WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
On July 18, residents of a home in Abbotsford were surprised to discover a cat in their crawl space. He was obviously in pain, with an old, discoloured cast hanging off his front right leg. Understanding the cat needed immediate veterinary care, they captured the cat who had been hissing and hiding from them because of the pain he was in.
“The finders brought the cat right to the Abbotsford animal centre,” says Sarah Ringer-Venn ard, manager of the BC SPCA Abbotsford. “There was a foul smell coming from the cast. We immediately brought him to an animal hospital for treatment and to get him some relief from the incredible pain he must have been in.”
Once at the hospital the cat was given pain medication. They were able to safely remove the rotting cast but what was underneath was shocking. “There was a huge amount of exposed broken bone and necrotic tissue, due to the wet cast,” says Ringer-Vennard. “It was obvious this was an old injury. I can’t imagine how he was able to walk at all, let alone crawl into a home for help.”
The veterinarian determined that the leg was in critical condition, and that the leg needed to be amputated. “When they were performing the surgery, they realized that that a lot more of the tissue surrounding the injury was dead than we had initially thought,” says Ringer-Vennard. “They ended up having to do an amputation to the shoulder.”
In addition to the surgery, a bloodwork panel was done. “Some of the results were consistent with the trauma this poor cat endured,” says Ringer-Vennard. “He is anemic and has high glucose levels. Some of his bloodwork was indicative of pancreatitis but this could be that the liver is shedding similar enzymes to pancreatitis because of the infection in the bone. The veterinarian expects these levels to normalize in about thirty days.”
Now that this poor cat’s pain is being managed and he is on the mend from his surgery, his personality is starting to shine through. “He is warming up to people more now,” says Ringer-Vennard. “Especially those who greet him with treats. He is still a little nervous but that is to be expected after the trauma he experienced.”