Tony’s a real tiger when it comes to survival
By: Dr. Daniel Eubanks
He was brought in for repairs last Tuesday.
"He" is an 8-week-old male alley cat named Tony. I haven’t known too many cats named Tony.
Tony’s name is not the only unique part of his story. He was born one of four kittens in a litter somewhere north of Trenton.
This particular litter was befriended by the owner of a machine shop in the vicinity. The kittens were kept inside his office at the shop. The gentleman was in the process of finding homes for the kittens when the accident happened.
No one saw it, but it is assumed Tony either fell from a height or something with significant weight fell on him. He was presented to our hospital in a pretty rueful condition.
Tony weighed-in at a little less than one and a half pounds. He was having some difficulty breathing and was unable to stand or walk. He wasn’t paralyzed but surely showed signs of neurologic injury. He had a fractured femur in his right rear leg, and his tail was crooked.
Both of his ears were flopped down rather than standing erect. He was unable to urinate, and his bladder had to be expressed manually.
Tony was one and a half pounds of disaster. After discussing the options with the caretaker/owner, we admitted Tony for observation.
He was nursed along with some strong analgesics, an antibiotic, TLC and tincture of time. His urinary bladder was emptied manually twice daily.
Soon, he began to eat. Friday, Tony received a standing ovation from our entire staff when he was seen to get into the litter box, scratch and empty his bladder all by himself!
Our nurse/technician took him to her home over the weekend for extra doses of TLC.
By Monday morning, Tony was walking, even running (albeit comically) on all but his fractured rear leg. His left ear was erect; the right ear still drooped. Not exactly ready for prime time, but ready for some serious repair on the femoral fracture.
All 1 pound, 14 ounces of him he was eating very well! were hooked-up to our 100-pound inhalation anesthesia machine and prepped for orthopedic surgery. The patient literally could not be seen underneath the surgical drapes. All that could be seen was his little limb, which looked like a Cornish hen’s drumstick and thigh, protruding through an opening in the drape.
His little heart, however, made our cardiac monitor sing-out as if a full size tomcat was lying underneath that drape.
Two one-sixteenth-inch diameter stainless steel pins were used to reduce and stabilize the fracture site.
Tony still has a few hurdles to overcome. The fracture damaged one of the growth plates in his femur. Growth rate in this leg may be stunted, resulting in his right leg ending up shorter than his left.
His right ear may never stand up, and his tail will probably always remain corkscrewed. He may truly look like a drunken sailor when he walks.
With any luck, though, Tony will survive all of this and spend the rest of his days in the lap of luxury. All indications thus far confirm him as an affectionate, loveable character.
I already know of at least five of our staff who would take him in a heartbeat should the caretaker/owner decide to put him up for adoption.
Cats like Tony intrigue me. You have to have respect for a little squirt like this who fights and wins at the game of survival.
Tony may not grow up to be a good looker, but, hey, nobody’s perfect!