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Monday, October 13th, 2014
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Medic — a Rescue

So let me introduce you to Medic, or Med. I just want to be able to say "MEDIC!" when I see her. 😊

Last Wednesday (Oct 9th/2014) Deb and I were heading to the Reynold's grocery store a few blocks from home for the obvious reasons. About 15 minutes previously, it had stopped raining. As we pulled into the lot, we both immediately spotted a wet kitten's head sticking up from an ominously squashed-looking soaking wet body. No vehicles were anywhere near the kitten, and no one was paying any attention to it although there were at least 20 people walking around the lot in direct line of sight to her. Amazing. Anyway...

I stopped the truck, ran over, and sure enough, the kitten had been crushed (what I want to say here about the onlookers I will not say in an attempt to keep my photo gallery family-friendly) so I picked it up as gently as I could, put on the floor of the pickup, and drove out to the vet, a matter of a few miles at most. Deb was trying to keep her head from exploding during all this. Unlike me, she had nothing to occupy her mind but busted kitten (I had to drive and not run over people.) She did good.

The diagnosis: X-rays showed a crushed (snapped off the spine) pelvis, a clean break on the right front leg, and a broken tail. Further examination revealed no sensation anywhere on the right rear leg (it does show motor activity), as well as various non-critical abrasions. Not too much could be done about the pelvis, so they dealt with the front leg, supported her through a period of shock with fluids, and handed her back to us on Friday. We were told there had been blood in the urine, but that seemed to be lessening.

So here she is, cuddling a knitted mouse Deb made for her, in the basket we've been keeping her in when we can't be directly watching her — it's tall because it is important that she doesn't drag herself out, that pelvis is a wreck and the front leg needs to set. Underneath her we're keeping pee pads, which absorb at about a 10:1 volume rate, and suffice to keep her mostly dry until she lets us know or we notice she's relieved herself. There's been no blood in her output that we could discern. It took her two days to produce solid waste which had us worried, but that seems to be working ok now as well. She's in good spirits (amazingly so... in her condition, I think I'd be looking for a gun to put to my head) and we're doing our very best to support her. She's very affectionate. She likes to be held and to lap-sit, so we (very carefully) accommodate her all we can. The other cats are mostly ok with the newcomer, with the exception of Mr. Gray, a very large furball who is possessed by a righteous conviction that he personally owns Deb. He hissed a lot, and got shot with the squirt gun on a per-hiss basis until he decided hissing wasn't such a great idea. Now he'll sit right by Med without comment.

I don't know if she's going to make it long term, we were warned that those pelvic fragments could still cut nerves and there's still a possibility of internal damage that could prove fatal, and even if she makes it, we don't know if we're looking at a bipod or a tripod (not much chance of that right rear becoming useful again — no feeling and no support from the pelvis. But perhaps the left rear, which she moves around quite a bit.) So this will be very much a feel-your-way kind of catventure. Our hopes are high. She goes back to the vet on the 23rd, and I'll update this then. Just as in humans, it takes about six weeks for a bone injury to set, so she's going to be in that basket or other baskets for quite a while yet — until the end of November or so.

[Update: 2014-11-05] She stood up a couple of times today, basically three-legged, the rear right isn't showing much improvement, but the rear left seems to be improving every day. She's been sweet and tough the whole time, never complains... amazing little kitty. She's still sleeping with us in her basket, but as long as we're home, we let her scoot around the floor. She can really get around with just the one front leg free, it's sort of uncanny. She loves the toys with balls inside and a little jingly mouse; the other cats are ok with her, so it all looks pretty good. Cast is still on, it'll be a month in 2 days; 6 weeks is what we were told.

[Update: 2014-11-26] Cast is off (6 days now), she's running around with a bit of an odd gait, but able to really run. Fast. The newly exposed front leg is skinny, lots of obvious muscle atrophy, but it appears that cats are so over-powered that even a fraction of the normal muscle mass suffices for normal locomotion. She is using both rear legs; she obviously has nerve damage in the right rear, and I have no idea how or what the leg is actually mounted in or to (I should post the X-rays... then you'd understand why... I'll ask the vet.) She's been seen jumping about two feet in the air, and zips up and down flights of stairs. She's made great friends with Leo, who is a kitten about two months older than she is (and much, much larger.) Leo is very gentle with her, clearly understands there are fragility issues. (How? Mystery...) So all in all, things are going extremely well. Really couldn't have hoped for a much better outcome.

[Update: 2014-12-09] Both front legs appear to have equal musculature now, and she's almost normally mobile, except that her jumping seems to have about a 2-foot ceiling. Right rear leg still has no feeling, and although she's using it pretty well, there is a problem developing with the toes turning under so that she is essentially walking on her knuckles. Fur is already gone, a sore is probably immanent if we can't find or make some kind of corrective shoe for her. I'm considering trying to solder some bent paper clips together and then attach to a thin "sole", some very thin plastic perhaps, and use velcro to get the shoe on the foot. I looked around the net, but was not successful in locating pre-made braces for this sort of thing except for canines. She's become fairly reticent, hides most of the day, plays with the other cats, quite cautious of humans, including us. Best approached if she's up on a chair or a step; not interested if she's on the floor, she just runs if she sees anyone close. Can't say I blame her.

[Update: 2014-12-16] Med has begun walking almost completely normally, exhibiting recuperative powers I simply would not have found credible if this outcome had been suggested to me on day one. She runs, jumps and wrestles with the other cats, and really the only thing left that sets her apart is a relatively low jumping range; she can get up on to a chair seat, but so far, 2-3 feet is as high as we've seen her go. I don't know — can't imagine, actually — what her right rear leg is actually mounted in, as that side of the pelvis was snapped right off the spine, so until or unless we get some new x-rays, it'll have to remain a mystery illuminated only by her progress. Overall, we just couldn't be more pleased.

[Update: 2014-12-29] Aside from that profoundly busted tail, Med shows every sign of being completely recovered. She no longer "knuckles" her right rear paw, she doesn't limp, she doesn't favor any one limb, she runs, jumps and climbs with the other cats, particularly the youngest, Leo; she seems to be 100% in every way I know how to look her over and observe her in action. still have one more vet visit, still intend to get that x-ray (and ask for another — I'd like to see what happened with that pelvis!) So I think we're near the end of the beginning here. A rescue for which we thought the outcome wasn't going to be all that positive, works out better than we could have ever hoped for. And we have a new friend. How about those apples. 😊

** next time we take her to the vet, I'm going to try to get a photo of that x-ray. It will then be obvious, I think, why we didn't expect much, and certainly not this much.

[Update: 2015-02-03] Well, we got that x-ray

(took her in to be "tutored" and had them shoot it while she was out) and it's... interesting. Isn't nearly as "back to normal" as I'd hoped, but clearly she can get around on it just fine. The vet warns of a potential for arthritis, but also said that they can usually relieve it when it's caused by bone growth of this type. She seems to be in no discomfort at all, so for now, it's a non-issue.

[Update: 2018-11-28] Happy and healthy now.

[Update: 2022-05-10] Still doing great. 😊

See More pictures.

#feral #cat #meddie

EXIF:

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Shot On:  2014:10:13 15:53:45
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