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Tommy the mystery case

Cats provide a unique challenge in veterinary medicine. Where all our other pets (dogs, rabbits, rats, hamsters etc) tend to be kept in a controlled environment and we are aware of what they get up to, most cats live fiercely independent lives. They roam much further afield than we suspect, often at night. They get into territorial spats with neighbouring cats and return at their leisure, they coerce food from other households, and unfortunately they have accidents.

Most feline trauma cases are brought to us sometime after the event, and the owner is often unable to tell us what happened. One such recent case in our practice was Tommy, a young male cat who the owner discovered with a terrible crush injury to his right forelimb at the end of January. The cat was seen by our out of hours emergency service, and x-rays revealed a fractured metacarpal bone (the long bone in your hand). There were also multiple open wounds and a tremendous amount of swelling. X-rays of the rest of the cat were unremarkable. Tommy was treated with antibiotics, painkillers and a supportive and protective dressing. He was referred back to our practice on the Friday morning for continued care. We kept Tommy in from the 25th to the 27th of January, having to sedate him in order to clean up the extensive wounds and redress the limb. Large amounts of dead skin and tissue needed to be removed. The owner was given a guarded prognosis, and warned that if the tissue damage was too extensive we may even have to amputate the limb. We redressed the wounds every 2 to 3 days over the next 4 weeks, and were relieved that eventually the swelling came down and the wounds started to heal. After a total of 7 anaesthetics and 10 bandage changes we were eventually able to leave the wounds open to heal. The attached photograph was taken approximately 4 weeks after the original injury, with some way to go before full healing.

Over the past week Tommy has been managed at home, with a buster collar to prevent him opening up the wounds, and is doing well. While he may have a permanent limp, we are confident that he will return to his garden in the near future. A combination of medical, surgical and nursing skills as well as a dedicated family and feline fighting spirit have helped Tommy through his ordeal.

What to do in a veterinary emergency

1. Stay calm, and try to get the injured animal into a car, basket or container. (Often an injured animal will try to flee from people)
2. Phone your vets straight away for advice and to let them know you are on the way so they can prepare for the case.
3. If the problem occurs out of consulting hours, have a pen and paper to hand as there may be an emergency telephone number to call. Also ensure that you know where you need to go beforehand. (We provide maps to the emergency practice to all clients)
4. Ask your vets for more information – we provide information packs on first aid for pets to our clients.

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