Dimitri the stray kitten hit by car...Can anyone help???

[moosmom]

I got a frantic call from a friend of mine who witnessed Dimitri, a feral kitten that she has taken care of since she rescued him, and had him neutered out of her own pocket, get hit by a car. The car didn't stop (according to CT state law they don't HAVE to stop for a cat). She rushed him to the vet where they x-rayed his back legs. His right leg is fractured and the cost of surgery is $1200. They have to put pins and a plate in his leg till it heals. Otherwise, he'll be in alot of pain till the leg starts healing on its own. Karen (my friend) has been TNRing ferals on her own for years and needs help to get Dimitri the medical help he needs.

I normally don't ask for financial help on PT because I believe that if you own a pet, you should be able to pay for their care. But today I am groveling. However, Karen, who I met through the serial cat killer trial, is a devoted animal lover who helped hundreds of animals get spayed and neutered. She has been at every single hearing, carrying a sign and supporting putting Jay Baldwin behind bars.

If anyone can help her, please email me at [email protected] (re: Dimitri)and let me know. I will email you back with the name, address and phone number of the vet hospital where Dimitri is. Karen is so upset over this scumbag who hit him and took off. She doesn't know I'm doing this.

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate any and all help you can give her.

[Catty1]

OMG - is iMom still helping - I know they were short of funds a while back!

I don't have much if anything to give right now...ending one job, starting another with unpaid training...

I hope the Humane Societies and vets in the area all know, and the media. Karen has given so much, she deserves a lot back!

BIG PT PRAYERS for Karen and Dimitri. After he recovers, I imagine he will be easier to keep indoors...or does she have room?

The only thing she might do is surrender him to an HS or shelter, and they will pay....but then she would have to pay to adopt him back...

That stupid car law! Is there a petition out about it?

[lvpets2002]

Oh My Poor Wittle Baby.. Donna I have never heard good news out of doing the pins & trying to reconstruct a leg on a dog or cat.. What do you think of them amputating the leg?? How much would that be?? My Yar Yar has 3 leggss & does just great..

[moosmom]

The other two options were amputation or euthanization. Karen said she just didn't have the heart to do either. I've got a call into Karen to see if she'll give me permission to conact Channel 8. Getting the media involved might help.

I'll let you know how I make out.

[moosmom]

I talked to Karen just now about Dimitri. I told her what you said Lvpets2002 about amputating the leg. I thought Dimitri was a feral kitten, but he's a stray that is very friendly. I convinced her to have the leg amputated rather than have him go through the surgery, because even the vet said it had no guarantees. I told her that he is young and will adapt just fine. I promised her that I would help her find him a furrever home once he's well healed. She said she'd keep him with her till then. I offered to take him if she couldn't.

So, as of right now, Dimitri will lose his leg thanks to a jerk who didn't stop. He will need all the PT prayers that my friends here can muster.

For those of you who emailed me, a big

THANK YOU!!!!!

[lvpets2002]

Many Thanks for the Input.. I had a friend that her Vet talked her into doing all of the pins & braces on her baby's damaged legg & she spent $3,000.00 && two years down the road && they still had to amputate the legg.. I have heard more stories since the same way.. This wittle one being so young will do just great with 3 leggss.. Like I said my Yar Yar can out run the 4 leggeedd babies.. Now what is the new $$ & I will see what I can gather up.. Many Thanks for being there for our wittle friends..

I talked to Karen just now about Dimitri. I told her what you said Lvpets2002 about amputating the leg. I thought Dimitri was a feral kitten, but he's a stray that is very friendly. I convinced her to have the leg amputated rather than have him go through the surgery, because even the vet said it had no guarantees. I told her that he is young and will adapt just fine. I promised her that I would help her find him a furrever home once he's well healed. She said she'd keep him with her till then. I offered to take him if she couldn't.

So, as of right now, Dimitri will lose his leg thanks to a jerk who didn't stop. He will need all the PT prayers that my friends here can muster.

