Milo

Milo the kitten faced a life-and-death situation when he was badly injured in a tragic road traffic accident.

Six-month-old kitten, Milo, was seriously injured after he ran out into the road and in front of a moving car. Sadly, the driver who hit Milo didn’t stop, but fortunately, a witness rushed him to a private vet practice for emergency treatment.

Once Milo’s loving owner, Sarah (33, unemployed and cares for her daughter), was tracked down thanks to his microchip, he was transferred into the care of Gateshead PDSA Pet Hospital, where he’s registered for free treatment.

Sarah said: “When I found out about Milo’s accident, my heart broke in two.”

Milo’s injuries were very serious and, once he arrived at the Pet Hospital, the vet team knew they needed to act fast to save his life.

PDSA Vet Surgeon Ida Marwedel, who helped treat Milo, said: “Milo received emergency triage and pain relief at the private vets, but it was clear his very traumatic injuries needed further attention as soon as possible.

“Sadly, Milo’s left eye had come out of the socket, his jaw was badly injured, and he was unable to use his right front leg. The very first priority was providing him with further pain relief and more oxygen to help his breathing.”

Shortly after, Milo was sedated for X-rays which revealed he had a broken jaw. While under the anaesthetic, the vet team also put his eye back into place and used temporary stitches in his eyelids to keep his eye shut whilst it healed.

As X-rays found no fractures in Milo’s injured leg, the vet team suspected he had a brachial plexus injury (damage to the front leg nerves in the armpit which can cause temporary or permanent paralysis). This type of injury would need time to see if it would improve as the bruising and swelling around the nerve settled. 

As Milo was in critical condition, he was placed in an oxygen tent and surrounded by an active warming system to provide controlled warmth and support his recovery. To give him constant pain relief, the vet team added medication to his drip.  

A few hours later, Milo was stable enough to move away from the oxygen and warming therapy. He settled into the cat recovery ward, where the out-of-hours team closely monitored him overnight.

The following day, Milo was more stable following his trauma, meaning the vet could repair his broken jaw under anaesthetic. This was done by using a thin metal wire to hold the fracture together until it healed. During surgery, the vet also placed a feeding tube in Milo’s oesophagus (food pipe) to temporarily feed him a liquid diet.

Following his surgery, Milo spent four more days in hospital being cared for round-the-clock by the dedicated vet teams. During that time, he started to eat soft food, meaning his feeding tube could be removed. The vet also removed the stitches in his eyelid so he could see with both eyes again.

Little under a week of making great progress at the Pet Hospital, Milo was discharged to continue his recovery at home, surrounded by his loving family (Sarah, her husband Daniel, and children Lucas, Milly, and Carly-Jane). The vet explained to Sarah that he would need to take anti-inflammatory painkillers with food and have plenty of cage rest.

At his follow-up appointment two days later, Milo was improving; his eye and jaw injuries were both healing well. But unfortunately, he still couldn’t walk on his right front leg. After discussing the next steps with Sarah, Milo was booked in to have his damaged leg amputated.

His second surgical procedure at the Pet Hospital went well, and Milo was hospitalised overnight on a drip to recover from his leg amputation. The following day, the vet assessed Milo and was happy to discharge him for strict rest and recovery at home.

In the days that followed his operation, Milo continued to do really well; he was bright, eating well, and his surgery wound was healing.

Sarah added: “He slowly started to return to his mischievous self!”

But, unfortunately, almost a fortnight after surgery, Milo managed to open part of the wound on his leg, despite wearing a medical pet suit. He was re-admitted to the Pet Hospital and sedated so the vet team could clean and re-stitch his wound.

A few days later Milo was booked to see the vet team again to check how his jaw was healing. As it had healed well, the metal wire was able to be removed whilst Milo was sedated. Thankfully, the wound on Milo’s amputated leg healed well, and he was able to have the stitches removed as planned two weeks later.

Speaking about the stressful ordeal both she and Milo faced, Sarah said: “If the witness hadn't stopped and taken Milo to the vets, he would have died. He’s so precious and very loved. I was frightened that we’d lose him forever when I found out how badly hurt he was.

“When he got transferred to PDSA, the team were brilliant. They saved his life even when nobody knew for sure if he would make it; they never gave up on him. Their support means so much and I am forever grateful for what they did to help Milo.”

In total, Milo’s treatment cost nearly £2,500. For Sarah, who receives housing benefits, funding the cost of Milo’s treatment would have been difficult.

Now, with Milo nearing a full recovery, she is urging the public to support the UK’s largest veterinary charity for people and pets in need: “The cost of living is tough and can affect you more so during stressful times like this when your pet’s injured and needs life-saving care. Fortunately, PDSA came to our family’s rescue.

“If you can support PDSA by donating, please do, even if it’s a small amount. It really does make a difference in supporting families like mine and making sure that sick or injured pets get the treatment they desperately need.”

Total cost of Milo’s treatment:  £2,445.14

PDSA is the UK’s leading veterinary charity. Through our 49 Pet Hospitals and Pet Care scheme, we save the lives of poorly pets who would otherwise be left untreated.

Every year, we treat over 430,000 pets. Without us, emergency cases like Milo's would be left untreated and many pets could lose their lives or be separated from families who love them.

We wouldn’t be here for cats like Milo without your support. Please consider donating today.

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