Hi everyone,
Please find a very important rescue story of our friends over at the PDSA below. Without the important work of the PDSA we wouldn’t want to think what would happen to cats such as Suki in need of help!
A Brighton cat involved in a horrific road accident has lost the sight in both eyes but won the fight for life and is now enjoying life back home with her family and feline sister.
Two year-old Suki was at death’s door after being run over near her home. Mother-of-two Polly Phillips (30) had reported her missing when she didn’t return home one night, then received the call that all pet owners dread: Suki had been brought into PDSA after being run over.
PDSA vet nurse Karen Davis recalls Suki’s injuries were among the worst seen at the busy hospital in Preston Park, Brighton:
”Things weren’t looking good for little Suki when she came into us. Her left eye had been completely pushed out of its socket and it seemed as though she couldn’t see out of her right eye. Her face was very badly damaged and we had to operate on her as soon as we possibly could to give her as much chance as possible of surviving. We stabilised Suki with emergency care and rushed her to the operating theatre.
“We x-rayed Suki which showed that her jaw was broken as well as one of her teeth – fortunately there were no other major injuries to her body apart from a torn tongue where a tooth had ripped through it. We repaired the jaw with surgical wire but sadly couldn’t save her severely damaged eye, which had to be removed. We had to take out her broken tooth and we stitched her torn tongue. We knew that Suki would have difficulty eating so we put a tube into her throat so she could be fed directly.
“She was fed by us every few hours using the tube in her throat and given painkillers and antibiotics.”
Owner Polly recalls: “When I came into the vets they wouldn’t let me see Suki initially because she was in such a terrible state.” With regular visits from Polly, Suki began to show signs of improvement, though her eyesight remained a cause for concern and she found it difficult to eat by herself.
After 11 days staying at PDSA, the decision was then made to let Suki go home for a few hours in the day to see if being in familiar surroundings would encourage her to eat. This soon paid dividends, as she began eating for herself within hours.
“Everyone was so relieved when she started eating,” Polly recalls. “After that point, no one could’ve predicted how quick her recovery would be. I had bought a large dog cage to give her some peace from the kids and our other kitten, but we hardly needed it. She made the most amazing recovery.”
Sadly, Suki’s eyesight has not returned, though this has not stopped her regaining her zest for life: “Within days she was up and about and after a couple of weeks she had stopped bumping into things,” said Polly. “You honestly wouldn’t know she is totally blind as she copes so well with life.”
Suki’s cat sister Roxy was delighted to see her playmate return. And the understandable worries Polly had about her eyesight loss were quickly put at ease: “Suki’s got more life in her than the kitten now. People might feel sorry to look at her but she’s the happiest cat I know!
“Although it is no longer safe for her to be outdoors unattended she still uses her litter tray and only trips over the occasional shoe left around by the kids. She still waits for them at the bottom of the stairs every morning!”
It cost over £1,500 to treat Suki, which her owner simply couldn’t afford as a single mother in part-time work – however unbearable the alternative would’ve been. Thankfully, PDSA was there for her as it is for thousands of others.
“The service was absolutely fantastic,” she said, “We couldn’t have asked for better care. It was quite a shock the first time I saw Suki after the accident, but the nurses were so reassuring and warm, and I think they even fell in love with Suki themselves!”
Brighton is one of 51 busy PDSA pet hospitals across the UK providing free veterinary treatment to the sick and injured pets of local people in need. PDSA treats more than 470,000 pets every year – that’s 13 pets every minute! It costs around £60m to run PDSA’s vital services, all funded through generous public donations as the charity receives no Government or National Lottery funding. For more information on PDSA or to enquire about eligibility please visit www.pdsa.org.uk or call 0800 7312502.
More about the PDSA:
PDSA is the UK’s leading veterinary charity, providing free veterinary care for the sick and injured pets of people in need and promoting responsible pet ownership. For further information about PDSA please visit www.pdsa.org.uk or call 0800 731 2502.
Tragic story. Glad that Suki make it.
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Yeah! So glad we have people such as the PDSA guys to help animals.
Even I am glad and thankful for that.
Went to their website – and lo and behold – the very first piece of information I got from them was WRONG:
“Do cats need a companion?
Cats like their own company and should generally be kept on their own. Living with other cats is a common cause of chronic stress. The only times that cats should be kept together is if they are kept with littermates that they grew up with.” That is wrong!
The only right answer is: It depends. Because some cats are VERY sociable, even unhappy without feline society – and even feral cats group together some part of the day, and not only for procreation! And not all of those are littermates.
Others are decidedly lonesome-rangers.
The information that cats are best on their own is certainly outdated!
Ha. You so have a point there. After all i have two that are not litter mates. Problem is that the experts are pretty much torn in half on the old argument of do or don’t they like company ;o
Awww….I am a sucker for a happy ending. Suki is a lucky kitty. =^,,^=
Yep! There is an old saying in german. “Glück im Unglück” basically meaning that someone had luck after something bad happened to them.
courage, force and quick recovery! my very best, Lucky-Loulou… <3
http://myvirtualplayground.wordpress.com/2014/11/05/im-not-crazy-my-reality-is-just-different-than-yours-cheshire-cat/
Thanks for your commebt Melanie
? PDSA in Brighton. Part of my own miserable story while in England, but my dog received care there.