Midlands cat on the road to recovery after found with face glued shut
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A cat in the Midlands is starting to feel better Sunday, after it was found with its eyes sealed shut Thursday.
Columbia’s Veterinary Emergency Trauma and Specialty Center (CVETS) has been nursing the cat, whom they named Ernie, back to health, after they received her with a glue-like substance on her face and body.
“She couldn’t look out of [her eyes] at all, her nose had [a substance] in both nostrils, at least partially [obstructing] her breathing, and she had [part] of her mouth closed essentially with glue all the way covering the top of her head, ears, and portions of her neck,” said Dr. Wynter Gantt, DVM.
The feline was found in the 7600 block of Garners Ferry Road in Columbia on Thursday, July 4. Since then, Dr. Gantt and the team of nurses at CVETS have been trying to nurse her back to health.
They’ve started removing the substance stuck to her, while giving her plenty of food, water, and rest. They believe the cat is one to three years old and is expected to survive.
“She definitely can see out of her left eye, she’s eating on her own now which is great, [and] she’s showing signs of making a recovery,” Dr. Gantt said. “I think the issues for her long-term are going to be what types of skin damage she has and does she need surgery, and then from there, what her eyes, mouth, and mucus membranes are going to do because sometimes those are things that can affect them long-term if they get scars there.”
While it’s unclear exactly what happened to Ernie, Gantt believes the furry friend’s situation raises awareness surrounding care for cats.
She hopes Ernie’s story will help educate people on what to do with their cats before more are found in the same litter box as Ernie.
“When we talk about raising awareness, sometimes it’s simply just bringing the animal in to be evaluated because we don’t ever want anything to suffer,” Dr. Gantt said. “Most veterinarians will absolutely help this animal in a place that we don’t want them to suffer even if someone doesn’t want to take care of them.”
Dr. Gantt said the Richland County Sheriff’s Department is investigating to see if what happened to Ernie was intentional or an accident. RCSD said as of July 7, they’re not yet able to confirm the status of the investigation.
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