Today we’re sharing a Pets In Stitches first: a leg amputation on an incredibly young kitten! Only 5 weeks old and weighing 1.3 pounds, Zola is truly a lightweight. As you might imagine, operating on an incredibly young kitten can pose challenges when administering anesthesia. However, our experienced, capable team was able to plan ahead and problem-solve to make this surgery as safe as possible for this tiny creature.
A Rough Start for a Lively Kitten
Zola was found with a fractured leg and brought to the local veterinary facility, MedVet. While the person who found the kitten could not keep her, thankfully an administrative MedVet staff member adopted her, committing to the care she needed. Her pet parent decided to name her Zola, which means “lively” in Greek or Spanish — a fitting name for a kitten with a tenacious spirit!
As the MedVet veterinary staff worked with Zola, they realized the kitten needed a leg amputation. Zola’s new pet parent reached out to Pets In Stitches immediately. Our clinic reserves time in our schedule for emergencies such as this, and we were able to schedule Zola within 24 hours!
When Dr. Rastetter examined Zola, she found the soft tissue on the lower half of her broken leg had mummified. The trauma causing the fracture had also compromised the leg’s blood supply. Dr. Rastetter agreed with the MedVet veterinary staff’s assessment: an amputation was necessary.
Special Considerations for Kitten Leg Amputations
Zola was so tiny that Dr. Rastetter had to wear her magnifying loupes with illumination to perform the surgery! Another set of challenges involved how to customize the patient’s anesthesia to keep Zola safe. Just as the dosage of some medicines depends on a person’s weight, the same holds true for anesthetics in animals. Before we conduct a surgery, we always perform a pre-anesthetic examination to determine how to respond uniquely to each pet’s needs.
Since Zola was so young and small, this procedure was considered a delicate anesthesia event. We established an anesthetic plan to protect her from becoming cold, developing low blood sugar, and building circulatory fluid overload — all significant risks in a patient her size. The Pets In Stitches staff was up to the challenge, though, and we were elated with how well Zola did during surgery!
We checked in on Zola this week to see how she’s doing. Her pet parent reported that Zola is “doing well and thriving!” Here’s to Zola and a long, healthy life filled with vivaciousness!
