Happy future ahead for cat Jimmy three months after fall

A lucky cat who thankfully lost just one of his nine lives after falling from an open window will soon be looking for a new home after several months recovering in Blue Cross care.

One-year-old Jimmy was brought to our Victoria animal hospital out of hours by his owner after a neighbour witnessed him fall.

Jimmy was in a critical condition. He couldn’t stand up, both of his canine teeth had broken and his right hind leg was incredibly sore. The poor young cat was also bleeding from his nose and he was in a very stressed state. He must have hit his face hard in the fall.

We gave Jimmy fluids to make sure he didn’t suffer dehydration, pain killers to help soothe him and, although by this time it was approaching midnight, X-rayed him as a matter of urgency. Our Victoria animal hospital’s doors are open to sick and injured pets 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

X-rays revealed that both of Jimmy’s back legs were broken, and it would be a long road ahead for the young lad.

We put a device called an external fixator on Jimmy’s right back leg. And external fixator uses metal pins to hold the fractured bone in place and encourage it to mend.

Jimmy’s left leg had broken in a much more complex way, and we made his owners aware that amputation was looking a likely possibility. Unfortunately, Jimmy’s owners could no longer care for him and asked Blue Cross to find him a loving new home once he was well enough.

We neutered Jimmy, microchipped and vaccinated him and treated him for fleas and worms.

Poor Jimmy had to be confined to a crate to prevent him from further injuring himself by climbing and clambering around. It’s not much fun at all for a young and usually active pet to be kept cooped up, but it was the best thing to do to help him recover as quickly as possible. While he was in our hospital’s care, Jimmy got lots of attention and TLC from our whole veterinary team.

Eventually he was well enough to leave hospital and go and live in the comforts of home with Blue Cross volunteer foster carer Gill Price and her partner Mark Webb.

Jimmy needed to remain on cage rest for four weeks, and during that time Gill brought him back to the hospital for regular check-ups and X-rays.

Thankfully, after weeks of rest and careful monitoring, Jimmy was able to have the pins removed from his right leg, and his left leg was no longer at risk of amputation.

Gill said: “He was quite poorly when he first came to stay with us but he has perked up tremendously over the last couple of weeks. His wants to be included in everything now, and it’s really great to see how much he’s improved.

“He even bashed open the kitchen door and helped himself to a packet of Dreamies!”

Jimmy will now make the journey from foster care to our Burford rehoming centre in Oxfordshire to begin the next part of his Blue Cross journey; his search for a forever home.

Gill added: “We’ve watched him grow up and it’s sad to let him go but you know he’ll go to a good home. He’s very loving and a little bit mischievous. He’ll come and just on your lap and just purr.

“He’ll make a lovely companion for someone.”

If you could give Jimmy the loving home he deserves, please contact our Burford rehoming centre today.