by Stephen Dafoe
A five-month-old kitten got a new lease on life and the chance for a permanent home thanks to the compassion of a Bon Accord couple and an amputation surgery at the Morinville Veterinary Clinic (MVC).
The couple, who have not been identified, came across the kitten who had suffered a serious injury to his tail.
“They were very compassionate,” Elyse Prince, Morinville Veterinary Clinic Practice Manager said of the couple. “They were really worried this cat had suffered some kind of abuse. Originally they thought the tail had been lit on fire, or someone had abused this kitten.”
Prince said a doctor’s examination revealed the otherwise healthy kitten had simply suffered a break in the tail and not suffered any cruelty from humans.
“Things happen to these kittens when they are strays,” she said. “He’s super affection and sweet, but [he had] a very badly infected tail. It appears that it was broken at some point, and now there is no blood flow to the tail, which is why it is necrotic and rotting off.”
Prince said the clinic will always accept ownerless animals in distress, but they rely on the SPCA to provide the minimal funding to treat ownerless animals found outside the community. Although initially reluctant, the SPCA agreed to fund part of the costs for the surgery and post-surgery medication.
That surgery took place Sept. 18, and Prince said the kitten is on the mend. The kitten was also neutered, tattooed and microchipped. He is now up for adoption at the clinic.
Prince said strays are a problem as cats can reproduce at as young as six months of age, and have litters of four to 10 kittens. “If those cats start reproducing in six months, you can imagine the cat population [increasing] in no time at all,” she said.
