May 2008 - Fudge Bazeley
Fudge muscles through
Fudge is a 3 year old ginger cat who first came to us after returning to his owners late one night looking very soggy and sorry for himself. He seemed to be a little tender over his abdomen but otherwise bright and well. Fudge was given some pain relief and antibiotics and asked to come back to us if he didn’t show any signs of improving.
A couple of days later fudge returned to us. After initially doing very well, he had developed a soft swelling over his left flank and occasionally growled when turning. We were suspicious that fudge had suffered from a traumatic episode and may have split his body wall allowing his abdominal organs to pass through until they were under the skin. Abdominal ultrasound and x-rays showed the outline of the left body wall appeared to be disrupted, and we were concerned he may have suffered from an abdominal rupture. This meant Fudge would need surgical exploration.
When the skin had been incised and the fat under the skin parted a huge tear was revealed extending from his ribs to his pelvis, through all three layers of the abdominal muscles. The wound was under a lot of tension but with careful needle work the hole was gradually closed. Although we will never know how the injury occurred, Fudge is now recovering well.
