Injured Kitty’s Damaged Arm Was ‘Dangling’
TUESDAY, Dec. 22, 2015 – A kitten received a second chance, thanks to two Perris women.
Edith Rios and her daughter-in-law, Kelley Gonzalez, walked from their home to a community mailbox and made a
shocking discovery last Thursday afternoon (Dec. 17) in Perris. An injured kitten was sprawled in some bushes.
The mailbox tower is near the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Huckleberry Drive, which can get busy, so Ms. Rios said she presumed the kitten was hit by a car.
“At first, it looked like its guts were sticking out – that’s how bad it was,” Ms. Rios said. “Her arm was just bones and tissue hanging. It was really, really bad.”
Her daughter-in-law hurried home, grabbed some towels and a carrier and the two women rushed the injured feline to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus. Ms. Rios said she didn’t think twice about helping the animal. “How can you leave a cat with an arm just dangling, just to fend for itself?” Ms. Rios said. Ms. Gonzalez said the kitten did not make any noises during the ride. “Maybe she was in shock,” she said.
Veterinary team members at the county’s San Jacinto shelter immediately put the kitten on pain medications and antibiotics, examined her and it was quickly determined the cat would need an amputation to the injured, front right leg. Veterinarian Dr. Leonard Sauer handled that delicate operation with precision and care. The animal’s prognosis was listed as “poor to grave,” due to the conditions of the kitten at surgery.
“We knew it was a long shot,” said Eileen Sanders, supervising registered veterinary technician. “I think the reason she survived might have had to do with her arm and how it was so badly mangled and spun that the arteries and veins were twisted to ligation. But she had a decent color to her mucus membranes, so we remained optimistic.”
It is uncertain how the 3-month-old, gray-and-white kitten was injured. In addition to her thought that the kitten was injured by a motorist, Ms. Rios said she also considered that the kitty might have been attacked by a larger animal. Shelter veterinary workers theorized that the cat could have been injured by a fan belt inside a car engine. It is common for stray cats to crawl into wheel wells and car engines as ways to keep warm during cold nights.
But now the kitten, nicknamed Holly, is recovering well and is available for adoption. “This kitten is a fighter,” said Emma Perez-Singh, an operations chief at the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus. “She’s in great spirits, considering the injuries she sustained.”
