Brittany knew something wasn’t quite right with her cat Suni, and a visit to the family veterinarian quickly escalated into a life-threatening emergency. Suni was referred to BluePearl for a time-sensitive surgery with an approximately 60% survival rate.
Brittany rescued her sweet orange cat named Suni from the Humane Society during the height of the pandemic. They live together in Micanopy, a small town outside of Gainesville, Florida.
One Saturday morning, Brittany could tell that Suni was irritated and not acting like his usually snuggly and playful self. As a self-described “panicky mom,” she likes to take her pets in for veterinary care at the very first sign of trouble.
Brittany took Suni to their family veterinarian right away, and they suspected he may have had a urinary tract infection (UTI). Suni was whisked to the back for a urine sample.
That’s when Brittany heard howling.
They were Suni’s painful cries, which likely meant his urinary issues had escalated into a tear in his bladder. His condition quickly escalated from concerning to extremely urgent, and he was referred to the emergency team at BluePearl Pet Hospital in Gainesville.
Upon arrival, it was clear to the BluePearl team that Suni was in a lot of pain. Dr. Jenny Tan, an emergency veterinarian, and her team raced to perform diagnostics, which included:
- An ultrasound scan to look at his bladder and abdomen
- A blood test to further assess his condition
His test results confirmed a life-threatening tear in his bladder.
“I told them the bad news. The bladder likely had a tear, and there was urine in the abdomen,” said Dr. Tan. “So we need to go pretty large in terms of stabilizing him and going in for surgery to get that bladder repaired. Or unfortunately, the other option was to say goodbye to him because he's in so much pain and there was only really one way to fix it.”
Dr. Tan discussed the surgery with Brittany, including the risks, which involved a difficult fact:
Suni had about a 60% chance of surviving the operation.
At this point, Suni was not doing well at all, and it was critical that he went into surgery right away. The preparation process involved stabilizing him, improving his blood pressure, starting antibiotics, administering pain medication and more.
As soon as Suni was stable, he was rushed to the operating room, and they began the life-saving procedure to repair the tear in his bladder.
Brittany’s long night of waiting was agonizing. She missed her beloved cat dearly and faced the stressful reality that he was in extremely critical condition and needed this operation to survive.
Then, Brittany got the phone call she was hoping for.
“The surgery couldn’t have gone smoother,” said Dr. Tan.
Suni’s surgery was successful, and the tear was repaired. As he began his journey to recovery, the team provided hands-on care every step of the way.
“He had three nurses working with him after his surgery,” said Gloria Rodriguez, a technician supervisor who was part of Suni’s care team. “He had all hands on deck caring for him.”
Both Dr. Tan and Gloria credit their team’s quick thinking and efficient communication with saving Suni’s life.
“There’s definitely a lot of trust in the operating room with my team,” said Dr. Tan. “It’s a lot of communication. Being able to trust that my team knows what they’re doing and feel comfortable telling me things makes it a very smooth process.”
Thankfully, Suni recovered remarkably well.
In fact, Brittany believes he is now better than ever. Their bond has grown even closer throughout this ordeal, and Brittany is thankful that BluePearl saved his life during an emergency.
“Everyone at BluePearl was amazing,” shared Brittany, snuggling with Suni in her arms. “They were super kind and sweet, and now Suni is right back to his normal self.”
