Chico and the Boy

Every now and then you run into a case that burrows in to your memory.  This is about a cat and a young boy.  Chico has quite a rap sheet if you will.  He still is an active case in our Clinic.  His history goes back to when he came in just under 2 pounds in August of 2004.  His calculated birthday is 6/4/04, soon to be five years old.  Chico weighed 16.5 pounds at his last visit with us.  If I were to print out his medical history it would take 32 pages, at present.  That does not include his history at the Animal Emergency Clinic in Ann Arbor. 

When I first met Chico the boy's dad brought him in for routine deworming, vaccinations and all of the new kitten items we do to keep a kitten from dying from worms and gave age appropriate feline vaccinations.  There was no indication Chico would turn into an extra special cat.  Things were normal even through his neutering, to keep him home and hopefully out of out of trouble.

September 2005 Chico came in for a nasty bout of diarrhea that we were able to control with oral medications.  He was current on his vaccinations, negative for feline leukemia virus and was antibody negative for feline immunosuppressive virus (FIV).  All things were looking real good for Chico and his young boy. 

November 2005 Chico was brought in as a trauma case.  He had been hit by a car or some type of vehicle.  He had a huge gash on his right lateral thigh.  A fractured left Ilium (pelvis) abdominal bruising that seemed to be expanding exponentially.  I was unable to palpate his bladder in his abdomen.  He really looked like death biting a cracker.  We hospitalized him and went over his list of problems.  Individually any one would be enough to end his existence.  A fractured pelvis is not a simple issue to resolve.  I discussed the case with the boy's Aunt and Grandmother.  It seemed Dad was in the hospital with a serious issue or the serious issue became worse.  After we stabilized Chico I earnestly was hoping to shuffle him off to a Veterinarian Orthopedic Surgeon for fracture repair.  This was not an economic option available. 

I repaired and reduced the incredibly awful laceration on his right thigh as best I could.  We some times use stay sutures so there will be less distance secondary tissue growth needs to granulate across.  The abdominal bruise meant there was a high probability the bladder, kidneys, spleen, and liver were subjected to crushing injuries.  Lacking a referral to an orthopedic surgeon and a real tall list of soft tissue injuries to contend with, this case was starting to look like it was circling the drain.  This is in reference to being held in place by the centrifugal force you visualize just before everything is sucked down and out the sink drain.  Your chance to fix it stops when the water motion does.

I went over the sequence of things that would need to happen for Chico to get to the point were healing could begin.  There needed to be a stoppage of bruising.  The urinary bladder and renal system needed to start producing urine.  The leg wound would need to lay down specialized cells called epithelium to fill in the holes in the skin.  The fractured pelvis would require extended crate / cage rest in the neighborhood of 8-10 weeks.   You understand this was an extremely sick and torn up cat.  For this tough cat to pull through he would need to use up what they call some of his nine lives.  For the medical - surgical part, I did what I am supposed to do.  Clean up, cut up and pray up.  This cat was in the hands of God.  I do what I can as a human and as a veterinarian but the power of healing is reserved for the Almighty. 

As this case progressed you could see daily improvement.  Bruising stopped, Chico started, thank God, manufacturing urine.  You probably have figured out Veterinarians are pleased with normal mundane body functions.  Sometimes we get ecstatic over simple things.  The hardest part was getting the skin on the leg to heal.  That eventually got to where the skin closed over but has a hairless spot a modified eschar or scar if you will.  This spot is still hairless but blends in with fur covering most of it.  The pelvis fracture was a worrisome issue for me.  Our goal was he needed to eliminate stool and needed the ability to walk.  Amazingly Chico does not even have a limp today.  He goes out side again actually demanding it as some cats do.

November 2007.  Chico comes in with pale as a ghost mucous membranes.  CBC blood count and cell differential test shows the presence of a blood parasite (Mycoplasma hemofelis).When I was young this parasite was called Haemobartonella, same bug different spelling.  This parasite is on the red blood cell membrane.  It makes the membrane very fragile, it ruptures cells and causes profound anemia.  I sent them to the Animal Emergency Clinic for a blood transfusion.  Treatment is with doxycycline.  Chico has used up his nine lives and must have borrowed lives from other cats.  He meets the odds and somehow is able to beat them so far.

This is where I am supposed to say the end.  Go and prosper and live happily ever after.  Somewhere since the beginning the boy's Dad passed away.  He had an incurable brain problem.  So Chico is now a link to Dad.  I get indirect reports of how much these two interact and play.  This is very nice to hear on the one hand.   The other part of me knows all living creatures have a finite life span.  Indoor outdoor cats have a shorter life expectancy.  I am starting to get nervous about the far end of this deal.  I am not looking forward to a boy-cat conversation in the future.  Until then I get to enjoy a warm fuzzy moment.  

Bruce, are you reading this?  I told you reading is good for you.

For more information about a specific case, consult your veterinarian.