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Pet of the Month – June
by on June 1st, 2012
Category: Pet of the Month, Tags:
Amy came into the surgery following a road traffic accident, very shocked, and with a deep wound around her bottom. Her tail was paralysed, and it was unclear whether she could use her back legs
Amy was anaesthetised for further assessment and radiographs revealed a fractured pelvis as well as a broken and displaced tail (see arrows on enclosed images). Her wound was cleaned and flushed and her tail was amputated. Now we had to wait and see if Amy‘s back legs would improve.
Luckily Amy did regain function in her back legs, but was faecally incontinent. Her urinary catheter was removed but her bladder still needed to be emptied manually – something that might continue for the rest of her life. This would require a huge commitment from Amy’s owners. Amy’s owners wanted to give her every chance and were willing to do everything possible. Because of her other injuries this normally pain free manipulation was painful but she remained compliant and purred throughout.
Amy was discharged with a guarded prognosis as the wound was very large, under tension, and at risk of contamination due to proximity to her bottom. Amy was to have cage rest for six weeks in order that her pelvic injuries might heal.
Unfortunately the skin on Amy’s back started to become necrotic and much of her skin in this region had to be surgically removed as the blood supply had been severely compromised in the car accident.
Since then Amy has visited us on a regular basis for Fentanyl patch changes (pain relief) and cleaning of the wound. Her prognosis continues to remain guarded and the wound remains open however it is clean and Amy is comfortable. Amy’s owners have been totally dedicated and committed to her care and Amy has been a really remarkable patient. All the staff at Fitzalan desperately hope that this story of such a delightful young cat has the happy ending it deserves.
