The story of old Mr Grey
An elderly male stray cat, approximately 11 years old, wandered into the home of Ms Velta Whytes one cold night; she called him Mr Grey. She had only been feeding him for about two months when he came crawling home one evening in terrible pain, dragging his left hind leg behind him.
She rushed him up to the clinic where he was examined immediately. It was suspected he had been hit by a car and had suffered a fracture to his left hind leg. Mr Grey was given pain relief and was placed on intravenous fluids for shock. Blood was taken to assess his kidney and liver function due to his age and lack of medical history. He responded well to the initial treatment and was resting comfortably that night after his traumatic ordeal. Our plan was to radiograph him the following day.
The blood results were available the next day and showed abnormalities in his liver enzymes either due to trauma or liver disease. This was discussed with Velta and a decision was made to go ahead with the X-rays and surgery. Mr Grey was then given sedation in preparation for his surgery. He was also started on antibiotics. He was then anaesthetised and radiographs were taken of his hind leg, which showed us that his femur [thigh bone] was fractured in several places.
Dr Sam Haynes assessed the radiographs and it was decided that the fracture could be repaired using a procedure called an interlocking nail fixation. 
The operation was performed and 1½ hours later Mr Grey was radiographed again to see exactly what the surgical repair looked like.
Dr Haynes and the team were very pleased with the outcome and Mr Grey recovered well from his anaesthetic.
Mr Grey refused to eat for the first couple of days but it wasn’t long before fresh barbecue chicken tempted his appetite.
He required strict rest for four to six weeks and the radiographs taken four weeks post-operative showed the fracture was stable and healing well.
Thanks to the kind heart of Velta, Dr Haynes and the rest of the team, this old boy was given a new lease of life!