Kitten Suffering From Mysterious Tail Pain Clings to Rescuer & Won’t Let Go

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Towards the end of 2019, a 7 week old kitten was found crying in pain.

Rescuers could tell something was wrong with her tail, but couldn’t determine exactly what happened…

They reached out to Jen’s Kitty Rehab to see if she could use her expertise and resources to help this sweet kitten.

Keep reading to discover this kitten’s incredible rescue journey!

A Mysterious Injury

When the initial rescuers sent Jen pictures, it wasn’t clear what was wrong with her tail.

Jen needed to investigate.

On New Year’s Day, Jen picked up the kitten and gave her a new name: Emerson.

Jen examined Emerson thoroughly but was still puzzled by the source of her pain.

The kitten was obviously suffering, so Jen took little Emerson to the vet as soon as she could.

Mystery Solved

After the vet took a good look, he told Jen that most likely a dog or a wild animal had bitten poor Emerson’s tail and exposed some of the bone.

It was difficult to see the injury because her fur was hiding the exposed portion. 

“I don’t know how long she was surviving like that,” Jen shared. “But it was so long that gangrene had set into her tail.”

Gangrene is the death of tissue after a severe bacterial infection or lack of blood flow.

Because of the gangrene, the vet would have to amputate her tail almost entirely.

An Emergency Operation

The vet quickly got to work before the gangrene could cause further damage to poor little Emerson.

At only 7 weeks old, Emerson was very small. She weighed barely one pound.

The vet usually preferred to wait to operate on kittens until they reach a safe weight, but Emerson’s case was an emergency.

“This was one of those life threatening situations that even though she weighted barely a pound, he went ahead and sedated her.” Jen told National Kitty. “He did the amputation and brought her out of sedation and stitched her up!”

While the actual wound was on the top half of Emerson’s tail, the vet had to amputate it fairly close to the base because of the gangrene.

Emerson sports a bobcat look now!

Even though she lost her tail, she’s extremely relieved to not be in so much pain anymore.

The Road to Recovery

While the initial danger had passed, Emerson still had to recover.

Her body had been weakened by the gangrene and living in constant pain. 

“I babied her a lot,” Jen said. “I kept her pretty close to me, just a delicate little girl in my eyes.”

While Emerson definitely had a warrior’s spirit, her innocent gaze made her seem all the more fragile.

Her eyes were so big, in fact, that the vet would frequently comment on how she hadn’t grown into her eyes yet. 

She was a very special kitten. Everyone fell more in love with her with each passing day.

Short and Stout

As she recovered, Emerson’s true personality began to shine. She was sweet, loving, and full of energy!

What she lacked in size she certainly made up in personality.

Emerson loved to sit on Jen’s shoulder where Jen would sing songs to her. Jen would sing to the tune of “I’m a little teapot” but use Emerson’s name instead.

Jen sang, “I’m a little Emerson short and stout. I’m a little spitfire they found out!”

Happily Every After

Emerson and Jen were inseparable. It was clear she was very grateful to be rescued and in good hands.

She would show her appreciation with snuggles and kisses.

“She’s such a sweet little cat,” Jen said.

With eyes like hers, it was no surprise to Jen that Emerson had someone wanting to adopt her before she was fully recovered!

This adopter knew Emerson was a special cat and was willing to wait for her. 

Once she had fully recovered from her tail amputation, Emerson made her way to her forever home.

Thanks to Jen, Emerson has a wonderful forever family who love and cherish her.

Follow Jen’s Kitty Rehab on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with their latest rescue kittens!

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