I am very happy to tell you about our feature success story for this month! It did not start out happily and I was really stressed out thinking she might not make it. I am talking about a young adult Sphynx cat that came in on July 22, 2024, from the local shelter. She was a stray cat which is strange for a Sphynx, and was hit by a car that morning. Several people stopped and tried to help catch her, but she was badly injured and was very fearful. She was trying to crawl away and was being a little aggressive. Animal control helped pick her up and took her to the shelter. They cannot take animals that are that badly injured, and they called us. We said to bring her right in.
On exam, I noticed she had enlarged mammary glands and milk and I thought, great, she is either pregnant, or there are some kittens going hungry somewhere. We took radiographs and she was pregnant with two large kittens. Her pelvis was also broken, and she was in a lot of pain. She was given an opioid to control her pain and a soft bed. She was also given some water which she drank half the bowl and canned critical nutrition food which she almost inhaled. She had fleas all over her trunk and her ears were infected. She was given a flea treatment that was safe for pregnant cats and then she was much more comfortable.
Cris named her Wrinkles as she was almost completely hairless. She was monitored closely for the next couple of days and given pain medication as she needed. It was noted that she could not urinate or defecate, and it was a concern that the nerves were damaged from being run over by a car across her pelvis. Animal control said no one came forward for her and adopted her to us as they could not care for a cat that could not urinate of defecate.
She was given MiraLAX in her canned food and one warm water enema per day. Her bladder was gently expressed each day to empty her bladder. She was still not going on her own 3 days later, so blood was drawn, and platelet rich plasma was taken from her blood and injected all around the fracture sites and over her spine. Within 24 hours she pooped a large volume of feces and bird seed. This poor cat was surviving any way she could. She also started urinating. To my surprise, she started standing up. I could not believe it. She was only laying on her side until then. I continue her MiraLAX and pain medication.
On July 31, 2024, Wrinkles went into labor and the first kitten came out breach with tail and feet first. The kitten was stuck, and I gently pulled it out by the tail. It was another hairless cat that looked just like Wrinkles. The kitten looked healthy and was doing fine. Within an hour, she went into labor again, but nothing was happening. She took a break, and we fed her, gave her water and part of a Tums for the calcium.
After 2 hours and no second baby, we took radiographs, and the kitten was in the right position, but it was larger than the first and she was exhausted. It was not going to pass, and she started to hemorrhage out the vulva. We prepared her for surgery by giving her fluids and an opioid pre-med and then Propofol induction. She was fighting the anesthesia, and I was concerned we would lose the second kitten. I gave her Midazolam, and she calmed down and then things went smoothly.
The C-section took less than 30minutes and the second kitten was out quickly. Cris and Savahna suctioned the kitten’s mouth and checked for a heartbeat. The kitten was not breathing but they gently rubbed the little body and kept checking the heart. The baby started breathing. This kitten had white fur and was larger than the first hairless kitten. Wrinkles was very weak going into the surgery, so it was decided to make it very quick, or we could lose her too. The uterus was sewed up and the abdomen closed. She woke up quickly but was disoriented and we had to keep the kittens away from her for a short time. I put both kittens in my shirt to keep them warm and the first born was sucking on my fingers. It was a rollercoaster of emotion since Wrinkles came in but by 11 pm that night, Wrinkles was awake and nursing two healthy kittens. Her bleeding had stopped, and all was good!!!
Wrinkles is such a beautiful cat.
I am happy the kittens are healthy.