When Teigen the kitten arrived at the shelter in July, we knew something wasn’t right. She was half the size of her siblings, sickly, and could not swallow or eat properly. Teigen had a hole in the roof of her mouth known as a cleft palate. Food was going into her nasal cavity causing irritation, infection and many other problems. The risk of food traveling into her lungs and causing aspiration pneumonia was very high.
The prognosis for kittens with cleft palates is not good. Surgery is not always successful, and at 5 weeks old, Teigen was still too tiny. Our only option was to wait until she was three months old and big enough for the surgery.
Teigen went to a foster home and her foster mom Kristen did an *amazing* job. She watched her very closely, especially during mealtimes, and nursed her through the next seven weeks. It was a scary time and felt like forever, but Teigen was brave and hung in there. Finally, she was big enough for her surgery.
It took two surgeries three weeks apart by Animal Specialty Group (@asgvets) to fully repair her palate. But last week Teigen got great news: The hole is fixed and her mouth has fully healed! She will be on a diet of soft food for a few more weeks, but this sweet and special little girl now has a full and normal life ahead of her. Teigen beat the odds and is ready to be adopted to her forever home!!!
I’m all better now!
We’d like to say a big thank you to Shelter Medical, her foster mom Kristen, and our friends at Animal Specialty Group for everything they did to help Teigen and give her a second chance.
Thank you for helping me.
We also want to say a heartfelt thank you to our donors. Special surgeries like Teigen’s are funded entirely through your donations. Thank you for saving Teigen, and thank you for making medical miracles possible at the Burbank Animal Shelter. We couldn’t do it without you!
