end of the story, that's for sure.”

kderosa@timescolonist.com