Cat survives severe head injuries

By [ntapp]

BART the cat who survived severe head injuries following a road accident, is the latest recipient of the Veterinary Hospital's Braveheart award.

The sixteen and a half year old Burmese/British Blue feline was found by a family member a short distance from their Plympton home.

Owner, Vanessa Triscott, said: "Unfortunately he was knocked down by a car and found by my eldest son who found him in bad way.

"He's grown up with my 18 and 14 year old son's. They were absolutely distraught and very upset. Whoever ran him over just left him."

Bart has been part of the Triscott family since he was a kitten. He was found by 18-year-old Daniel who scooped him up and kept him warm by wrapping him in a towel, says Vanessa.

"We got him to the veterinary hospital and they worked their magic as they do. They were fabulous up there. They really were, all the staff were as good as gold," says Vanessa, aged 38.

Due to his age, the Triscott's were sure he would be put to sleep, but Bart responded well to treatment and say due to the care he received, he made it through.

He was urgently examined at The Veterinary Centre in Plympton by vet Sanjaya Kanagasundaram.

He found that Bart had fractured his hard palate meaning there was a gap into his nose and that his eye had taken an impact.

Sanjaya immediately transferred Bart to The Veterinary Hospital at Estover where he was seen by Stephen O'Shea who hospitalised him, gave him pain relief, and treated him for shock with intravenous fluids.

Artificial tears were applied to his eye to prevent further damage and he was settled on a heat pad. He improved with all this and responded to the ward nurses ministrations, and by the next day was considered fit enough for a blood test to see if he could take an anaesthetic for X-rays to ascertain the extent of the damage.

This showed that he had a fracture of the whole length of the roof of his mouth, several broken teeth and a fractured lower jaw too.

Due to the surgery Bart could not eat for a while so a tube was inserted into his pharynx through which he could be given liquid food.

Despite being anaemic after the accident, and despite his age, Bart rallied wonderfully and after four days hospitalisation and nursing by ward nurses, especially head ward nurse Clare Palmer, he was able to go home where the Triscott's were able to feed him liquids through his tube, and treat his eye.

Back at home with Vanessa, husband Mark, aged 40, Daniel and 14-year-old Jordan, Bart was responding well, his eye was improving, and his fractures were healing.

"His eyesight hasn't fully recovered but he's comfortable and happy, just enjoying a quieter life at home now," added Vanessa.