By Alesha Capone
Young kitten Sprout may be tiny in size, but he has a large amount of luck on his side.
Four-week-old Sprout and his littermates were born after his mother came into the care of Purrs of Point Cook, along with some other cats from the Melton area.
Purrs of Point Cook, a registered charity and cat rescue group run by volunteers, launched an online fundraising campaign last week after discovering that Sprout needed emergency surgery.
Purrs rescuer Rebecca said Sprout was born with a congenital defect known as Atresia Ani, which would have been fatal without surgery.
Rebecca said that thanks to the generous support of donors and community members, more than $1500 was raised for Sprout’s operation.
“People are so generous,” Rebecca said.
“We are blessed to be supported by so many animal lovers in our community.”
Rebecca said that Sprout underwent the emergency surgery at the “amazing” Hobsons Bay Vet Clinic last Tuesday, under the watchful eye of Dr Lisia Sturm and other team members including nurses Wendy Black and Holly Sanders.
Rebecca said that dues to Sprout’s age and small size, some vet clinics would not even have considered performing such an operation.
“Surgeries like these are rare and very tricky due to size of the animal,” she said.
“They have to get the general anaesthetic balance just right, for a neonatal that weighs under 400 grams.”
Rebecca said that fortunately, the surgery went well and that Sprout was now “a happy little boy”.
See www.purrsofpointcook.com.au/donate to donate to Purrs of Point Cook.
