 September
2009
Chelsea
Chelsea is a 3 year old domestic shorthair cat. She was admitted
into our 24 hour hospital after being hit by a car.
When Chelsea was
first rushed into the clinic, she was very badly injured and was
having difficulty breathing. She was treated immediately by The Pets
Practice team. She was initially given oxygen by mask and later transferred
into a purpose-built kennel that delivers oxygen to the patient.
She continued to receive oxygen for another 4 hours until her breathing
had settled down and she was sitting up and looking alert. She was
also placed on an intravenous drip, given morphine-based pain killers
and antibiotics.
Chelsea needed further tests to determine
what her injuries were; we were unable to do these until she was
stable. Once stable an x-ray was taken of her chest and
abdomen while she was conscious; this showed that she was suffering
from a haemorrhage into her chest and severe bruising. On examination
we discovered that her jaw had also been fractured. A general anaesthetic
is required to x-ray the jaw and repair the fracture. Chelsea was
not stable enough for this to be done so it was decided that she
needed to stay in the hospital for further treatment. She was syring-
fed with a liquid diet and given regular pain relief. After a couple
of days she started to eat the liquid diet herself.
Six days after being hit by a car, Chelsea was given the all-clear
for a general anaesthetic.
She was anaesthetised and her jaw was x-rayed. A fracture was confirmed
of the mandibular symphesis, which joins the left
and right sides of the lower jaw. A fracture of the mandibular symthesis
is commonly seen in cats, often following a road traffic
accident. These fractures are easily repaired using wire.
A wire was placed around the mandible to stabilise the fracture,
the wire was then twisted into a knot and left in a comfortable position
under the jaw. This wire stays in place for approximately 8
weeks before it is removed.
Chelsea recovered from her anaesthetic very well and almost immediately
ate a sachet of normal soft cat food! She was allowed home that evening.
Whist
staying with us she enjoyed lots of cuddles and attention, she
didn't make a fuss when having treatment or tests, and always seemed
happy. This is why we have made Chelsea Pet of The Month.
Click
here to see August's Pet of the Month - Lucas the domestic short-haired
cat.
Click
here to see July's Pet of the Month - Rabby the English Lop-Eared
rabbit.
Click
here to see June's Pet of the Month - Thomas the West Highland White
Terrier.
Click here to see May's Pet of the Month - Harvey
the Boxer puppy.
Click
here to see April's Pet of the Month - Mitzi the Yorkshire Terrier.
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