3/12/23 – It was late January when Penelope was found by a young woman who was unable to find an owner or a shelter that would take her. Eventually, she was able to find help with an independent rescuer, Jem, whom we’ve worked with in the past on other case, and Jem contacted 4 paws 1 heart. Jem thought Penelope had been ‘dumped’ because of a ‘bad leg’ which resulted in Penelope hopping like a bunny. Here is Penelope’s story as told by Jem:
“On January 24th, Penelope came into my care. She is a four-month-old bobtail kitten who was born with a curved spine that resulted in a pelvic deformity. As a result, her hips are very wide, requiring her to hop like a bunny. Dr Panchal at Southpointe Vet x-rayed her and determined that the abnormal bone structure is not negatively impacting her quality of life. The more pressing issue was an untreated UTI that ended up destroying the surrounding skin. When I received her, the entirety of her back end was covered in thick necrotic tissue so infected her vulva could not be found. After two weeks of antibiotics and nightly disinfectant washes, the necrotic tissue fell off revealing that her entire vulva area was gone. As of today, Penelope’s urethra is nothing but an open hole that is very fragile and sometimes bleeds even from gentle wiping. Tomorrow, (February 15) Penelope will return to Southpointe for her spay. During this surgery, whatever can be done for her genital area will be done—ideally the doctor will be able to perform some level of reconstruction that will help Penelope hold her bladder. At the moment, her pelvic muscles are not strong enough to stop dripping. Despite the demands of her health, Penelope has a loving prospective family waiting on the surgery results so we can explore adoption. I would appreciate prayers and positive thoughts for little Penelope. It’s so hard to see her going through all this at such a tender age, but she is a happy kitten with an indomitable spirit and I have high hopes that she overcome these physical struggles.”
On February 16 Jem reported that “Dr Panchal, at Southpointe, said that Penny’s organs are healthy and normal as well as her spine and joints. The spay was performed without any issues. But, she was not able to do anything about Penny’s urethra. because all the vulva skin was necrotic and fell off, there was nothing for her to work with. Penny would have to go to a surgeon who could do a urethral lengthening to help her direct urine rather than having it dribble out.”
Unfortunately, when Jem sent me this update I literally dropped the ball and didn’t see it. Thankfully, Jem contacted me the other day as follow up. We have decided to seek one more opinion from Dr. Zalac at Orion Animal Hospital before making arrangements for surgery. We will be sure to update on next steps and as Jem asked before, please keep Penny in your prayers. – diana
4paws1heart.org/donations P.O. Box 84, St. Clair Shores, MI. 48080