For those of you who emailed me, a big

THANK YOU!!!!!

[moosmom]

She talked to the vet who is adamant about doing the repair rather than amputate. I called my vet, told him that Dimitri had a lateral/medial conjugal fracture of the leg and asked him what he thought. He said it's based on cost. If money is no object (which it is here) then repair surgery is the way to go. However, he said the issue at hand with repair vs. amputation on a 6 month old kitten, is the growth plates in that leg will not grow after it's been damaged and repaired and the leg may have to be amputated evntually anyway.

$1200 seems like an awful lot of money to me. Not sure if my vet would do it cheaper, as I'm sure he'd want to evaluate Dimitri before giving an estitmate. I told Karen I'd be willing to bring him to my vet for a second opinion.

I'm still waiting for a call back from Karen. Stay tuned.

[Grace]

$1200 seems like an awful lot of money to me.

That sounds fine to me. Our Grady had to have an interlocking nail inserted for a very badly fractured leg. He had the surgery and spent 2 days in the hospital. Our total bill was $1236.

We took him to East Lansing, MSU, which I was told would be cheaper than a private vet, our tax dollars at work and all. We were totally delighted with the quality of care he received - and especially that the bill was about half of what it would have been if we'd taken him to the specialists in Southfield.

[kuhio98]

No advice/experience on treatment -- but you might post on fundable.com to try to recoop some of the costs.

Keep the asking amount low. If you don't get ALL the funds you're requesting by the deadline -- you get NONE. But, they don't close it if you raise all the funds -- so you could end up getting more than you originally requested.

Fingers, paws and whiskers crossed.

[carole]

Oh how terribly sad,what a dilemma for you all, i sure hope the best can be done for this poor little kitten, here in NZ it is illegal to hit an animal and not stop, but they still get away with it, that is what happened to Zara the semi-feral who was one of my rescue cats kittens,that i had spayed, and was killed a week later, they hit her and did not stop,i wished i had witnessed it, i would have taken down the licence plate and reported them, maybe it is time to get a petition organised in that state and get the law changed.

I wish you all the best with this baby , and hope there is a good outcome.

[critters]

Having been both ways, I TOTALLY agree with the amputation route. TK's pin shifted, and ended up coming out her back. It was terribly painful for her, and she was an adult. I can't imagine pinning a baby's leg and having a good result. My tripods are both fine, and once it's healed, it's over.

[Medusa]

Oh gosh, they're out in numbers, aren't they? Poor little Dimitri. I've not had experience w/the surgery or leg amputation (tail amputation, yes) but I do know of cats that have had a leg amputated and have done well. Many prayers going up for Dimitri and Karen and you, too, Donna.

[moosmom]

I'm also for amputation. Especially since the surgery is no guarantee that the leg won't have to be amputated later. I just talked to Karen and she's going to call the vet in the morning and schedule the repair surgery. She's worried that his "handicap" of hardware will prevent him from getting adopted. Since I've got at least 3 websites I can put him on, I promised her I'd find a good home for him. I also offered my bathroom should she decide she can't foster him. She said she may take me up on it.

I'll keep you posted.

[Catty1]

So - Karen didn't get a second opinion? She is scheduling the repair surgery - or the amputation?

Sorry - just a bit confoozed by what I read. I hope all works out well for dear Dmitri!

[moosmom]

She going for the repair surgery. I called my vet:

I called my vet, told him that Dimitri had a lateral/medial conjugal fracture of the leg and asked him what he thought. He said it's based on cost. If money is no object (which it is here) then repair surgery is the way to go. However, he said the issue at hand with repair vs. amputation on a 6 month old kitten, is the growth plates in that leg will not grow after it's been damaged and repaired and the leg may have to be amputated evntually anyway.

I didn't want to take him to my vet because he's in a lot of pain right now and the ride would be excruciating for him. I'll know more tomorrow after Karen speaks with the vet.