When a small ginger kitten named Odie came from the SPCA to our hospital for adoption, Kristin could not help but fall in love with him. He was affectionate and playful and as she cared for him each day at the hospital he won her heart over.
In no time at all Odie managed to acquire a cut by his ear. He was scratching with his claws and managed to self induce a laceration that required some sutures to close. Over the next few weeks this happened several times despite the fact that Odie had nothing wrong with his ears and his claws were trimmed.
It was a Saturday when I first saw Odie with yet another laceration - now the twelfth one. This cut was over 10 cm long and was razor sharp along his side. He romped playfully on the examination table despite his wound and as I examined wound on Odie a thought came to mind …. I know Kristin as a gentle soul but I commented, "Either this is a case of animal abuse or I suspect Odie may have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome."
Most people have not heard of this syndrome as it is not very common, so rare in fact that I had seen only one other case in over 25 years. Once you see one, however, you never forget. The affected pet inherits a defect making it impossible for them to produce the collagen in their skin that holds it together and provides strength. As a result the skin easily stretchs and ultimately tears with the slightest of trauma.
I took a skin biopsy that later confirmed Odie's condition. The pathology report was grim noting that it is typically a lethal gene. With my history of a past case I knew a few things that could be done to still provide Odie quality of life. First of all, Odie would need to remain an indoor pet as there were too many sharp materials and trouble he could get into outside. Secondly he would have to remain as the only pet in the household as just playing with another pet could result in cuts in the skin. Everyone that visits would need to be told to be careful of Odie's condition as rough play or petting could tear the skin - young children were to be avoided. Finally, Odie would need to be declawed on all four feet.
Although we don't promote declawing in general, it was a necessary procedure in Odie's case. Almost all of the lacerations he had to date were just from his scatching the occasional itch with his own claws. Even if the claws were cut short the blunt ends would be enough to tear the skin. We performed the surgery and it all went well. Although no bubble kitty, Odie could live happily as an indoor cat in a protected environment.
With some surgical clue and a skin stapler, Kristen will be able to fix the odd small laceration at home, but luckily, so far to date, no further lacerations have occurred. With their softness of fur and gentle nature it is common for advertisers to look to pets to promote their tissue paper. Odie with his tissue paper thin skin indeed reminds me of that whenever I seen him
