Wakefield cat survives shotgun blast to face, vets rebuild jaw using advanced surgery | Online mirror

A cat is ‘lucky to be alive’ after being shot in the face with a shotgun.

Dexter had his mouth reconstructed by veterinarians using cutting-edge procedures and state-of-the-art equipment. It is not known how the six-year-old pet was shot, but he suffered severe injuries to his tongue, mouth, nasal cavities and soft tissues of his head.

But vets performed the difficult life-saving procedure and rebuilt his entire mouth after his jaw bone was broken. Grateful owner Rachel Driver, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said: “We first realized there was a problem when we found a lot of blood on our terrace but no sign of Dexter until much later. When he got home his eyes were bloodshot, his jaw was obviously broken and we took him to the emergency vet.

“The first vet said it was blunt force trauma and said he needed to be transferred to Paragon where further tests were done. I was then informed that he had been shot with a rifle. We were incredibly shocked.” Dan Kenny, a small animal surgeon at Paragon, was one of the vets who led Dexter’s life-saving surgeries along with orthopedic colleagues.

Dan said: “This is an unusual case in that facial gunshot wounds are very rare. Given the imaging findings and the extent of his injuries, Dexter is incredibly lucky to have survived.” The surgery Dexter required is difficult at best, vets said, but his case was further complicated by the nature of his soft tissue injury and the fact that he was missing a large chunk of bone from his hard palate.

Dexter has now fully recovered from the operations and is back with his grateful owners. Rachel added: “Dexter is a different cat now. He is much more loving with us and doesn’t leave the house for very long. However, he is happy and has certainly been rescued by all the wonderful staff at Paragon.”

“Dan was the most amazing vet whose care of Dexter will never be forgotten, we will always be grateful.”