Golden Hearts Animal Sanctuary

A Sanctuary For Elderly & Special Needs Animals    

Thanksgiving came early for all of us. We were blessed to have 2 beautiful new kitties travel cross-country just to move into the sanctuary. Marci and Phoenix made their way here by car with the help of Beth, a wonderful volunteer from the Grayson County Humane Society in Leitchfield Kentucky (Shiloh's hometown). She drove them the 2,000 plus miles to California so they could enjoy life here at the sanctuary. Marci was described initially as a kitten that had trouble breathing, was very lethargic at times, and probably had a diaphragmatic hernia. Time can do wonderful things, and this sweet girl has adjusted quite well to her condition. As a matter of fact, don’t feel sorry for her, she races around as fast as she can, stops to catch her breath, then starts up again! It was felt that car travel at a lower altitude would be safer than flying her here. This is either an old injury or a genetic defect; either way, it certainly doesn’t slow her down! She’ll be seeing our internist after Thanksgiving for an evaluation to see if this can be surgically repaired.

Update 12/1/05 ~ Marci had an exam today with Dr. Booman, our veterinarian. Marci said "no thank you" to blood work! Marci weighs in at a whopping 3 3/4lbs and is about 8-9 months old. Her heart and lungs sound great, although you can only hear them on the left side of her chest ~ there are too many other organs on the right side. Marci has an appointment next week for x-rays to check the extent of her hernia, and decide whether surgery is an option for her.

Update 12/8/05 ~  It's hard to believe this little girl, ready to spring into action with Scooter, was just a couple of hours ago holding completely still for x-rays and an ultrasound ~ very hard for a kitten to do! Marci saw Dr. Slusser, our internist at Animal Internal Medicine today. After thoroughly examining her, he still can't believe that Marci feels as good as she does! The x-rays do confirm that most of the organs that are normally found in the abdomen are in fact up in her chest. Only part of her colon, her kidneys and her bladder are in the right locations; part of her liver is even wrapped around her heart. She will be seeing the surgeon on the 29th for a consult on her surgical options. In the meantime, she's not planning on slowing down!

Update 12/29/05 ~ Is there surgery in Marci’s future? No, at least for now. We saw Dr. Lenehan at Veterinary Surgical Specialists in San Diego today for a consultation. He felt the diaphragmatic hernia is the result of trauma as a young kitten, from a significant incident such as being kicked. Because we couldn't see any of her diaphragm on ultrasound, the hole is pretty large, so it would be a big deal to repair; until she's actually in surgery, we don't really know the extent of the damage she has. Depending on its size, it would be closed by using the tissue already there, or grafting in mesh to fill the hole (that's how they repair hernias in people). There is also a procedure to graft in abdominal muscle to make a new diaphragm.
   Wow! None of those seem like simple options. There is also the question of post-op recovery, and whether the nerves are actually there to function at all. We’ve decided to let her live the happy life she's currently enjoying. How can you tell a kitten who is running laps through the house that she needs to stop, and have a surgery which she stands a good chance of not surviving? It was not a simple decision, but we will take it day-by-day and reevaluate the situation if she does start having breathing difficulty. We don't know if that's days or months down the road, so we will give her the best, most mellow lifestyle we can ~ she's still a kitten so wish us luck on the mellow part!

Update 1/1/07 ~ Marci’s out-lived everyone’s expectations and continues to thrive. She romps and plays like any normal kitty, she also takes medication called Lactulose to keep her intestines working well (since everything sits in her chest).

Marci

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