A fascinating story about one of the first successful cross-species blood transfusions has emerged from New Zealand.

A local pooch donated blood to save the life of a cat that was dying after consuming rat poison. This transfusion is reportedly being called the first of its kind.

Cat owner Kim Edwards noticed that her beloved ginger Rory was howling before he suddenly collapsed. She discovered that he had accidentally eaten poison.

Edwards rushed to get her cat to veterinarian Kate Heller in the nearby town of Tauranga but realised that there wasn’t enough time to sample and send Rory’s blood for analysis and find a suitable blood donor for the transfusion.

A friend, Michelle Whitmore, volunteered her black labrador as a blood donor despite the fact that they didn’t know if their blood types were a match. Using the wrong type of blood would have proved fatal for the cat.

Luckily, the blood was a match and the cat soon recovered from the ordeal.

"It was a 'do or die'” said the veterinarian speaking to the New Zealand Herald.

"I've never heard of it before, but the guy at the companion animal blood bank said he's done it before with some success.”

“People are going to think it sounds pretty dodgy – and it is – but hey, we’ve been successful and it’s saved a life.”

“The vets just went above and beyond... it's incredible that it worked” said the moggie’s owner.

“Rory is back to normal and we don't have a cat that barks or fetches the paper.”

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