A few weeks back we were asked to help with a small injured kitten. She was only about 12 weeks old and was in desperate need of medical attention. She was immediately rushed to the vet where they stayed late to treat her. At the vet there were no visible injuries to our little girl on the exterior other than the fact we could tell she was in pain. X rays were taken which revealed she had some fluid on her lungs, three broken ribs and a broken femur. She was given an injectable pain med and made comfortable for the night. Surgery would have to wait until the fluid on her lungs was gone.
On that Monday our little girl, now named Juliette, was scheduled for surgery. The plan to go in a and fix her leg quickly. Get in and out because of her tiny size and her age, at around 4:15 the phone call came that Juliette was out of surgery and resting comfortably. At a little past 5 a second phone call came that Juliette was experiencing difficulty breathing and that they were going back in for a second surgery, her lung had collapsed.
We sat on pins and needles knowing that a second surgery could be even riskier. At around 7 the phone call came that Juliette had made it through the second surgery. What they found was unbelievable, when they opened her up nothing was where is was suppose to be, the vet said it was almost like she had been cut in half. They quickly stitched everything back in place while one of the vet tech’s actually breathed for Juliette. It was now up to Juliette – was her heart strong enough to withstand everything she had just been through?
The next day Juliette was up and alert and eating. She had a cast on her leg and her belly was full of stitches. Despite everything this little girl had gone through, she still had a will to survive. She is absolutely amazing!
One week to the day Juliette was admitted to the vet clinic she was rushed back . The vet tech that was caring for her noticed a change in her breathing. I received the phone call saying that Juliette had fluid on her lung again, which they had removed but were now faced with finding out where the fluid was coming from. A sample of the fluid was sent away to a specialist.
In the back of our minds we were all thinking FIP which is fatal. Once again we sat on pins and needles. A few days later the test came back negative for FIP. The fluid was from all of the trauma this little girl had been through stemming from her injuries.
Juliette remains at the vet clinic for now until she is stable. She is in the best hands possible. She is being treated with a lot of TLC and under a watchful eye. We have no idea what happened to Juliette, what caused her injuries or how long she had been like that. What we do know is that she is an amazing little girl with a will to survive. Juliette has seen more and experienced more in her short little life of 12 weeks then most cats experience in a lifetime.
While Juliette is still not yet out of the woods we are hopeful she will make a full recovery. Thank you to Dr. Monteith and her staff for going above and beyond once again. Please keep Juliette in your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
