A man dialled 999 to report that a cat had walked through his back door into his kitchen, police have revealed.
The caller, from Gloucester, was politely advised to pick up the animal and remove it from the house.
It was one of 4,500 inappropriate or hoax emergency calls received by Gloucestershire Police force this year.
Officers said whilst some incidents were comical, such calls led to delays in getting to real incidents and put lives at risk.
In another incident, a teenager called 999, saying that his parents had re-decorated his room and he did not like it.
A taxi driver, who called to complain that he had not been paid his fare, was asked to call the non-emergency number.
And a man from the Stroud area accidentally dialled 999 from his pocket, when his mobile was not locked.
In one 999 call from Gloucester, the operator heard only the sound of a row between a man and woman on the line.
As a precaution, officers went to the property to be told that neither knew who had called 999 and the only disagreement was over the husband not having done the washing up.
Control room inspector Andy Poole said: "With over 4,500 such calls this year alone for Gloucestershire Police, the delay this is causing in getting the emergency services to real incidents is self apparent.
"Quite often 999 calls are not malicious, but are down to a lack of knowledge of how to get hold of the emergency services routinely.
"The 999 system is for emergencies only, if a crime or an incident that is no longer in progress is to be reported then 0845 0901234 should be used to call Gloucestershire Police. "
- Published23 June 2010
