Mika's adventures

Mika is an affectionate smokey grey cat that came to us one night after a nasty misadventure. Her owner came home that night to find her injured and bleeding. We suspected she had ventured onto the road which is unusual for her since she would normally not venture past the front porch.

Mika had a badly traumatized left front foot and a broken radius in her right front leg. During her initial stay in hospital the broken radius was repaired with a stainless steel pin and the wounds on her left front leg were treated. These wounds were particularly severe and the skin over the entire end of her lower leg and toes lost its blood supply and had to be removed. This meant that her claws on this foot had to be removed as well. Poor Mika needed new skin over the entire lower half of her leg. The best way to do this is with skin grafting and although this is usually straightforward, in Mika's case this proved quite a challenge!

Mika needed to have her leg bandaged to protect the tissue while it heals, but she became most unhappy with us changing her bandage. Nevertheless she eventually accepted the routine and grudgingly allowed us to regularly dress and bandage her foot. Mika needed several operations to get the skin graft to "take" had several setbacks with infection along the way. Eventually after many months her foot healed and the final result can be seen in the photo. Even though there are no claws or toe pads, this is a functional foot and allows her good mobility.

Mika is a special patient and together with her owner she showed that with patience and perseverance the most challenging of wounds can have a happy outcome.Mika's injury before skin graftingMika on the mend - a successful recovery