This is the story of Sophie, a dear little tortie
kitty that has had a very rough start in life. Sophie was a homeless kitten that was hit by a car at age 6 months.
She was taken to the vet by a caretaker who was feeding her. The vet determined that Sophie needed her tail amputated
as it appeared to be "dead". While amputating her tail, the vet also eradicated Sophie's anus and surrounding tissue,
in error.
I first knew of Sophie when a lady posted about her to the feline leukemia
group to which I belong. The post indicated that Sophie was hit by a car and had her tail amputated and
that she was possibly feline leukemia positive. (She has since tested negative for that). The post mentioned that
she was up to date on her vaccinations and spayed, although that was faulty info, as well as the fact that she had good anal
sphincter control, which was very much not true as she had no anus at all.
A kind woman, Tamara, drove Sophie and another sweet kitty, Simms, to my
home in Michigan all the way from Maryland at the end of May 2004. All seemed fine at first. I had to isolate
Sophie in a cat exercise pen until she got her feline leukemia immunity from the vaccinations she needed. I could not get
her into the vet for a week, due to the overbooked heartworm season. By the time I got her to the vet, she had become
red and raw in her behind area due to the fact that stool was sticking to her rear. They had to gas her to clean her
up and then prescribed antibiotics. They showed me her rear end, after photographing it for teaching purposes, and I
felt ill at what I saw. They pointed out how it was just a rectum protruding from an open wound back there and they
told me how it would develop scar tissue and cause blockages, as it had begun to do already, and they recommended I put her
down. I could not do this, though, without knowing more about what had happened and what could be done.
I read the medical progress notes in detail then and saw in the notes
where the vet admitted his error and it made me feel faint for this poor little girl.
Within a week, Sophie was obstructed to the point that I had to take her
to the vet to have an enema under anesthesia. The vet again recommended that I put her down. I asked if she could
be treated with meds, as I had studied about megacolon, which is what they had suspected was going on. They thought
she had developed the megacolon due to straining to pass stool through the closing scar tissue of the rectum. The vets
reluctantly prescribed lactulose, colace and also pumpkin to mix with canned food. They also switched her to a
diet of high fiber, prescribing Hill's W/D.
The next week Sophie was obstructed again, badly. I brought her in
for a cleansing but also took a blanket with me, heart in my throat, knowing that the vets would again pressure me to put
her down. I was thinking that since the meds did not work, then maybe that was best, as what kind of life would she
have and how would I afford a weekly enema under anesthesia, not to mention the use of so much anesthesia to the detriment
of her health and well being. The vet did indeed give me a stern lecture and made me cry, saying that I was doing this
cat no favor by keeping her alive. I thought of how she was so sweet and so innocent and had so many horrifying things
happen to her in her very young life and how she was healthy except for her inability to pass stools well and it tore me up
inside. I asked if possibly Michigan State University Small Animal Clinic could do any kind of reconstructive
surgery. The vet replied that he did not know but doubted it. He did give me a referral and I took Sophie on the
following Monday.
I cried all the way there because I knew that this was the last stop, that
if they could not do anything then I would have to let her go. I was doubtful that they could do anything going by what
the vets had told me. To my elation, a wonderful surgeon by the name of Bryden Stanley came into the room, examined
Sophie and began to go down the list of what she could do for Sophie. She was going to create an anus for Sophie by
using a tendon-like tissue from her leg and wrapping it around a bony landmark and she was also going to strengthen the rectum.
Sophie had the surgery 3 days later. I had to raise funds for Sophie
within a handful of days as they could not release Sophie to me without the bill being paid in full. I got $700 in credit
from Care Credit but the rest was raised online from donations from incredibly caring and generous people. I was
astounded and so deeply touched by the outpouring of love and support by the feline leukemia group and by the terrific efforts
of Timothy Meeker of the Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program, who volunteered to handle donations through his organization
and who also gave generously through his group to Sophie's fund.
Sophie did very well following surgery and for two months was doing wonderfully.
She has fallen into a bit of an obstacle lately but that is being sorted out. She has had obstructions every few days
and now about once a week. I give her enemas to help clear her at home, which she doesn't seem to mind
too much, surprisingly, when she is in trouble. She is on a diet of canned food only with lactulose given 3 times a
day and also a vegetable laxative given when signs of straining appear. We will work through this and find a way to
make a good life for Sophie. Dr. Stanley will do a scope on Sophie to see what is going on in detail at the end of October,
2004. Hopefully it is a minor fault in her system which she has develped since surgery and one that will be easily fixed.
I will keep you all posted.
Thank you all so much for dropping by and for reading all this. I
will keep this site updated with news and new pictures and I hope you will stop by again!
