A sweet little kitten who got hit by a car needed her jaw held by buttons until she healed. Now, 7 weeks after her rescue, she’s ready to eat her first solid meal.
Back in May, the kitten was rushed to Stray Rescue of St. Louis for care. There, the shelter’s veterinarians determined she was in rough shape and would need emergency surgery.
“Her little jaw is broken in at least one spot but possibly two, and the tissue on the left side of her face was totally peeled back from her jaw bone,” her rescuers wrote of her examination. “There were already maggots inside the wound,” they added.
Doctors decided “Perma” would have the best chance of healing with an emergency surgery procedure called Labial Button surgery. The surgeons sutured her jaw shut using buttons to keep the suture elevated from her skin.
Stray Rescue of St. Louis
Stray Rescue of St. Louis shared a few photos of Perma after her surgery and wrote on Facebook: “Perma says hello everyone! She’s feeling a lot better already after her emergency surgery. The sutures are holding her jaw in place and we can’t help but tell her how cute her little buttons are.”
They said that the Button surgery is the “equivalent to having her jaw wired shut” and she needed them in place for 4 to 6 weeks while she healed.
Stray Rescue of St. Louis
During that time, she went into the foster home with one of Stray Rescue’s clinic staff and she made sure Perma was properly fed a liquid diet through a PEG tube. As Perma’s jaw healed she gained more energy and her sweet personality shone through.
Her caregivers shared, “We can’t wait until her buttons come off, her feeding tube comes out, and she can eat a delicious Blue Buffalo meal! Hang in there sweetheart, your life is about to get even better.”
Not only has Perma been loving her life at her foster home (where she got to go to the lake and explore a vacation home), after a month she was ready to have her buttons removed and enjoy her first solid meal!
Stray Rescue of St. Louis
Her rescuers and foster family were so excited that they shared a video of Perma’s big day and wrote, “It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for…! Here she is eating and tasting her first meal since mid-May.”
Watch her eating her solid meal in the video below:
Her rescuers added, “She’s so strong, brave, and never EVER felt sorry for herself. She’s the sweetest kitty in the W O R L D !! Congratulations, Perma!!”
No doubt Perma will heal even faster now that she can eat and open her jaw. We’re so happy to see Perma so much better and that she will be getting a bright future thanks to Stray Rescue of St. Louis. To support the care of Perma and other stray animals visit: strayrescue.org/monthly-gift
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