Lt. Balanzoni was doing what any compassionate person would do.

Lt Balanzoni said that on the day of the alleged incident, army personnel phoned the infirmary for help after they were concerned by the noises made by one cat, later named Agata.

Lt Balanzoni said the veterinary officer was in Italy when she received the call. “Far from disobeying orders, I was following military regulations, which state that, in the absence of a vet, the medical officer should intervene.”

She arrived to find the cat had taken refuge in an army pavilion to give birth, but got into difficulties with the final, stillborn kitten. Without help, Agata was certain to die.

“If the cat had died, the entire area would have had to be disinfected. What is more, the surviving kittens could not have been fed. So they too would have died and created an even greater public health problem,” Lt Balanzoni said.