Last Updated on September 27, 2022 by Pets Feed
Myrtle the kitten was born to a rescue cat, part of a litter of five, on February 11 this year. Meggie, the vice-president of One Cat at a Time (a cat shelter in Quebec, Canada) soon realized that the kitten was unable to gain weight.
“During her first few days of life she couldn’t get back to normal and we almost lost her. She was pushed around by her litter mates. My boyfriend and I both had to check on her hours to make sure she was okay,” Meggie told Love Meow.
“She was having a really hard time latching on and not drinking enough, so I had to supplement with a syringe.”
Little Kitten defies all predictions against a rare heart disease
Over the next two weeks, they noticed that the kitten didn’t use its hind legs much when moving around. “We were really confused as to what was wrong with her. But despite everything, she was still there! She was able to grow.”
Myrtle was the last to open her eyes and was significantly smaller than her siblings. She was determined and pushed forward with every ounce of strength she had.
At her first vet appointment, they discovered a large heart murmur and the kitten needed to be seen by a cardiologist.
“That’s when we got the diagnosis: PDA (persistence ductus arteriosus). Something in his heart didn’t close at birth like it was supposed to,” Meggie explained.
“It’s a rare birth defect in cats. The cardiologist said it was a miracle she was still alive,” Marie Simard, the founder of One Cat at a Time, shared with Love Meow.
“The best way to give Myrtle a long and beautiful life is to have her undergo specialized surgery, a PDA ligation. We decided that after everything Myrtle had been through to survive, she deserved this opportunity.”
Myrtle tried to keep up with her siblings and even the resident cats, never wanting to miss the action. On June 10, Myrtle underwent the operation at nearly four months old and weighed just 700 grams. It was a tough operation on a little kitten, and they almost lost her on the table due to complications, but miraculously she recovered and fought to live.
“Three hours later, Myrtle was discharged from surgery. She had to be placed in an incubator with oxygen and taken to the intensive care unit at the hospital. “I was able to get her back a few days later to take her home. Her recovery was perfect and very quick too,” Meggie said.
“My boyfriend and I worked really hard to keep her with us, and I think we both knew from the start that Myrtle was our little fighter and she wasn’t going away.
Meggie shared. Myrtle is now nine months old, but she is still the size of a six-month-old kitten. She is full of energy and very affectionate.
Myrtle overcame challenge after challenge of so many fights. Today, his PDA is repaired and he is out of medication. “She’s really a fighter and a miracle on all fours”
Images: Facebook / Un chat à la fois / One cat at a time
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