East Hilliard Veterinary Services

A lady we had worked with in the past sent me an email about one of her outside kitties who she thought had “something wrong with his jaw.” I collected him to take in to Dr. Murphy at the Spay Neuter Clinic, intending to have him neutered and let Dr. Murphy look at his jaw. I had poor Exodus the night before and noticed that his one tooth hung out of his mouth, but I thought he just had a “snaggle tooth” that needed pulled. Imagine how awful I felt when the Spay Neuter Clinic called me and said the poor cat had a broken jaw that was seriously infected. He had also tested positive for FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus).

While this raggedy kitty had lots of things working against him–his ear was all sliced up, he was missing fur all over his body, he had an engorged tick hanging off his earlobe–he had one major thing working in his favor: his personality. Exodus is the nicest cat you would ever want to meet.

I picked this lover boy up from the Spay Neuter Clinic and took him to Dr. Tom Klein at East Hilliard Veterinary Services. Dr. Tom is the feline dental guru. He is the vet who fixed our little Bean Bag’s jaw last year when it was broken in a trauma. 

Dr. Klein was not deterred by the fact that Exodus was FIV positive. He thought that he was too nice to kill and so he kept Exodus to work his healing magic. 

This cat had a ton of problems. Whatever broke his jaw came up from the underside of his jaw (sort of like getting hit with an upper cut), pushing a tooth up into his upper palate and fracturing the bone. Fragments of bone were embedded in his nasal cavity. To me, this sounds like a kick. Most animals do not grab under the jaw. They go for the back of the neck. I hope some human did not do this to this cat. It makes my stomach ache to even think of it. 

Exodus’ injuries were at least several weeks old. I cannot imagine going around in this much pain for weeks. His whole mouth was filled with infection. Yet, believe it or not, this boy is such a fighter that he was eating hard food and meowing even in this horrible condition. 

Just to give you an idea of what Dr. Klein had to repair, here is a list he gave me of all the problems Exodus was facing:

1. His palate was fractured into his nasal cavity–and this happened at least several weeks previousy.

2. His center of his lower jaw was fractured as well as a complete fracture of the middle part of his lower left jaw. Both areas had severe infection.

3. He was under anesthesia for 3 and 1/2 hours (yes, you read that right-3 and 1/2 hours!) and Dr. Klein removed his upper left canine tooth and his lower right one and the remaining teeth on his upper left due to fractures. 

4. Dr. Klein attempted to move over the palate defect and repair it.

5. Dr. Klein wired the lower jaw center fracture. 

6. The lower left jaw fracture was left after cleaning the site and suturing it. Dr. Klein could not repair the bone at this time due to infection.

7. Exodus was given a 14 day long acting antibiotic and pain medicine. He was bathed and neutered while under. Two ticks were removed and he was treated for tapeworms. 

Whew!! Can you imagine if this had happened to a human? Exodus came home with me after two days in the hospital and is eating soft food like a trooper. He is on NO pain medicine. He is on cage rest, however, because Dr. Klein wants him to stay fairly inactive while he is healing.

This cat is just so wonderful. He utterly loves people. I had a hard time taking photos of him because he kept flopping down and rolling around for me to love on him and give belly rubs. 

The lady who called me about Exodus is willing to take the boy back with her. But he would have to be an outside kitty as she has a very jealous inside cat. I asked her if we could work on finding him a home and she was very happy to think he might have a safe, inside only haven. So that is what we are doing now. 

Exodus will need more vet care in the near future. He goes back to see Dr. Klein on May 20 and will probably need his lower left jaw fixed at that time. Being FIV positive is not a death sentence and Exodus, who is only three years old, can live a long and healthy life. He just needs a home with dogs only, another positive kitty, or by himself. He would be happy to share his life with anyone who wants him.

The virus that produces FIV is usually only passed from one cat to another by fighting or mating. Since Exodus is now neutered, he won’t be doing any of those things any more and will have a hard time giving other cats the disease. 

I have to thank Dr. Klein for once again coming to our rescue. He also had a vet student help him with Exodus’ procedures and because of that used the surgery and repair work as a teaching tool, giving us a giant discount.

Dr. Klein’s final words in his summary report were: “Exodus is a great cat!”

I completely agree!

Now it is up to us–I am counting on all of you to help me–to get Exodus into a safe, loving home with a family that does not care that he may never win a “Best in Show” ribbon for his appearance! What Exodus lacks in looks, he makes up for in love. 

I had a call from Dr. West at Noah’s Ark at the beginning of the week. A good friend, Tara, had brought a 12-week-old kitten to her that had been hit by a car and had damage to her face and mouth. Tara was horrified (as were Dr. West and I when we heard this) when people who saw the tiny kitten asked Tara if she wanted them to take the injured baby out in the country and shoot her. As Dr. West said, “There will be no shooting of any cats!”

Dr. West has been naming all of the B and O kitties (and even Fruit Bat) that come to her following the alphabet. We were now up to “H,” so Dr. West decided on a Native American name for this little girl. She chose Hok’ee, which means “abandoned” in Navajo. We also decided that since we were approaching Thanksgiving, we needed to honor the Native Americans who lost out when the white folks took over their land. Little Hok’ee is our Native American honoree kitty–a symbol for what we are thankful for all year long–saving innocent lives.

