Atlantic Animal Hospital happily introduces Coral Cook as our Companion Animal
of the Month of September. Coral is a four month-old, blue tabby domestic
shorthair that owns Ronald and Tanya Cook. Her canine sister, Courtney, is
a two year-old terrier mix. Coral was found as a tiny, stray kitten at the
Coral Sands Inn. She was only about four or five weeks old, weighing in at
one whole pound when Ronald's cousin discovered her. Unable to keep the
kitten, he knew that Ronald and Tanya would be the perfect family to adopt her.
The Cooks brought Coral in to see Dr. Sukhija, and other than being hungry, she
was a healthy little girl. Coral and Courtney hit it off immediately.
Courtney assumed the role of Coral's bodyguard, watching her every move and
making sure that she didn't get into too much trouble. The pair are now
inseparable and do nearly everything together.
After about a week of living in her new home, Coral began acting very strangely. She was behind the sofa, breathing very heavily. The Cooks brought her in to see Dr. Sukhija. After completing a thorough exam, he determined that Coral had suffered head and neck trauma. Her pupils were not equal in size-- a condition called anisocoria. Her eyes did not respond to light or visual stimulation-- she was blind. She was also wheezing, as her nasal sinuses and her throat were inflamed. Dr. Sukhija had to anesthetize Coral to examine her throat and then take full body x-rays. Fortunately no problems was seen on the x-rays. Ronald suspected that a speaker had fallen onto Coral and caused her injuries. Dr. Sukhija gave Coral an injection of dexamethasone, which is a fast-acting anti-inflammatory cortisone. He also prescribed an antibiotic called Clavamox to fight off any infection that may develop in her sinus and throat tissues. Ronald and Tanya immediately kitten-proofed their home, securing any objects that could fall on or injure Coral. They took her home, kept her warm, gave the Clavamox, and showered her with lots of TLC over the weekend. Further investigation of the area behind the couch showed that Coral was probably playing with speaker wire causing the speaker to fall and hit her on the head. Needless to say, the Cook family has now kitten proofed their home.
Just a few days later, Coral's eyesight returned. In most cases where a head injury causes blindness, the loss of sight is only temporary. Coral is stable after her injury, her eyes are normal, and she is a healthy little girl. Her series of kitten vaccines is complete and she is scheduled to be spayed soon. Then she will officially be a "big girl!" Ronald describes Coral as very playful and energetic, but she also loves to cuddle. Ronald says that he thought of naming her Snuggles instead, since snuggling is her specialty. We enjoy hearing stories of Coral and Courtney's antics that Ronald and Tanya share with us, and we love to see her growing like a little weed!
--Written by Jennifer Liggett (Client Advocate)
Back to Atlantic Animal Hospital