Chibi_Neko
Veteran
Joined: 23 Oct 2007
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,485
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
10 Dec 2008, 11:03 am
Edgar, a 4-year-old long-haired feline, went missing from her home in Winthrop for three days last week. When she finally came home, her owner found her in her litter box — with part of her face dangling from her head.
"When her owner saw her face, she passed out," said Elizabeth Kendrick, a surgical technician at Angell Animal Medical Center
The owner, who asked not to be identified, recovered from the shock and rushed Edgar to an animal hospital
Remarkably, Edgar suffered no major blood loss nor any permanent nerve damage from her accident. She just needed to have her facial skin stitched back on during an hour-long surgery, according to veterinary surgeon Michael Pavletic.</p> <p> "And she should be fine after this," Pavletic said
Besides the skin hanging from Edgar's face, Edgar seemed normal, Kendrick said
"She was purring and sticking her head up so we could pet her," Kendrick said. "She even tried to chew at her skin. I'd never seen anything like it."
Pavletic reattached Edgar's face using about 35 stitches. She came through the surgery with no problems, though she looks as though someone punched her in the eye. "She'll need to take some medicine but I don't anticipate her having any problems," Pavletic said.
Bonnie Beaver, a professor of small animal clinical services at Texas A&M University, said such animal injuries are extremely rare since cats are usually killed instantly from car fan belts.
"She may have problems later," Beaver said, "but the cat was saying, `I may have lost this life but, by golly, I have eight more.'"
10 Dec 2008, 11:11 am
I just found the opening sentence to my novel!! !!
10 Dec 2008, 11:28 am
Poor kitty cat..... 
At least they didn't just put little Edgar down.
sartresue
Veteran
Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Age: 71
Gender: Female
Posts: 6,313
Location: The Castle of Shock and Awe-tism
10 Dec 2008, 11:31 am
I'm "mew"tiful topic
Edgar could have looked far worse. I am glad she will be okay. One lucky cat. 
At this frosty time of year, especially, if car/cat owners could look under their hoods after a long night it might save a cat's life.
Better still, keep them inside the house. 
10 Dec 2008, 11:36 am
I wonder how many lives Edgar has left now after something like that
11 Dec 2008, 1:59 am
11 Dec 2008, 2:08 am
11 Dec 2008, 2:21 am
Edgar....what a strange name for a female feline... 
11 Dec 2008, 10:37 am
Aw poor little kitty. Still looks kinda cute though. 
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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite
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12 Dec 2008, 3:52 pm
familiar_stranger
Veteran
Joined: 5 Nov 2008
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 653
Location: cambridgeshire UK
12 Dec 2008, 4:15 pm
i didn't read anywhere saying whether there was a cat flap or not, so it could have been the cats choice. who knows?
all i can say is that's one lucky cat, it's good to hear they went through with the surgical route rather than putting it down.
_________________
most people think i'm a bit strange, even abnormal. normal is the majority, the average, what is most frequent. if you lived around here, you'll see the positive of not being normal
19 Dec 2008, 9:16 pm
22 Dec 2008, 11:54 pm
This story is currently on one of my favorite cat rescue sites...
" Angel is an example of why cats should NOT BE ALLOWED OUTSIDE to just run around. A Good Samaritan noticed Angel in her neighborhood and was alarmed by the fact that she had an obvious, very serious tail injury. The neighbor called us and brought to cat to one of our vets. It was discovered that Angel had sustained a terrible "degloving" injury, meaning all the skin of her tail from the base to the end was completely stripped off. All that was left were bones (this injury is commonly caused when cats crawl up into car engines). Fortunately our wonderful vet was able to successfully amputate Angel's tail, leaving a healthy stump. So she is now a Manx! "
Sad, sweet, and true. Cats like car engines in cold weather.
I NEVER LET KITTiES OUTSIDE ANYMORE! Bad things happen. They are safe and healthy inside.
