An Update on Jonathan

We have new news we would like to share with Jonathan’s fan club!

First, we would like to thank everyone for their generous donations to Jonathan’s veterinary care, it means the world to us knowing our clientele loves him just as much as we do! As you all recall Jonathan has a congenital condition called atresia ani. This is where there is a narrowing of his colon and fecal material gets stuck and it is very hard to defecate normally.  His defect has four categories.ONE being the best outcome and FOUR being the worst. Jonathan is a category one, which is a good sign

There are two corrections that are possible in order to help him defecate normally.  The first is Balloon Dilation/Bougienage(which is exactly what it sounds like!).  This is a non-invasive/surgical (which mean there is no cutting of the soft tissue) procedure that has a much shorter recovery time. This procedure in theory should help stretch the colon making it easier for him to defecate.  We have been informed that it will take three procedures a week apart for the full stretching of the colon to occur.

But, with any medical procedure there are drawbacks as well that we all must consider.

The first outcome is that the procedure is successful and Jonathan will lead a normal happy life.  The second is that the procedure is successful, but Jonathan is not able to control his bowels and become incontinent(which will lead to surgical correction) and lastly is that the procedure does not work and he will need surgery to correct the anomaly..

Jonathan is scheduled for his first procedure on January 7, 2015.  Heather Hoch, DVM from South Paws in Fairfax, VA will be performing the bougienage.

All of Jonathan’s blood work is with in normal limits so he is cleared for his procedures! In rare cases, some kittens with this condition are also hypothyroid(underactive thyroid) which Jonathan is not.

If the procedure is not successful, we are discussing the possibility of surgery. Robin Olsen from Kitten Associates has given us the name of a surgeon. Her organization had a kitten with a similar condition and she was successfully treated with surgery.

We will keep you post on Jonathan’s progress.