Just as I was settling down for a spot of lunch a couple of months ago the phone rang. It was one of my nursing team urging me to return to the
practice ASAP. A cat had been involved in a road traffic accident and was in a bad way. It will probably need euthanizing was her closing remark. When I first saw "Cosmo" I was very inclined to agree. Unable to stand and positioned in a most abnormal manner the initial thinking was a fractured spine. If experience has taught me one thing however, it is to never under estimate the healing properties of injured cats. So applying my training I examined "Cosmo" methodically and concluded that whilst his injuries were very severe they were insufficient to merit immediate euthanasia. 

This type of situation makes it very difficult to provide accurate forecasts to the owners as to the eventual outcome. Will he survive? Will he be permanently disabled? Will he ever walk again? Is he suffering? When will he recover? How much will it all cost? We simply don't know the exact answers to all these questions and we will often try to proceed with limited forecasts on a day to day basis. Above all we try to make decisions on the basis of "Cosmo" belonging to the Fairfield team. It is essential that "Cosmo's" owners are fully aware of all eventualities and allow us the discretion to continue treatment as we deem appropriate. The level of trust that we are given is not borne lightly and every member of the team involved in "Cosmo's" care is required to ensure that we are all satisfied that on balance further treatment is appropriate and in his best interests.

Given the level of care required for a patient with a shattered femur, spinal injuries and major blunt trauma the importance of the owners in the rehabilitation process can never be taken for granted. Luckily for "Cosmo" his owners rose to the occasion and supplied him with every opportunity on the road to recovery with physiotherapy and appropriate home care. Two months on and we are all seeing the reason why the phrase "cats have 9 lives" has more than a modicum of truth! Supervets?, I think not; as we are only doing what we have been trained and paid to do. Super owners? Most definitely!

Terry Dunne
BVMS, Cert SAO, MRCVS