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Maui’s journey started with a mischievous mistake when he managed to swallow a ball of string. His family vet performed surgery to remove the 20cm length of string that had become lodged in his stomach and intestine. At first, it seemed as though Maui was on the mend. But just days after the surgery, something wasn’t right. The wound from the surgery had begun to break down. Maui had developed an infection, and the tissue around the wound was necrotic. His vets decided it was necessary to anaesthetise Maui once more to flush out the wound and debride the necrotic tissue to prevent him developing septic peritonitis.

Despite several attempts to clean and debride the tissue under sedation, the infection wouldn’t stop. The wound kept opening up, and Maui’s condition worsened. It was at this point that Maui’s primary care vets referred him to The Ralph for further treatment.

“Our last hope was an immediate transfer to The Ralph about an hour away. Our vet packed the wound, called ahead and said The Ralph would be expecting us”

As soon as Maui arrived at The Ralph, he was immediately triaged by the Emergency and Critical Care (ECC) team. They quickly sedated Maui to examine his wound, and stabilised him for emergency surgery. Our surgery team then identified a leak in the intestine that was causing the infection to spread. Soft Tissue Surgeon Eirini Pappa removed the necrotic tissue, flushed and repaired the wound, effectively controlling the infection at its source. An abdominal drain was placed to monitor for septic peritonitis, and Maui was given a central line catheter allowing them to administer medications and take blood samples without causing him additional stress.

Maui had also had a feeding tube placed by his primary care practice, which allowed him to receive nutrition without being disturbed. At The Ralph, our team was able to attach extension tubing to the feeding tube, ensuring that all his feeds and medications could be administered directly without having to open his kennel or cause him unnecessary anxiety.

Maui’s recovery didn’t happen overnight. Just a few days after his surgery, his blood work showed he had developed anaemia. Because cat blood is rarely available in the UK, Maui received a blood transfusion using dog blood. Thankfully, the transfusion was successful and helped stabilise his condition.

Finally, after days of careful monitoring, surgeries, and transfusions, Maui’s condition began to improve. The drain was removed, his blood levels stabilised, and he started to regain his strength. Maui was ready to go home.

Maui’s carers were so grateful to have him home, and shared some very kind words about their experience during his stay here at The Ralph:

“The ICU was set up to minimise the stress to cats as much as possible, with pheromone diffusers and air humidifiers to make them more comfortable. But what was especially great for a cat like Maui is that they had set up the kennel so that they did not have to open it to tube feed or provide medication, reducing the stress for our very anxious boy.”

“They just have so many different capabilities and specialists in one place that I have no doubt animals have their best possible chance at this facility.”

“He is now finally on his way to making a full recovery and we have him back at home. I will be forever grateful to every single person at The Ralph – they saved his life.”

We couldn’t be happier to share that Maui is now back home, enjoying life with his sister Rocket by his side!

Thanks for reading!

Team Ralph🐾