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    • Appeals
    • 22 Mar, 2018

    About Gomez

    Mayhew vet, Emma, had to act fast when our Animal Welfare team rushed a stray cat into our clinic in need of urgent medical attention recently.

    “When they brought Gomez to us he was continuously shaking and scratching his head in discomfort, and was clearly very distressed and scared.

    Upon examination I discovered his ears had been badly infected for some time, so long in fact that the ears had become thickened and folded over. I took an X-ray of his skull which revealed the left ear was the worst, with the ear canal completely closed shut. An infection wouldn’t usually show up on an X-ray, so the fact that we could see it showed just how chronic it was.”

    We had to act fast

    “It was clear he was in agony so we immediately treated him with antibiotics. However, it soon became apparent that this wasn’t going to clear the infection so I called in our Chief Vet, Dr Ursula Goetz, and she agreed that surgery was the only option to help poor Gomez. Dr Goetz asked me to assist with the surgery and I was keen to be part of it as it’s a very intricate and specialised procedure, working within the five millimetre diameter of the ear canal to avoid the nerves and blood vessels on either side.

    We set to work to completely remove the left ear canal and flush out the middle ear. The three-hour surgery was a great success. We were able to leave the inner ear intact which means he can still hear, but he doesn’t have the itchiness and pain from the infected ear canal anymore.”

    On the road to recovery

    “Over the next six weeks he recovered from the surgery and I checked on him every day. He greeted me with cuddles and purrs and it was amazing to see him content and no longer frantically shaking his head. Once he was better, we neutered and vaccinated him and now he is settled into the cattery where he awaits his new forever home. I have to admit I will be sad to see my little buddy go, but I also can’t wait for him to be adopted and go to the loving home he deserves.

    As I’m sure you can imagine it never gets easier for me to see an animal in distress and pain. I am thankful that through my work I have the chance to heal them or make them more comfortable at the very least. Mayhew receives no government funding so I am grateful to our donors, as your support means we have a modern, well-equipped clinic which enables us to swiftly and safely carry out our work.”

    Without your help animals like Gomez would be left to suffer, alone and afraid.

    Help animals like Gomez today

    “Mayhew will always go the extra mile to help every single animal that comes through our doors and that’s what makes me proud to work here. Gomez’ veterinary treatment cost nearly £3,000 but if we hadn’t helped him he would have been in constant pain. The infection would have kept recurring and he could have eventually lost his hearing or even suffered neurological defects. But thankfully we got to him in time and now he is happy, healthy and,  importantly, he can still hear the birds singing out in the garden. We take in and care for around 60 animals every month and many require veterinary treatment, which is why we need your help.”

    You can make a donation quickly and easily by visiting our donate page or by calling us on 020 8206 5870. 

    You could help animals just like Gomez by making a donation today

    Your £5 could provide a course of antibiotics to help clear infection in one of our patients
    Your £10 could provide intravenous fluids for an animal during surgery and recovery
    Your £25 could provide a pair of iris scissors. These tiny scissors, usually used for eye operations, were perfect for Gomez’ intricate ear canal surgery
    Your £50 could provide an ear swab culture to find out which antibiotics would work best for a case like Gomez’

    Thank you.

    Dr Emma Robinson

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