Broken Jaw

The Halloween Kitten. That’s the cut she has over her eye, healing up now. I don’t know how she got so hurt. Or how she survived coyotes and owls on her own. Three pounds of determined kitty.

Howdy. So a stray kitten showed up the day before Halloween. She is about a month and a half old, a tabby-calico-ginger short coat and the sweetest personality. Just purrs! Very clingy and needy, wants to be held. She seems more like a puppy than a kitten. 

So. She has a gash that’s mostly healed atop her little head. And there seems to be something truly funky about her mouth. Her lower jaw seems split. A birth defect? Or it’s, gulp, broken. She also has diarrhea.  I mean DIARRHEA. There’s a bit of pus or matter about her nose and at times seem in her mouth, so I rinsed her mouth out with a mild saline solution– warm water and salt. 

Long story short, with gory details left out about constant kitten watery glops of liquid poo…took her to the vet today as the diarrhea is not clearing up. I’ve had her on rice and watered down wet cat food for days, no milk, lots of water to keep her hydrated. 

Here you can see her coloring a bit as well as the big healing gash by her ear and the cut over her eye, also healing up.

The vet takes one look at her, announces broken jaw. We can perform surgery, wire her jaw shut, or you can have her put down. As just leaving her to sink or swim would mean she’d have trouble eating the rest of her life, as well as other major problems. The kitten, just called Kitty as I’ve had her maybe four days, looks up at me, freaked out a bit about being in a new place but otherwise wanting to explore the exam room. See things and sniff and find out what’s what. She’s lively, eyes clear, exuding energy and will.

This is not a terminally ill kitten that’s suffering…except for the diarrhea. Her little bottom is quite sore. I put salve on it. 

Do I coldly have the vet end her life or…deplete my tiny store of cash? 

Yeah, I opt for the surgery. 

So, I set up a GoFundMe. It’s set at 300 bucks or so. I expect nothing to come of it but people over on FB did ask if I was taking donations. I am, frankly. For that little three pound bag of gingery bones, you bet your bottom I’ll pass the hat. 

gofundme.com/f/crystal039s-broken-jaw

 

An actual cat nap. That’s the stuffed bunny I got from a local thrift store.

 

note– this is hard for me to do. But. I can ask for help for a cat. She’s worth it. Thank you all even for reading this. 

note 2– so, Crystal, possibly Lola [name? neither seems quite right…] is back home and miserable. Might need a cone.  Ever tried to get meds in a cat that’s had jaw surgery? Fun! But hey, I have a cat now.