Rosie came to us as a tiny kitten in early April. Right away we could tell something wasn’t right about one of her hips. Her leg just dangled and she dragged it along when she walked. We thought maybe it was dislocated. Upon getting x-rays, we learned she was essentially born without a hip socket on that side. It was recommended we wait to do any medical procedures until she grew since, at that time, she weighed only 1.5 lbs.

As Rosie grew, we noticed a few other medical issues. She had an umbilical hernia which was repaired during her spay but needed to be re-done afterwards as the hernia came back a month later. She later had a nasal polyp, also removed, but has grown back, and she has a polyp in her ear. We also found that her other hip socket was not formed properly. Consequently, she will need to have surgery on both hips. Total hip replacements are out of the question. Even if we had the funds, there are no surgeons in this area who do them. The second option is to have bi-lateral FHO (femoral head ostectomy) surgeries.

During the FHO surgery, the vet will remove the femoral head, leaving the socket of the cat’s hip empty. The cat’s leg muscles will initially hold the femur in place and scar tissue will develop between the acetabulum and femur. Over a period of time, a “false joint” will form and the scar tissue will form a cushion between the cat’s bones. Prognosis for this surgery is very good with proper aftercare and therapy.

We plan to have her nasal polyps addressed first as they affect her breathing by blocking her nasal passages. After that surgery is complete, we will move on to the FHO surgeries on one or both hips depending on the surgeon’s thoughts. These hip surgeries can be quite costly. We fundraise extra hard for these special medical cases so we are not reducing any other cats’ care.

We believe Rosie deserves a chance to live a pain-free life. She is young and vibrant and wants to be here.

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Furry Friends is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, no-kill cat rescue that is volunteer run and funded by individual and corporate donations. Now in our 24th year, we serve the community of Clark County by providing homeless or relinquished cats with medical examinations, vaccinations, spaying/neutering, and ID microchipping before finding them “fur-ever” homes. We proudly have an active Board of Directors, and more than 150 volunteers who contribute over 40,000 hours to our cause. For more information about Furry Friends, please visit us at www.furryfriendswa.org , or you can contact us at information@furryfriendswa.org or (360) 993-1097.