Nala’s life-saving care

Nala, a pretty 3-year-old domestic long-haired cat was referred to our Neurology team at Anderson Moore in March as an emergency when her local vet became concerned. She was circling to her left, had some discharge from her left eye and had become more lethargic and her owner was very worried about her.

Her local vet had previously diagnosed a retrobulbar abscess, which is an infection behind the eye, as well as a painful ulcer on her cornea. However, they were concerned that this infection may have tracked into Nala’s brain cavity and so referred her to us at Anderson Moore as an emergency. Nala was hospitalised immediately and put on intravenous fluid therapy and given medications and eyedrops.

After she was stabilised, our Neurology team in Hampshire conducted an MRI scan of her brain, which confirmed the presence of a severe infection behind her eye and around her brain that was causing high pressure within her skull. This is a rare and very serious problem in cats that would be fatal if not treated.

Nala was immediately rushed into surgery where an operation was performed to drain the infection from around her brain. She also subsequently had to have a feeding tube inserted as she wouldn’t eat. Nala pulled through incredibly with the help of our new state-of-the-art oxygen kennel and the dedicated nursing care from the day and night teams.

Her owner Brenda said, “It was very scary as her brain was haemorrhaging and I was told she was 24 – 48 hours away from not making it, so my vet acted in good time with the referral and Anderson Moore worked quickly and efficiently to avoid any further loss of time which has resulted in an extraordinary recovery. At best they thought her left eye would have permanently lost vision due to the high pressure and damage, however, this has not been the case and she has full vision in both eyes.”

After 10 days, a brighter and more alert Nala went home to her dedicated owner who had to continue to support her with her feeding tube and different medications; she and her vet were so relieved the team had saved her life and say she is doing really well.

Nurses involved in her care day and night:

Day nurses: Jil Pratt, Katie Simmonds, Allie Harpham, Rachel Pickles, Chloe-Mae Fullick, Claire Allen, Sarah Parish, Nikki Hammond, Grace Le Besque, Leila Hallaji, Sonja Cradock.

Twilight nurses: Emily Wearne, Emily Seymour, Kayleigh Barnes, Anna Brown, Hannah Mills,

Night nurses: Vicky Crichton, Amy Rawlinson, Sarah Guppy, Brenda Whyte, Nicole Baines, Lizzie Cronin.