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Miracle cat impaled on railings makes astonishing recovery thanks to emergency vets
WARNING – GRAPHIC IMAGES
A cat suffered horrific injuries when he fell six metres from a first-floor window and impaled himself on a metal railing.
Amazingly, thanks to our expert vets in Vets Now in Sheffield, two-year-old Harvey has now recovered from the accident despite complications from his injuries that required weeks of intensive care.
Owner Rob Stacey, from Chesterfield, had opened an upstairs window during the recent warm weather and put up netting to prevent Harvey – an indoor cat – from getting out.
But to his horror, he later heard a terrible meowing sound and looked out to see Harvey stuck on the fence below with a railing spike penetrating his abdomen and nearly coming out the other side.
Rob rushed out to help his cat and luckily firefighters from Staveley Community Fire Station were at the scene within minutes to cut Harvey free.
Once the firefighters had completed the job, Rob carefully carried Harvey into his car and his mum, Jane, called Vets Now. She was advised to drive him straight to our Sheffield clinic which provides emergency care for pets in the area.
Rob said: “I was propping up Harvey and supporting the bit of fence that was still in him and then halfway through that stressful journey he just randomly decided to push himself up and very affectionately rubbed his face against mine like he was giving me a kiss.”
At the Vets Now clinic, Harvey was rushed into the operating theatre where the railing was carefully removed during a long operation. Following that he underwent several days of intensive treatment – but the poor cat’s troubles did not end there.
Rob took a week off work to nurse Harvey at home and encourage him to eat, keeping him in a rabbit run in his house to limit his movements. But Harvey did not have the strength to lift himself properly and developed urine burns and also developed an infection similar to MRSA.
Harvey then spent another period with Vets Now the following weekend where he received round-the-clock care as well as treatment and medication for his sores. Rob is relieved to have Harvey back to full health now.
He said: “I am still not entirely sure how it happened. It was during a warm spell and Harvey was panting a bit so I opened the window in an attempt to cool the house for him, and had put netting up to keep him safe.
“Somehow he got around the netting and when I heard this terrible noise and looked outside and saw him – stuck on the railing on one of those decorative fence spikes that look a bit like a spade in a pack of cards.
“Harvey is such an affectionate cat and I knew that when he got up to nuzzle me in the car on the way to Vets Now that we had to fight to save him. They did an amazing job,” he added.
Rob got Harvey nine months ago from Cats Protection. He said: “I was going through some stress and was coming home to an empty house so thought I would get a cat to keep me company and didn’t want to get a new one if there were cats like Harvey waiting for a home.”
Vet David Hollinshead is still amazed Harvey survived his fall.
He said: “At one stage we wondered if Harvey could recover from this terrible accident, but somehow he pulled through. The railing had pierced his abdomen and just nicked the spleen. There was also extensive soft tissue damage requiring significant reconstruction surgery.
“We’re delighted we could help save him, but Rob should take some of the credit too – his quick action in supporting Harvey and propping him up for nearly an hour on the way to us helped save his cat’s life.”.
The Vets Now clinic in Sheffield – where Harvey received treatment – is one of 60 Vets Now clinics and pet emergency hospitals across the UK that are open through the night, seven-days-a-week, and day and night on weekends and bank holidays, to treat any pet emergencies that may occur.
All of Vets Now’s premises have a vet and vet nurse on site at all times.