By Lia Bichel
A VETERINARIAN who saved a kitten last week has spoken out about the importance of desexing cats.
Dr Avron Woolf from Hallam Park Animal Hospital had to desex and amputate a leg from an 11-month-old domestic, short hair kitten named Schu last week. Dr Woolf said the kitten was most likely running around looking for a mate when the accident occurred.
“The owner brought it in and said it had a broken leg and we assume it was hit by a car,” he said.
“There was no way we could save the leg because the bones were shattered, so we decided to amputate the leg and desex it so it doesn’t end up in the same situation again.”
He said while many people were desexing their cats, many still haven’t got the message – in particular, men.
“This wasn’t the case in this particular incident with Schu, but many men don’t get their kittens desexed because they see an association between them and their pets,” he said.
“However, most people are doing the right thing. It’s important to get your pet desexed to prevent these accidents occurring, to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the rising feral cat population and because it is responsible pet ownership.”
Dr Woolf said Schu made a full recovery and was running around and bouncing off the tables just days after the surgery.
“Cats are incredible,” he said. “This is an example of the saying ‘cats have nine lives.’”