Astra's battle post dog attack

On Tuesday 12th December my kitten, Astra (9.5 months) was attacked by a Greyhound. We rushed her to the vet straight away and she underwent a long and gruelling surgery.

The Vet Surgeon said that this was the worst dog attack injury he'd ever seen.

Astra's entire abdominal wall had been destroyed, her spleen ruptured and traumatised and she received bite wounds to her tail and ears. The fact that she survived the surgery is a triumph in its own.

Since the surgery Astra was improving. Until this weekend when things took a bit of a turn. Her red blood cell count was dangerously low (8% - should be about 25-40%) and she had an urgent blood transfusion just yesterday. She remained stable throughout the transfusion which is great news. She was looking brighter today and grooming her front paws a little which is really amazing to see.

There are two possible reasons that her red blood cell count is so low. The first is that her immune system is attacking them - not good. The second is that she is suffering some internal bleeding - not good. Either way the prognosis is looking more grim than I would like. The vet has two recommendations:

1. Get her to Massey in Palmerston North for 24 hour care with some of the best vets in Australasia. This will cost up to $5000.

2. Get an ultrasound to find out more about the bleeding or if anything else is going on (that blood tests cannot tell us) This will cost up to $800.

We have reached our max for pet insurance ($4000) and have used all the extra money we had aside due to the days in vet care, nights in urgent care, blood transfusion, major surgery etc.

With additional care I am sure my wee girl can pull through this. It's clear everyday that she still has so much more fight left in her. We are unwilling to give up on her at this stage but finances make this hard.

We ask for any contribution, no matter how small, so that we can continue to seek the necessary treatment to see her through. Please help us save our kitty.