Skid, an 8wk old kitten cuddles with his monkey
Meet Skid. This adorable 2 month old fella was abandoned in a box at our shelter. We aren't sure if his owners knew of Skid's serious medical condition or if they simply didn't want him anymore but lucky for Skid, he got dumped at the right place. HALO's specialty is helping the scared, sick and injured; helping the ones that are generally on the "euthanasia list" at other shelters. What you need to understand is that the animals on these lists are generally highly adoptable, they simply need a little care to gain confidence, get healthy enough or big enough for adoption.
Skid arrived at our doorstep with a curious issue: he looked perfectly healthy except he was a little scrawny and he had to try really hard to breathe. His nostrils literally flared with each breath and his chest was very exaggerated with the in and out motion too. We took Skid to our vet and the x-ray revealed a life threatening problem. Skid was diagnosed with a Diaphragmatic Hernia, which means he had a hole in his diaphragm, the giant muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen. This hole allowed Skid's liver, gall bladder, colon and much of his small intestines to creep in to his chest cavity, collapsing one of his lungs and threatening his life.
This is an xray of Skid, stretched out long, with his head not shown at the top. The long, white wormy looking things are his intestines, certainly out of place don't you think?
The surgery was risky. Doctors gave him a 50/50 chance. We knew it was going to be expensive ($500) and we may not have a kitty at the end of it all, but Skid's sweet demeanor and constant purr told us to go for it!
Skid had his surgery on Friday, October 23rd. He pulled through like a champ!
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Skid, after his surgery, says THANK YOU!
Click here to see Skid after surgery, listen close for his happy purrrrrrs
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