PDSA vets save Liverpool kitten hit by car

28 May 2020

 A five-month-old kitten from Merseyside required life-saving treatment and emergency surgery to save his back legs after being hit by a car.

After calling PDSA – where we are currently running an emergency service during the lockdown – Buddy was rushed to our Pet Hospital in Huyton, where the team of vets and nurses spent three hours pinning the broken bones in his tiny legs back together in a life or death operation.

Now Buddy has become one of the faces of our fundraising Urgent Appeal as the charity battles to keep its emergency service running during the coronavirus outbreak. Donations can be made here or through PDSA’s Facebook page.

Buddy’s owner Sarah McCririe (32), from Prescot, witnessed the kitten dart out of the front door, straight into the path of an oncoming car.

Sarah said: “I was receiving a delivery and Buddy ran out right under a car’s wheel. He came out dragging his back legs. I ran over screaming. I was scared to touch him and felt sick. Thankfully there was no blood, but his back legs were limp and he was crying loudly.”

After calling Sarah took Buddy to our Huyton PDSA Pet Hospital in Liverpool where our emergency veterinary team began urgent treatment to save his life. After being stabilised and given pain relief, X-rays revealed he had broken both of his hind legs. His chances of survival were looking extremely slim due to both the severity of the breaks and the risk of anaesthetic for a kitten in need of such complex surgery.

In a bid to save his life, the team began the intricate three hour operation to pin the broken bones in his tiny legs back together.

Despite concerns about his size and young age, Buddy made it through the operation, but his critical condition meant he needed constant care. He was kept in the Pet Hospital and closely monitored by our vet team for four nights.

Buddy still has a long way to go, but so far, thanks to the life-saving work of our veterinary teams, he is making a steady recovery at home. Alongside his regular painkillers and antibiotics, his owner is watching over him while he’s on strict cage rest.

Sarah said: “Buddy means the world to our family and I cannot thank PDSA enough. The team have been amazing. It’s been so traumatic, during such a difficult time, and we still have a long way to go, but I know that without PDSA he wouldn’t have survived. I’m so glad that they have been able to continue providing emergency treatment for pets in need, there’s no way I could have afforded to pay for his treatment privately – we would have had no choice but to put him to sleep, but PDSA gave him a second chance.”

In times of uncertainty and hardship, pets like Buddy will still fall ill or be injured and need emergency, life-saving care. Sarah contributed what she could towards his treatment, but in total the cost to PDSA of his care came to over £1,440.

For information on PDSA emergency services and advice on keeping pets happy and healthy from Coronavirus visit our dedicated pages.