Meet Tonic
Tonic is a 14 year old domestic short hair who lives near our Maffra clinic in the Gippsland region.
In January of this year, her mum, Pauline, gave us a call about 5am, as she was concerned that something may have happened to Tonic while she had been outside.
Upon her return to the family home from her night’s adventures, Tonic was moving slowly and although she had seemed fine at first, swelling had developed on her side as the night went on.
The Problem
The swelling was continuing to grow and Pauline had no idea what could have happened to Tonic, so she reached out to our 24 hour emergency line where she was assisted by Emily Baxter from our friendly, experienced Vetriage team.
“As Tonic was elderly – 14yrs – and finding it difficult to move, with an increasing swelling in the chest area, I advised she needed to see a veterinarian as soon as Pauline could get her there.” – Emily
How Tonic presented at the clinic
The Process
Due to their location, it was decided that Tonic was to be taken to the Maffra clinic ASAP. Emily contacted Duncan (local veterinarian) to advise a patient was coming and their ETA would be approximately one hour.
Upon arrival, Duncan got Tonic straight in for a radiograph, which revealed that at some point during her adventures, poor Tonic had suffered a traumatic chest injury resulting in a collapsed lung and subcutaneous emphysema.
The removal of Tonic’s damaged lung
The Outcome
Surgery was promptly arranged and Tonic went under that morning to have her left lung removed.
Tonic made it through her surgery and has since recovered nicely.
Tonic in recovery
Although Tonic’s story has a happy ending, things could have taken a darker turn very easily had it not been for Pauline’s swift actions and the availability of total care for Tonic from our Maffra team.
Tonic’s adventures highlight the importance of keeping cats indoors at night, not only for their own safety but for the preservation of wildlife too. We are pleased that she made a full recovery and glad that we were able to help.
Our skilled and friendly team of triage professionals are available 24/7 if your pet ever requires emergency care.
Calling your local Fur Life Vet out of hours will get you put straight through to our triage team so if you haven’t already, make sure to save your preferred clinic’s number to your contacts for easy access.
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