We
got a call a few weeks back asking for assistance for a kitty in
Vilonia, AR. Spooky was a neighborhood fella who had no permanent
home but made his way from house to house being fed by various people.
One of the people who was feeding him found him injured, it looked like
he was unable to eat. She thought maybe he had a broken or
severely injured jaw. Thanks to our Medicat program we were able
to get him into one of our great local vets within a few hours of Spooky
being placed with us.
Spooky did indeed have a broken jaw, and
required emergency surgery. He had surgery the same day he was
surrendered to us. His lower jaw was split down the middle.
The vet had to wire the two pieces of jaw together. Since he was
new to our program, the vet also performed his neuter surgery, and he
got all the necessary vaccinations. He is currently at a FuRR
foster home, where he will remain for his 8+ weeks of rehabilitation.
At first Spooky has to be caged. He was able to eat only baby
food, then wet cat food. He initially buried his face in the food
and got more on him than in him! Every time he drank after eating,
his water had to be changed because he washed off so much food from his
face into the water. Starting out with 5-6 jars of baby food meat
a day, he slowly progressed to 2 tall cans of cat food. He
certainly does love to eat. As Spooky relaxed inside with his
foster family, he began to let them know when he was hungry with a very
loud yowl. He also rewards his foster family for their love and
care with an amazingly loud purr.
About 3 weeks into his
recovery, his wired jaw had to be revised and stronger wire put into
place. Now about 5 weeks into his recovery, he able to freely roam
around his foster house, out of his cage. His vet said the he can
safely attempt to eat dry food if he wants to. He does try, but
must scoop the food into his mouth. When he lowers his head most
of the food falls out before he can chew, so his foster family still
maintains his canned cat food diet. As he continues to heal we
will just have to see how he does with dry food. Unfortunately it
is possible that he will never be able to eat hard food without
difficulty.
We don't think it is likely that he will ever return
to cruising the neighborhood looking for food. He has developed a
real love for being indoors and is sweet as he can be. His story
is still unfolding as he has another month or so of the wired jaw to
endure.
