A PET owner has praised a veterinary team for going above and beyond to save the life of her much-loved cat after she became impaled on a plastic garden stake.
Five-year-old Salvador is believed to have fallen onto the 12in-long (30cm) plant support in a freak accident while visiting neighbouring gardens, with the impact forcing it diagonally up through her body.
Thanks to the care and expertise of the team at Alfold Vets, Salvador has made a full recovery and now the practice is urging owners to get any injuries to their pet checked out, in case they are more serious than they appear.
Salvador was taken to the vet practice in Loxwood Road, Alfold, by owner Claire Trench when her pet returned home after being missing for four days. Salvador had small wounds on her chest and stomach and was also dehydrated and moving as if in discomfort.
Despite the wounds initially seeming superficial, vet Malwina Baskina became concerned while cleaning them because they were deeper than expected and she could also feel something unusual underneath Salvador’s skin.
Alfold Vets practice manager Beth Tyrrell, who is a registered veterinary nurse, assisted with Salvador’s care and said they took X-rays and performed an ultrasound scan to find out what was going on inside the cat. The images showed there was a long, stick-shaped object extending all the way through her body, although it wasn’t clear exactly what it was.
Beth said: “I spoke to Salvador’s owner and explained that it was a very serious and life-threatening injury and I talked her through the options, which included emergency surgery to remove the stick. She wanted to go ahead with the surgery and we took Salvador into theatre at 7.30pm – which is an hour after our usual closing time – with Malwina performing the surgery and myself, our nurse manager Helen Gaines and student veterinary nurse Ella Robertson assisting.
“We were all completely astonished when we discovered that the stick was in fact a plastic plant support, which had gone in near her groin, then pushed up through her ribcage and into her chest. Miraculously, it had missed all of Salvador’s vital organs, including her heart, lungs and liver.
“The surgery took a couple of hours as Malwina needed to work very carefully to remove the stick and had to cut it in half because of the plastic caps on each end. While these could have helped save Salvador’s life when she had the accident by helping the cane glide through her body and past her organs, they were stopping us pulling the stick back out through the ribs. Malwina then removed one half through Salvador’s armpit and the other half from the abdomen before cleaning all the affected areas very carefully and suturing the incisions.”
The surgery finished in the middle of the night and because Salvador was still in a critical state while recovering from her procedure, members of the Alfold Vets’ team stayed on-site to support her through to the morning.
Beth added: “I don’t know how many of her nine lives Salvador used up, but we’re delighted that she recovered so well from her surgery and it was so nice to see such a huge change from the subdued cat that came into the practice to one that was bright and alert the next day.
“When she came in, nobody could have guessed what she had hiding inside her and she is very lucky that her owner brought her straight to us. If the stick hadn’t been removed it would have been fatal because it would have caused a serious infection.
“It is definitely one of the most unusual injuries we’ve ever seen in a cat, and we can only think that she jumped from a height, such as a garden fence, and either fell or accidentally landed on the cane.”
Salvador was able to go home the next day, and she’s back to exploring the local area around her home in Loxwood.
Owner Claire said she had been relieved when her missing pet came home, but wanted to get her checked over because she didn’t seem her usual self.
Claire said: “It was a complete shock when Beth told me what they’d seen on the X-ray as I’d just expected them to clean her wounds and send her home. I then had to make a very quick decision as Salvador wouldn’t have survived for much longer, and I asked the practice if they could perform the surgery because I trust them to give her the best care.
“They were amazing and I deeply appreciate the care and dedication that everyone showed to Salvador. The whole team at Alfold Vets is outstanding. Not only did they perform the operation at short notice, they kept Salvador safe overnight and were so patient and kind in what were a very emotional few hours.
“It’s thanks to them that Salvador is still here but I’m also so grateful to my cat for finding her way home when she must have been in shock and an awful lot of pain.”
Alfold Vets delivers the highest levels of care to pets in Surrey and West Sussex and is part of VetPartners, which owns some of the UK and Europe’s leading veterinary practices and associated businesses.