Okay, so I owe you all a story. I had never had a kitty before and I was very indifferent to them in fact. Until Facebook, lol! So I started thinking I would like to guardian a special needs kitty and my roommate and I were talking it over and thinking about it for a couple of weeks when my niece, who works at an animal hospital, texted me and asked if I wanted a kitten who her co-workers boyfriend had found on the rain gutter over his garage! Oh, and she was missing half a back leg. The vets think she was carried off by a bird of prey and maybe her leg was torn half off in the process and she was dropped and landed up on that roof. This was Halloween 2012. She texted me a couple photos after they had cleaned her up a little bit because she was a mess, all ditty and matted, infected eyes - she was afraid if I saw her in that condition I would say no. And I fell in love with that baby instantly and my roommate and I agreed that we would take her in. So, the vets estimated her age at two weeks and she was too young and tiny for me to bring home yet so my niece agreed to foster her until she was big enough and well enough to bring home. The day I went to pick her up my niece had noticed she was having problems pooping that morning so took her to work for an exam. Turns out she had a fatal condition called diaphragmatic herniation - her diaphragm was herniated and her intestines were all twisted up inside her chest cavity. The prognosis was untreated she could live with it pain free to maybe a year when she would die a very painful death with an onset of about 48 hours. They could also do surgery and when they opened her up, if there were adhesions - intestinal tissue scarred onto her heart and lungs - they would immediately have to euthanize her. These vets were amazing and offered to do the surgery at their actual hard costs only (anesthesia, meds, etc.) for around $600 and would take three post dated checks from me to pay it over a three month period. I said yes, and wrote the checks. Mind you, if these were vets in Los Angeles proper this could cost up to ten grand. Like I said. These vets and the staff are UH-MAZING! So on an early November morning she was taken into surgery. I was a mess at work, pleading, praying, begging, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let her live. She was only about four weeks old and weighed about a pound. The surgery lasted three hours and there was only one tiny adhesion which they were able to nick away and she came through it like the little fighter she is. So another few weeks at the hospital with my niece every day and home with her at night to nurse her during her recovery. The day finally arrived when I could bring her home for life! But she still had that half leg which the vets had hoped might heal over, but there was no tissue or skin to cover it so it wouldnt heal. It was just exposed bone and nerve. Because it dangled she kept hurting herself when she would make a jump because it would jam into hard surfaces - much like when we jam our fingernails into things - and it was awful to see. Poor thing would be in so much pain she would hiss and growl and try to hide from me. I never let her do that, I would chase her down and hold her on my chest all night while she looked right into my face crying for me to help her but I couldnt and it was heart wrenching. She went back to the vets and it was agreed that the leg needed to be fully amputated at the hip but she wasnt able to withstand a second surgery so soon after the first because they use has anesthesia and her heart and lungs couldnt be cleared for that. It got to the point that it couldnt wait anymore. The constant injuring and bleeding were just intolerable. But she also needed a spay which they do at six months and we didnt want her to have to have a third major surgery so the vets split the difference and when she was four months old they did the spay and amputation at the same time. MORE nursing and fostering until she was healed enough to come back home with me. She spent most of her kittenhood in a cone and I spent much of it in tears. But shes a survivor and I finally got to bring her home for good! Shes now nearing two years old and shes a big fluffy beautiful strong independent confident kitty. Oh, and she had captured so many hearts that all the vets and staff donated their time and returned my checks to me and never charged me a thing! And thus began the greatest love affair of my life. ❤️
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 19:48:53 +0000
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