Chewy gets a leg up!

Chewy is a 9 week old male kitten that was found by Dr. Bailey's son, Christopher. He had been attacked by a dog and had a broken leg. Christopher, a current veterinary student at MSU, brought the kitten back to Exclusively Cats to have Dr. Bailey treat him.

The left rear leg is broken

Another view of Chewy's legs, showing the healthy right leg and the broken left leg

While many small fractures of the hind limb can be stabilized with bandages and splints, a severe fracture like this one requires surgery. As you can see, the bone has been broken all the way through and the ends do not want to meet. Dr. Bailey had to place pins in the bone in order to stabilize it so that it can heal.

Chewy's leg required three pins to fix it in place, along with an outer brace.

Now that his bone is supported by the pins, it will remain end-to-end so that healing can occur. Meanwhile, although Chewy is restricted to resting in his cage, he can bear weight on the leg.


 You can see him scurrying around in this video.



Hopefully, with time and care, Chewy will be able to start looking for his forever home!

Here is Chewy with his external brace - it is a rubber tube filled with a hardening material so that it could be cut and fit to Chewy's tiny leg.

February 2014 update: Little Chewy has been getting around without any troubles for quite some time, now, and has found his permanent home with Dr. Bailey and his wife, Liz.

Meet the November Calendar Cats: Rocky and Patches!

 Rocky and Patches

ROCKY:

Age: 9/1/1993 - 1/28/2013

Gender: Neutered Male

Demeanor at the vet's office: A little grumbly, but he never really meant it.
 
PATCHES:

Age: 17 years

Weight: 10.0 pounds.

Gender: Spayed Female

Demeanor at the vet's office: Nice, but vocal

Feline Friends:   Milo (3y) and Kay (8m)

Rocky had a "rocky" start.  He was found on the curb of the street, appeared to be less than 2 months old, and had been mistreated.  He fit in the palm of one hand.  But he was a fighter and survivor.  He was also one of the most graceful cats we have ever seen.  He could go from the floor to the top of a highboy dresser in one graceful leap - and he loved be up high, looking down at the world.  I have attached one of my favorite photos of Rocky.  He loved Christmas trees - especially when he could reach the ornaments from a convenient perch.  As you can see here, I caught him in the act of taking a swing at one of them when he was young.  But he never destroyed anything on our holiday trees; it was almost as though he knew not to touch the glass ornaments.

Patches joined us when Rocky was about three years old.  They were very different cats.  He was adventurous and curious; she was gentle and content to play solo.  We always had more cats around, but Rocky never bonded with the others in the same way he did with Patches.  We often found them cuddled together.  They were wonderful friends, and while Patches has been "courteous" to others, she has never bonded with any other cat in the household like she did with Rocky.  

We are so glad this photo was selected last year, especially when we lost Rocky in January, 2013.  We miss him very much, and are grateful to have this wonderful calendar as part of his legacy.