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This was Kim Edwards’ experience last week when her ginger cat Rory ate rat poison, and she hurried him to the nearest vet in Tauranga, New Zealand. Poor Rory was howling in agony, and couldn’t move.
The feline needed a blood transfusion if he had any hope of survival, and there was no time to send his blood for testing to determine his type.
But vet Kate Heller decided to take a chance and attempt to use dog’s blood to save Rory. If it was the wrong blood type, he’d die. Dr Heller had never performed this rare surgery before.
“If we didn't do it, he would have died, so we had nothing to lose by giving it a go,” says Dr Heller. “It was a do or die, but it's very uncommon.'
Kim phoned her friend Michelle Whitmore, who offered her black Labrador Macy as a donor. And it worked!
"Rory is back to normal,” says Kim happily. "The vets just went above and beyond, and it's incredible that it worked."
“And just for the record, we don't have a cat that barks or fetches the paper!"
-Kirstin Buick
Sources: ABC Online, Daily Mail
