Didder, a beautiful 2 year old indoor/outdoor cat, was found limping.
During a visit to the vet, X-rays were taken. The results were concerning…
His femur (thigh bone) was absolutely shattered (see preop pictures). How many pieces can you count?
I can count at least a dozen!
If that weren’t enough, he also suffered from a fracture of the mandible (lower jaw).
His femur was repaired with a plate, 10 screws, 3 wires a 1 pin (which later had to be removed). To speed up healing, a bone graft was added.
Postop X-ray of the thigh bone from the side; Postop X-ray of the thigh bone from the front
His jaw fracture was wired back together. He had an uneventful surgery and anesthesia. He then had to rest very strictly for 2 months to allow the bones to heal.
Didder’s owner learned from this experience, and wisely decided to keep Didder indoors from now on. Stories like Didder’s are sadly not rare in my practice, and there is no question in my mind that cats are much safer indoors.
Two years after surgery, Didder’s owner writes: “You’d never know anything happened to Didder – which is greater than any outcome we could have imagined the sad night we found him so horribly broken! Our family is grateful that you were able to successfully rebuild our baby boy.”