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Stray boy Garfield’s story starts with a desperate plea for help arriving in our Facebook page Inbox. Here is what it said.
“At around 6PM tonight I saw a car deliberately swerve into a cat! Unable to read the number plate I rushed towards the cat. Luckily, or not, the impact had caught him from the side, hitting his head but missing the body. One of his eyes literally exploded while the other is currently hanging out of its socket. Please help.”
We gritted our teeth, mustered some courage and looked at the attached photos.
We froze…
Dearest friends, we’ve been dedicated to this cause for many long years but it is not often that we see such sights. The added detail of the dark deed being done deliberately left us numb.
WARNING! GRAPHIC CONTENT!
GARFIELD
We pulled ourselves together, contacted the rescuer and Garfield was immediately rushed to our clinic. Upon admission he was unresponsive, in shock, with a massive craniofacial trauma, multiple jaw fractures, cerebral oedema and his eyes were completely destroyed. His blood results were so poor that the vet team informed us he may require an urgent blood transfusion, and any further diagnostics, such as xRays, would have to wait until he was stable enough for anesthesia.
Once Garfield is stabilized the first urgent surgery must address his eyes before necrosis sets in; taking care of the jaw fractures can happen at a later stage. If he isn’t able to eat on his own he may also need an esophagostomy tube fitted. The tube is placed into the esophagus via a surgical incision on the neck and it allows Garfield to be fed while he recovers.
If you have a strong stomach, please watch the short video below to fully appreciate the state in which Garfield was admitted.
WARNING! GRAPHIC CONTENT!
Garfield is a strong young cat, barely 2-3 years old. Apart from the terrible head trauma he seems to have escaped otherwise relatively unscathed, there are no broken bones elsewhere in his body and miraculously his spine is intact. Blind cats, just like blind people, can have a fulfilling, interesting life and we have found great homes for many such furkids. If he lives we can give him a new future.
UPDATE | NOVEMBER 9, 2020
Garfield is holding on.
The first urgent surgery to remove the damaged remains of his eyes has been successful. It was important to perform this operation as soon as possible before necrosis set in the tissues and infection spread. Garfield has now stabilized, his breathing has calmed right down, he is no longer in shock, his blood results are normalizing and he is attempting to lick and swallow food. Managing to eat on his own would be a great win as it may mean he could avoid the esophagostomy tube, which is not a pleasant experience in the best of times.
Garfield remains hospitalized and under 24 hour observation. You can follow more frequent updates and wish him courage on our Facebook page.
Garfield remains hospitalized and under 24 hr observation. He is a strong young cat, barely 2-3 years old. Apart from the terrible head trauma he seems to have escaped relatively unscathed, there are no broken bones elsewhere in his body and miraculously his spine is intact. If Garfield lives we can give him a new future.
A NOTE ON LOVE AND LIFE
We understand that you are feeling heartbroken looking at Garfield’s photos and his destroyed eyes, wondering what kind of a future could he expect. We want to share something amazing with you. Blind cats, just like blind people, can have a fulfilling, interesting life and we have found great homes for many such furkids. Here are moments from the lives some of our blind rescues are living today.
The photos of Martin and Sully below are links to their stories.
Do have a look. Blind cats love life.
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