Kayla is 4 years old, talkative and funny with a face that is too cute. She came to us when she had been hit by a car and the shelter workers did not want to put her to sleep so they paid for her surgery on her hind leg and then phoned Paw to see if we could take her in.

Kayla recently had surgery for a tumor deep down in her right ear. She suddenly became unable to walk or stand without falling. At first we thought it was just an inner ear infection and she was treated for that but she did not recover. There were other complications along the way when examining the ear so we had to wait two more weeks to retake her x-rays.

The x-rays still did not show what was in her ear so surgery to remove either the tumor or polyp was done. During surgery the ear canal was removed and further down the tumor or polyp was also removed. With the ear canal removed the ear was closed and, of course, she is now deaf in her right ear.

She is doing quite well but it will be a week or so before we know if the tumor was benign or not. Kayla still does not have 100% of her equilibrium back and it will take awhile if she does, but we are hoping for the best and a good outcome.

In the meantime, Kayla loves this individual attention and extra feedings in order to make sure she gets her antibiotics. The drain below her ear will be removed soon and in 3 weeks the stitches on the outside of her ear will also be removed.

The cost for Kayla's surgery was $1,565.00. We don't know at this time whether Kayla will be able to be adopted or not, so for now she is just recuperating and not on any medication other than the original antibiotics and pain medicine. However, we do hope someone will want to adopt Kayla and take care of her.

Click here to see YouTube video of Kayla

Last year in 2006 Kayla had a routine dental which landed her in the emergency room because her blood did not clot and she continued to bleed. She had both a blood and plasma transfusion, as well as other tests, and was monitored for three days. She came home and seemed normal in every way. This little sprint in the hospital was a scary thing for us and I am sure for her as well.

This year in October, when she was taken in for a well visit, her blood test indicated she was in kidney failure, and also, that her coagulation profile was still not normal. We did several tests the following week, including urine profile, ultra sound, x-ray, and blood pressure test, which indicated her kidneys are small and that it simply does not look good.

As of today, we have decided to put Kayla on subcutaneous fluids twice or three times per week, change her diet to KD prescription diet for cats with kidney problems, add vitamins to her diet to replace what is being lost during kidney failure and to add fish oil to her diet every day. We hope these things will give Kayla a longer and normal life, at least for awhile. As long as Kayla eats and seems to be having a normal, happy life, we will continue to help her do that.

Kayla is still the talkative little girl and still has the head tilt from years ago due to the tumor in her ear canal, but she acts the same and stretches and talks aloud when she wants something special. She likes one dish in particular that she cries for you to fill up – with water. There is plenty of water elsewhere, but she likes this one spot and so maybe she is just getting that special attention she likes … so we accommodate her. She is a very nice little girl cat. Thank you for your support of Kayla during her years with us.

Kayla's Update, September 2003

The bottom picture is Kayla today, and she is doing wonderful and her biopsy was negative. She plays, eats and stretches as normally as any cat, but she still has a slight head tilt that will probably be with her for the rest of her life.

Kayla doesn't mind about the tilt of her head or anything else; there are too many things in life to enjoy. Maybe one day Kayla will be adopted, but until that time comes, she will stay in PAW as a foster cat and be loved by her foster caregiver.

Kayla cannot say thank you to the wonderful people that have donated and continue to donate to her care but we are certain that she would if she could. All of those associated with Kayla are appreciative, especially her caregiver and those that know her. We hope you will enjoy her updated pictures.

- Thank you.

P.S. The only monthly cost for Kayla right now is her food but any donation in her behalf would be greatly appreciated by Kayla, her foster mom and Paw.

I want to help Kayla!

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