Emergency Fundraiser for Burned Kitten
Visit Khloe's individual page for videos
WARNING: Graphic Photos of Khloe healing
Shirley Diedrichs and her husband Arnie, had a bad house fire 9/5/2011. Shirley has been a foster mom for cats and kittens for over 15 years and was formerly a local vet tech. The stress of the fire and the loss of her home and cats sent Shirley into massive cardiac arrest just hours after the fire. She has been released from the hospital, and she and Arnie have found a new place to rent.
Most of Shirley & Arnie's personal and foster kitties made it through. The surviving cats have been relocated with a friend of hers. One kitty (Khloe), was burned and released from the Emergency Vet, and two (Scooter D and Katie Marie) are known to be deceased.
The PAWS Vet bills are, as of 10/1/11, about $5,000 on Khloe. She had an Emergency Vet bill because she had to be placed into an oxygen chamber for several days due to smoke inhalation from being in the room the fire started in, and was completely shaved due to being singed and burned. She saw the opthamologist, and has treatable damage to her eyes, but still has more follow up visits. She also had additional bills with a board certified surgeon to repair a diaphragmatic hernia found on a chest x-ray.
Khloe is a fighter and is getting stronger every day, but still has a long road to recovery. She started purring a little Friday evening, 9/9. She has gone to one of our bottle baby specialists, which is a massive undertaking. Khloe was on three eye medications every 4-6 hours to keep her eyes lubricated, since her eyelids are so scabbed that she cannot blink. Once a day Khloe needs debridement of the burn tissue with a sterile solution, which then has to dry, followed by an application of a prescription antibacterial ointment with sterile gloves to prevent infection. Every 8 hours Khloe needs high dose pain medication, and every 12 hours antibiotics given orally. In addition to this, the new foster has to watch her temperature and respiratory count. She is on a heating pad with blankets to keep her warm, since her long hair was shaved and she suffered burns. Her new foster also rented an oxygen concentrator which takes air from the room and concentrates it to be able to administrate oxygen to Khloe should she start to have respiratory problems.
9/16/11 UPDATE: Khloe had her eyes flushed by the opthamologist and is down to only one eye medication every 4-6 hours to keep her eyes lubricated, since her eyelids are so scabbed that she cannot blink. Her eye ulcerations are all healed. She has new skin growing in on her face to replace some of the burned tissue and her whiskers are beginning to grow back in. She eats all on her own after her e-collar is removed, and is down to being washed only once a day.
9/20/11 UPDATE: A lot of the scabs on her face and legs are now gone, and the healing healthy tissue is not as bright pink anymore - it's mellowing closer to a normal skin color every day. Khloe's front paw pads are having a hard time healing, as she needs her feet to move around. She was finally let on the floor to investigate toys, since she was showing an interest in seeing what was there and what was going on. While she didn't play with anything, she did make sure to check everything out. We will try to get a new photo up in the next day or so.
9/28/11 UPDATE: During Khloe's post burn treatments, it was discovered that she had a diaphragmatic hernia with her liver pushed partially up through the hole into her lung cavity. Khloe was seen by Dr. Lawrence, a board certified surgeon, for a consultation to repair the diaphragmatic hernia. Surgery will be performed tomorrow, 9/29, as Khloe is getting weaker, with her breathing becoming labored, and heart rate incredibly high. This is because the hole in her diaphragm is letting the liver press against her heart causing her heart to work harder. If she makes it OK through that surgery, while she is out, they will trim her ears and get rid of the dead tissue, and may do her spay. Her other burns are healing nicely. The kitten will remain in ICU for 3-4 days before going home.
9/29/11 UPDATE: Khloe's surgery went well. Almost her entire liver and gall bladder were through the hole in her diaphragm and pressing against her heart, so it's good we got her in ASAP. She was spayed, had her ears trimmed to remove the dead burn tissue, and had a more extensive debridement while she was under anesthesia as well. She will stay in the ICU until Saturday, when she should be able to go home.
9/30/11 UPDATE: Khloe's up and playing with her litter. She seems to be much better today, with her respiration much lower than it was pre surgery. She's such a trooper.
10/1/11 UPDATE: Khloe was released to go home today and is resting. Her surgery Thursday cost $3,000. She should not need any more surgeries now as they did everything at one time. She has a 4 inch incision from surgery, but her current foster mom is a former nurse, so she has the best possible post surgery care she can get.
10/7/11 UPDATE: Khloe made her first attempt to scratch at her scratcher and to jump on the couch. These are good signs that she's starting to feel a bit better. Also, we posted a couple of new photos to the graphic photos page.
10/8/11 UPDATE: Khloe's stitches came out today. She is up to 3 lbs now, which means she's gained about a pound since she was burned. She has another eye appointment Tuesday to check her eyelids.
10/11/11 UPDATE: Around Khloe's eyes is still swollen due to the skin trying to heal. The opthamologist is unsure if she'll be able to blink on her own --- her eyelids need to finish healing, and the swelling needs to resolve before he'll know for sure. Her lower eyelids are pulled outward right now due to the constricting tissue. There is a surgery that can release the skin so the lids fall back normally, if once she is all healed, she still has problems. Khloe does not have to go back for a checkup with the opthamologist for another month.
10/12/11 UPDATE from the Foster: New videos of Khloe will be posted Saturday evening on Khloe's individual personal page. They are a marked improvement over the first ones, as they show Khloe finally being a happy little kitten again. I'm so glad we gave her that opportunity, & I love watching her enjoy life! She runs a little "funny", because her feet are still tender & she may have some restricted movement due to contractures from scar tissue. But I'm glad to see her running at all! And the E-collar seriously inhibits her ability to maneuver, but she just about has that mastered, too. She'll have to keep that collar until the tissue around her eyes is healed. But she's a tough little fighter, well on her way to being a happy, well adjusted kitty cat.
10/15/11 UPDATE: New videos of Khloe have been uploaded to her individual page. You can see all of her videos on her youtube channel.
10/24/11 UPDATE: The fur on Khloe's face and ears is growing back in nicely. The only place it hasn't started growing in yet is around her eyes, which are still scabbed. Until the area around her eyes is healed, she has to wear her e-collar so she can't rub or scratch it, but she certainly doesn't let it slow her down. She runs and jumps and plays. She's having fun being a kitten.
10/30/11 UPDATE: New photos and videos have been uploaded to Khloe's individual page. Despite everything Khloe has been through, she greets everyone at the door, is excited when people come to visit her, and loves affection. She is such a sweet kitten.
11/08/11 UPDATE: Three of Khloe's feet are all healed now. She's still on eye meds. She got a new bigger e-collar as she's now up to 4 lbs and the old one wasn't enough to keep her from rubbing her eyes. Her fur is coming in very nicely. Her latest opthamology visit still wasn't able to determine if she'll need surgery on her eyelids, as they have not healed enough yet to tell.
11/17/11 UPDATE: New photos have been posted to Khloe's individual page. The bandage on Khloe's back right leg is because she had one area on her leg that wasn't healing properly from the burns. The vet had to pull the scab off manually and the area is being debrided and treated daily. They are hoping it will heal on it's own now with the current treatment.
If you can help out, even a little, please use the Donate button below or mail a check, thanks!
Checks can be made out to PAWS and mailed to:
4251 Turtle Mound RdMelbourne, FL 32934We would like to thank everyone who has or will donate. Again, we cannot thank you enough for the continued donations, care, and concern.