Little Hok’ee had been hit in the mouth by a blunt object that broke several teeth. She will be visiting our dental vet, Dr. Tom Klein, at East Hilliard Veterinary Services to have her mouth fixed. Hok’ee is the fourth kitty to visit Dr. Klein this year after Naomi, Bean Bag, and Oliver. We love Dr. Klein and so do the kitties he has helped.

Little Hok’ee is doing well after the horrors she has been through. Dr. West did her normal test to determine if euthanasia could be considered–was the kitten eating and purring? Yes, she was! Well, by Dr. West’s rules, no cat will ever be “put to sleep” if it is purring and wants to eat. That is the Dr. West anti-euthanasia test. It works every time! Bean Bag passed. Any cat with a giant will to live will pass. Hok’ee did, too. Even with her hurt mouth, she wanted to eat. Dr. West said she is a little piglet.

Hok’ee has tested negative for feline leukemia/FIV. Dr. West started routine vet care and this sweet girl is loving all the attention. We will keep you updated on her progress. Dr. West has kindly agreed to pay all her bills at Noah’s Ark, but we plan to collect donations to pay for her surgeries with Dr. Klein. Dr. Klein always tries to help us out and keep his prices low, however.

Once she is recovered, Hok’ee will also be looking for a forever home, so please keep her in mind. For now, she will be snuggling with her stuffed pig, eating as much as her belly will hold, and thanking her angels for giving her such a good, good life.

I am looking for a new lap to hang out on. Do you have a warm spot for me?

I’ve tried to keep everyone up to date on Naomi’s dental adventures. From having all of her teeth pulled to surgeries to repair the holes in the roof of her mouth from electrical burns (due to chewing on an electrical cord), this poor girl has had her fill of dental visits. Her last visit involved having a “septal button” placed in the remaining hole. This device is similar to what they use with babies who have inoperable cleft palates. Miss Naomi will have this in her mouth the rest of her life to keep things from going into her nasal cavities.

I just had a call from Naomi’s foster mom, Kim, today and Naomi went in for a final check with Dr. Klein. He removed some stitches and made the septal button fit better in her mouth so it would not rub her skin and cause any irritation. He also told Kim that Naomi is now ready to find her forever home!!  Hurrah! It has been a long, long journey for this girl–over eight months with her foster family while we got her mouth healed. Now it is time for her to get her fairy tale ending!

Naomi can now head to her forever home. If you are looking for a cat that can only "gum" you, our toothless girl is for you.

If you know anyone who is looking for an excellent, lovely kitty, please let them know about Naomi. She is about five years old, has been spayed, vaccinated, and tested negative for feline leukemia/FIV. Now that her mouth feels better, she loves to play with her mice and is always looking for love and attention.

We also want to take this time to thank Dr. Tom Klein of East Hilliard Veterinary Services for all that he has done for Naomi (and our little Bean Bag who had the broken jaw). Not only did he help Naomi get the best care possible, he also kept in mind that we are a rescue and did everything for the kindest prices ever!

Our PLG is no longer a Poor Little Girl. She is, instead, “Positively Lovely.”

Nothing better than a cat on your lap.

He doesn't look too spiffy right now, but at least he is no longer covered in blood!

He doesn't look too spiffy right now, but at least he is no longer covered in blood!

I went to pick up Bean Bag today from East Hilliard Veterinary Services where Dr. Tom Klein is the dental veterinarian guru. Bean Bag looks a little less than stellar in these photos, but he honestly looks better than the first time I saw him when his entire face was covered in dried blood (I didn’t look at him too long at that time, because I was horrified).

Anyway, I promise to take more photos as our little guy progresses. We think he and Apple Seed are brothers (they look exactly alike), but there is at least a four pound difference in their weight. I wonder if maybe Bean Bag’s jaw had been broke longer than we first imagined and he was basically starving to death, thus his deficient body mass. As Dr. Klein told me, he looks to be three months old, but is actually seven months old, the same age as Apple Seed.

Bean Bag is now at Noah’s Ark where he will spend the weekend. Next week he will see Dr. Klein again for a check up and perhaps another simple procedure. He is allowed to eat soft food and will be getting a bath so he will start to look like an actual kitten and not a dirty smear of fur.

As a side note, Bean Bag does have eyes–he just kept shutting them because of the flash on my camera.

Everyone at East Hilliard Veterinary Services loved Bean Bag and there may even be someone there who wants to adopt our little survivor. Keep your fingers crossed for this sweet baby, who was kneading his paws and purring in the carrier as soon as I began talking to him. After all he has been through, it is hard to believe he still seems so happy–but perhaps he knows the secret to happiness–being grateful for all the blessings in your life. He has certainly experienced a bushel of blessings this week.

I know I'm not much to look at now, but just give me a few weeks. You won't recognize me after I get on the B and O Recovery Program.

I know I'm not much to look at now, but just give me a few weeks. You won't recognize me after I get on the B and O Recovery Program.

Apple Seed, who looks to be Bean Bag's Twin, but is twice his size.

Apple Seed, who looks to be Bean Bag's Twin, but is twice his size.

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