Good Samaritan, Emergency Surgery Save Kitten

At six weeks old, little Abilene has already used up one of her nine lives. And she wouldn’t be alive at all if it weren’t for a Good Samaritan and extraordinary medical care.

The tiny, all black kitten was discovered—weak, in shock, and with an obvious injury to her tail—by a homeowner after a contractor working on her roof heard sounds of crying in the alley behind the house. Fearing the worst, the homeowner rushed the kitten to the League’s Medical Center.

As bad as it looked, the injured tail was the least of Abilene’s problems. She had a huge internal tear that had allowed her intestines to become displaced. After stabilizing her and cleaning her wounds, League veterinary staff transported her to Friendship Hospital for Animals for the complex surgery that would save her life. There, Dr. Mathieu Glassman, VMD, DACVS, repositioned the intestines, repaired the tear, amputated the tail, performed reconstructive surgery on Abilene’s hind quarters, and spayed her, for good measure, all at a generous discount.

“He had the foresight to know that she would need to be spayed, and he knew it would be difficult to do that with all her internal scarring, so he went ahead and took care of that, too,” says the League’s Dr. Jan Rosen. “We are so incredibly appreciative of the extraordinary, complex, multiple surgeries Dr. Glassman performed on this kitten. There’s no doubt he saved her life.”

Abilene is recovering nicely in the Medical Center and could become available for adoption in three to four weeks.