Cat hit by car

[Cozzy]

On Thursday afternoon there was a knock at the door and I received the heartbreaking news my little cat Aurora had been hit by a car. Some very kind neighbours had picked her up and taken her straight to the vets, and other neighbours where knocking on doors trying to find out who she belonged to. I am truely grateful for the kindness of these strangers. The car that hit her did not stop.
Aurora has spent 3 days at the vets where they had to operate putting a wire in her broken jaw, a feeding tube into her throat and doing multiple tests and scans to find out if there was any internal damage. Thanks goodness I have insurance for her as the bills are extortionate! Yesterday I got the best phonecall saying she could come home but she is not out the woods yet. Aurora has lost the use of her right front leg and is currently hobbling/dragging herself around trying to work out how to manage. This leg will need to be amputated in the coming weeks. Aurora currently has to be fed through a tube every 4 hours and is on a schedule of medications to try keep the pain away. She needs to be cleaned by us as although she is going to the toilet she can't position herself right so she gets covered in pee. The vets are not sure what damage may have been done to her brain and have warned us she may be a different cat than we once knew.
I am truly heartbroken.
She has always been the most precious, kindest, calmest, snuggly, loving kitty. She has been through so much already, living on the streets of Macedonia, injuring her tail and having it amputated, coming over to the UK and finding her home here with us and now all of this. Aurora has far to go but there is hope that with lots of rest and love at home she will get back to a good quality of life. My little Aurora bum is a fighter and we will do whatever is right for her. It is so very sad to see her like this though and I am constantly questioning if we are doing what's best for her? I guess I'm just looking to hear other people's experiences. And please no shaming about letting my cat outside for this to happen, I feel awful enough as it is. Thanks

 

[Meowmee]

On Thursday afternoon there was a knock at the door and I received the heartbreaking news my little cat Aurora had been hit by a car. Some very kind neighbours had picked her up and taken her straight to the vets, and other neighbours where knocking on doors trying to find out who she belonged to. I am truely grateful for the kindness of these strangers. The car that hit her did not stop.
Aurora has spent 3 days at the vets where they had to operate putting a wire in her broken jaw, a feeding tube into her throat and doing multiple tests and scans to find out if there was any internal damage. Thanks goodness I have insurance for her as the bills are extortionate! Yesterday I got the best phonecall saying she could come home but she is not out the woods yet. Aurora has lost the use of her right front leg and is currently hobbling/dragging herself around trying to work out how to manage. This leg will need to be amputated in the coming weeks. Aurora currently has to be fed through a tube every 4 hours and is on a schedule of medications to try keep the pain away. She needs to be cleaned by us as although she is going to the toilet she can't position herself right so she gets covered in pee. The vets are not sure what damage may have been done to her brain and have warned us she may be a different cat than we once knew.
I am truly heartbroken.
She has always been the most precious, kindest, calmest, snuggly, loving kitty. She has been through so much already, living on the streets of Macedonia, injuring her tail and having it amputated, coming over to the UK and finding her home here with us and now all of this. Aurora has far to go but there is hope that with lots of rest and love at home she will get back to a good quality of life. My little Aurora bum is a fighter and we will do whatever is right for her. It is so very sad to see her like this though and I am constantly questioning if we are doing what's best for her? I guess I'm just looking to hear other people's experiences. And please no shaming about letting my cat outside for this to happen, I feel awful enough as it is. ThanksView attachment 440037

I hope she recovers well. It is hard for me to assess since I don’t have experience with this.

 

[neely]

Although I've never experienced this either I wanted to offer my sympathies and hope Aurora's recuperation goes smoothly. I know it will take time but your love will get her through this difficult time.

 

[FeebysOwner]

While I did not experience it directly, a friend of mine took on the care of a stray who was hit by a car and also had a broken jaw. I can't recall if the cat had a broken leg that they set or if it was eventually amputated. I do know that the cat was not released from the vets to my friend for a much longer time than your girl. Through diligent care and fortitude, this little guy survived it all and after several weeks with a feeding tube and a whole lot of healing time - he recovered fully and went on to be adopted.

Beyond what Aurora experienced with the car accident, the hardest part is this initial period of recuperation - for both of you. But what you said: "Aurora has far to go but there is hope that with lots of rest and love at home she will get back to a good quality of life." is the right attitude and should remain your focus. The more time that passes, the 'less hard' it will become. The very fact that she has chosen to use her litter box is a promising sign in terms of no long-term brain damage. And, when she has recovered enough to proceed with the amputation, she will adjust to it much more quickly than you. We have a number of members who have tripod cats, and they are all amazed at how much quicker their cats adapted than they did!

Although the upcoming days will be arduous and long, may they go by quickly, and may you see improvements, little by little, that you - and Aurora - can revel in as you both take this journey to her recovery.

