I received an emergency call today. Vics has been feeding a new family of kittens in her back alley, and this morning, the tiniest kitten had fallen into the drain. The little one was found submerged in water. Vics quickly took him up, dried his body, and noticed that his entire right front leg had got twisted.
After work, I met Vics at our panel vet. The kitten was quiet, but still alert.
After feeding, the vet went out to call in the senior vet, and would you believe what happened?
A miracle!
The little kitten got up and walked. And Vics saw that the twisted front leg had “twisted back” into the right position!
We were both quite surprised. How on earth did that happen? The kitten could walk! He probably found the hot water bottle too hot, so he just had to walk away.
We waited until the senior vet came in, and told him what had happened. Well, he said sometimes these “miracles” happen (he wasn’t at all suprised). There is a lot of “room” for movement in little kittens, so, just as easily as they get twisted up, they can twist themselves back and heal by themselves. The regenerative powers of kittens and small animals is better than those of adults.
But the senior vet examined the kitten and said there was definitely something wrong with the leg, but let’s not do anything right now. He’s so tiny, and leg is so thin, let’s leave him be for today, and just keep him confined to give a chance for the leg to heal by itself.
The kitten was given subcutaneous fluids to ensure rehydration. That would be enough for today.
Nature knows best. We humans had better not interfere too much.
Vics asked me to name the kitten, so I called him “Vincent”.
Get well soon, Vincent. Don’t be a contortionist, please. You might not be so lucky the next time!
Vincent’s treatment today was sponsored by us.
Comments
One response to “Kitten 911”
I think its lower leg came out of the socket and popped in again. The injury made it loose.
One of my former classmates had a similar problem. An accident caused an injury to his shoulders where ocassionally, if he is not careful, his arm can get dislocated and pop out of the socket at his shoulder.
I remember several times when it happened and he would sit quietly and push it back in again. Painful.
I hope this little kitten gets adopted into a loving and caring home because it will definitely need to be watched out for and cared for for a very long time because while such a problem may be easily managed by a human, it will be extremely challenging for a stray cat having to contantly look out for impending danger to its dear life (the fight for food, territory and survival).
It is a harsh, harsh world out there for strays.