A VENTURESOME Hockley Heath cat who was in danger of losing sight in his left eye after it was pierced by a thorn is back climbing trees thanks to a team of specialist vets.
Oberon, a two-year-old domestic shorthair cat, was in dire danger of losing his vision and was rushed to Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service in Solihull.
The dramatic out-of-hours case saw Oberon quickly taken for surgery by Willows’ Alberto Palella Gomez, a veterinary specialist in ophthalmology, who said it was an urgent race against time to repair the damage.
Alberto said: “He was very lucky, though. An ultrasound scan showed the stick had stopped just before his lens, which was a lucky escape.
“This meant we needed to perform corneal surgery to repair the damage. If the foreign body had perforated the lens, cataract surgery would have been necessary, too.
“The happy result was that Oberon not only kept his left eye but also maintained excellent vision and we were delighted to sign him off two months after surgery none the worse for his accident.”
Oberon’s owner Rachel Wilkes is extremely grateful but admits she initially feared her precious pet would lose his eye.
Rachel said: “When I attempted to pull the stick, I realised it was lodged in Oberon’s eye, so knew he needed to see the emergency vet. It was a Sunday night, so I was glad to have Willows practically on my doorstep.
“I was still shocked when the vet said the thorn was deeply embedded in Oberon’s eye and was left wondering how it had happened and concerned there was a possibility he would lose his eye.
“I wanted to give them every chance to save his sight and keep his eye and the results have been just amazing.
“He’s now fully recovered, has been outside climbing trees again and is back to his old energetic self.”