 

[gilmargl]

No 2 accidents are alike but my cat Katy survived. She was hit by a car and spent 3 days at the vet before I was told it would be best to euthanise her. But, not only did my daughter insist that I brought her home but, when I visited Katy before making any decision, she gave me that look - with her remaining, seeing eye. It said "I may not be able to swallow, I may have lost the use of one eye, but PLEASE take me home!". It was heartbreaking to see my pretty little black cat, a foster from a feral colony who decided to stay, with a squashed in face and useless eye.

The vet was brilliant at doing operations but soon found there was nothing more he could do for her. He said that cats are tough and wished me luck.

I took her home, and she surprisingly refused to be kennelled but carried her tired, injured body to the litter boxes in the cellar. Knowing she would need at least 6 weeks intensive care, I contacted another vet - who is more involved in caring for sick animals, than performing operations. This vet worked out for me how much liquid nutrition we needed to get down her throat per day for her to survive and suggested freezing daily portions in syringes. Katy also needed subQ fluids as she couldn't drink but, although we don't like giving them, we had done them for other cats. It took 8 weeks before Katy could eat and drink normally, and started to look like a cat again. Her face was completely distorted as a result of the huge blow she had received and she hadn't been able to keep herself clean. Our attempts at cleaning her fur were not nearly as efficient as a cat's tongue. But she survived.

No more excursions outside the house for her. Her damaged eye did not need to be removed and with only one seeing-eye she doesn't appear handicapped in any way. While she was being treated she spent all day on my bed. Now, at meal times, when she is feeling in need of a little TLC, she will jump onto my bed and look hopefully at me so that I have no choice but to feed her there.

Perhaps this will give you hope for Aurora. My brother's cat in the UK also had his jaw wired after a car accident. He was not found for a week after his accident but he also survived. There were no broken legs in either case but as my vet said - cats are tough.

Good luck to you and poor, little Aurora.

 

[yekrats]

I'm so sorry this happened to poor little Aurora. Bless you for taking care of her. I've never experienced anything like what happened to poor Aurora so I'll just back up what others have said about him losing his leg. Although there's no doubt that Aurora won't like it, he will adjust quickly.
Cats live in the now. He will soon decide, So, I've only got three legs. Well, better get to the food dish. And off he'll go.
Please know that I'm not trying to make light of what's happening, I just want you to know that he'll be okay.

Bless you and little Aurora

 

[Box of Rain]

My condolences.

Prior to our adopting him, our Desmond was crushed by a car. His back leg was broken. An awesome cat rescue and volunteer veterinary surgeons patched him back together (extensive surgery). He had to wear an external skeleton (is it called a stabilizer?) for some time as he healed.

He'd been in a very loving foster home, and was just out of the contraption, when he came to us. He was a bit limpy and his hindquarters were pretty atrophied. We accepted that we would likely have a cat with some limits, but his spirit was so good that it didn't matter.

But I'm happy to report that 15 months later, with good food and plenty of play and exercise, Desmond has fully recovered. Strong. He can leap, and climb, and run, and walk without a trace of any disability. It took a awhile, but the progress was steady.

Every case is different. But Desmond's injuries were, by all reports, quite severe.

Today, no trace of his injury is evident.

I hope Aurora has a similar recovery.

Bill

 

[fionasmom]

I am only going to add that I had a GSD who was a melanoma amputee, left front. He not only survived melanoma, but lived successfully with the amputation. It is not as upsetting or difficult to manage situation as you might think and can give much better quality of life than trying to fix or live with an injured leg.

 

[Kflowers]

This is about the feeding tube. They can be wonderful both for getting food, water and medicine inside you cat. I found the important thing to remember, for your cat's comfort and to prevent vomiting, when you squirt food into the feeding tube put no more than one cat sized bite in at a time. yes, the feeding tube skips swallowing, but inside, deep in the esophagus the body is still prepared to deal with bite size amounts at one swallow, not more. It adds very little time to the feeding and, I found helped my cat relax and accept medicine and food.

 

[Cozzy]

Thank you all so much for your replies. It brings me hope to hear how these cats have all got through these awful injuries. I think I have been looking at all the negatives as for the past few days Aurora seeme to go downhill and just did nothing but sleep. She didnt want to get up and had a look in her eyes like she wasn't there. This morning she started to improve and I saw glimpses of my old Aurora with some life back in her eyes. She has been getting used to hobbling on three legs and starting to get around. She even this morning ate something! Couldn't resist her favourite mackerel bless her. She hasn't eaten anything since though and has been more sleepy and out of it this afternoon but its hard to tell what is the mess, what is just exhaustion, or what could be the brain damage. She is struggling to poop having just one tiny one this week so now on laxatives as we think her being backed up is also affecting her wanting to eat.
I am hoping and praying she continues to improve but I think hearing your stories has helped me manage expectations and understand progress might be slow!

 

[neely]

This morning she started to improve and I saw glimpses of my old Aurora with some life back in her eyes.

This is definitely encouraging news! I hope Aurora starts to show a little improvement each and every day along with more regular poops.

 

[OopsyDaisy]

In time, with your love, care and patience...I'm sure she will surprise you. Little sweetheart. Get well soon Aurora.