Vegeta the Wonder Cat

As vets we see all kinds of things that come through our doors.

When we went into consultation with a sweet, little cat, who was off his food after going missing for a week, I don’t think any of us were prepared for what we found.

Little 3 year old Vegeta, after wandering from home, found shelter and warmth in the engine of a car. The car driver had driven a suburb away before being alerted to the fact that he had a stow away on board.

Vegeta appeared to have made a lucky escape and his owners were tracked down through his microchip. Thank goodness It soon became apparent to Vegeta’s family, however, that he was not himself. He was refusing to eat and very reluctant to move and interact with his family.

When Vegeta came to us it was found that he had received nasty burns to his tummy. The full extent of these burns came to light over the course of a week. All of Vegeta’s undercarriage, and a large area of his right body wall was severely burnt. Vegeta was taken to surgery to remove an extensive region of painful, dying skin/tissue and underwent soft tissue reconstructive surgery to close the wound. Vegeta was a brave Cat, being kept comfortable with slow release pain killing patches. Vegeta had all the excuses in the world to be grumpy. All we received was purring and smooching. It’s been a month long journey but I am pleased to report Vegeta is now making an excellent recovery and is back to his playful self.