Meet our newest little patient at work.
This little guy was found in a parking lot at Hofstra University.
The student who found him is the son of one of our clients.
He kept him with him during his classes and then brought him to us when he came he was done with school for the day.
When I picked him up out of the box the student had kept him in I knew immediately there was a big problem.
One of his rear legs was just dangling and it didn’t appear he could use it.
He was covered with fleas and was very hungry.
We agreed to take him in and told the student and his mom we would evaluate him and give them a call later in the day.
The doctors checked him out and we took some x-rays.
His femur is broken in two places and the pelvis is also broken but he’s a strong little guy who seems to have the will to live.
We treated him for the fleas and the doctors tried to figure out the best way to deal with the broken leg.
This little one is only about a half a pound and those bones are so tiny that we really didn’t have any pins or screws and plates small enough to use on him.
He is also a stray and we didn’t want to stick the people who brought him into us with a huge bill.
He is also very young and little to be put under anesthesia safely.
At this point I felt we needed to call my boss, the veterinarian who owns the hospital, and tell him what was going on.
He is partially retired and is away for the week.
However, he still comes in to do major surgeries and work on problem cases.
Of course being the nice guy that he is he said to go ahead and treat the kitten.
We emailed him the x-rays and all the doctors discussed the best way to proceed.
I then called the family who brought the kitten in and told them what was going on.
They said that while they couldn’t afford a huge bill that they would like to give us some money for his treatment.
It’s nice to know there are still nice people in the world.
The doctors decided not to operate but to cast his leg.
We have had him for two days now and he is eating well and has pooped and urinated on his own.
He even used the little litter box we had in the cage for him.
The doctors think he is about three to four weeks old.
His broken femur is a big concern and they are worried that he might not be able to use the leg when it heals.
It is possible that down the road his leg might need to be removed.
But for now it’s one day at a time and we are happy that he is eating well, is bright and alert and very affectionate.
He doesn’t like the cast on his leg as it makes it very hard for him to move around.
He kind of rolls and flips himself to move around so we have been calling him Flip!
I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on with him by putting up a few photos at a time.