Aosta (Italy) - An Italian radiologist is facing very unpleasant questions. After his cat fell from the sixth floor, the doctor is said to have operated on his pet in hospital. The doctor is also said to have ordered a costly CT scan and drainage.

Being a doctor is so much more than just a profession for Dr. Gianluca Fanelli. But the public prosecutor's office apparently sees things differently and has opened an investigation against the radiologist from Valle d'Aosta (Italy). This is reported by the newspaper Corriere della Sera.

When his beloved cat Athena fell from the terrace of his sixth-floor apartment and was seriously injured, the cat lover was very worried: Athena had broken her hind legs, her internal organs were injured and one of her lungs had collapsed.

After a consultation with his vet, Dr. Fanelli did what had to be done: the radiologist took his dying pet to the hospital where he has worked for more than 20 years, switched on the CT scanner and examined his pet thoroughly. The doctor then performed a drainage procedure in the hospital's angiography room. Athena survived.

Bad news for the cat lover: a witness to Dr. Fanelli's tireless efforts informed the hospital management - who passed the case on to the public prosecutor's office.

After the allegations came to light, the renowned doctor went on the offensive.

In a letter obtained by the newspaper La Stampa, the doctor explains his view of things. "Athena was suspended between life and death," he explains and adds: "Being a doctor means fulfilling a mission, namely to place oneself entirely at the service of life."

Dr. Fanelli affirms that no patient had to wait for their CT appointment. He had operated after the lab had closed and wants compensation for the financial loss incurred.

"If I hadn't done everything in my power - I'm an interventional radiologist and therefore used to making immediate decisions to save lives - and my cat had died, I could never forgive myself, not even in front of my children."

It remains to be seen whether the cat lover will face serious consequences. The investigation is ongoing.