Clothing buttons help to treat cat’s injuries after dog attack

This is a cute picture but the back story isn’t cute at all. It’s a picture worth publishing, though, because it is instructional and interesting. The cat’s name is Juicebox. He is a seven-month-old boy who thankfully is on the road to recovery. He is currently staying at the MSPCA-Angell. He was attacked by the family dog during play. Wow. That is instructional. There is certainly a hard lesson to be learned there. I would expect the owners of Juicebox and the dog concerned will be quite disturbed by what happened.

The veterinarians at the Angell Animal Medical Centre in Boston used, as you can see in the photograph, a pair of buttons, one green and one red in his treatment. What’s the purpose of the buttons? It’s a technique which was devised by the centre’s dentistry staff under Doctor Alice Ekerdt.

Juicebox’s jaw was fractured. This sort of injury can be difficult to stabilise, we are told. A suture apparently holds the jaw in place. I expect what they mean is that a suture was made to allow the surgeon to insert a stabilising piece of inert material and the buttons improve comfort and prevent the suture from digging into the skin.

Juicebox is in good hands quite clearly. I think he looks great actually even though he has suffered terribly. If you want to donate to Juicebox’s care you can visit his donation web page by clicking here (note: this link will eventually stop working). And if you want to be updated on his progress you can visit the Facebook page of this animal medical center in Boston by clicking here.

I’m not the only one who thinks that he looks cute. Deborah Cooper Blount commented on the photograph and said that she had “extensive experience with Angell and know the quality of their care and their level of expertise”. One lady asked why the dog attacked him. It’s a good question which probably needs to be answered as quickly as possible to prevent a re-occurrence.

Another person presumes that he will be adopted out when she commented: “Please let us know when adoption is possible. We love him and would treasure him as he deserves.”

Maybe Juicebox will be rehomed because it appears that he is in danger in his current home. Perhaps there is no other choice if the owners want to play safe and do the sensible thing. In fact, Juicebox may find it intolerable to live in the same home because he is going to be very nervous of the family dog. Or perhaps the dog should be rehomed? A tricky call.

The Facebook post

This is the informative Facebook post. As it is from Facebook if it disappears on Facebook it will disappear from this page too. It that has happend, sorry.