Castleford vets carry out rarely used surgical techniques to save kitten born with no bottom

A kitten with a deadly genetic condition which left him with no bottom, has been saved thanks to a unique operation.

Toulouse, a short-haired tabby was given less than 1% chance of surviving, due to the condition which meant he was unable to go to the toilet.

Kittens who have the condition do not usually live longer than a few weeks but Toulouse made it to eight weeks old, the age he arrived with his sister Mila at his new home in Wakefield.

New owners Nadia Kleisa and Tom Hooper from said: “At first Toulouse and Mila seemed to be settling into their new home but, having grown up with cats in my house, I was keeping a close eye on both of them to make sure everything was ok.

And when he made a couple of attempts to go to the toilet in the litter tray and nothing was coming out, we became really concerned for him."

It was then they decided to take him straight to the vets who then revealed the full horror of the problem and that Toulouse would need rarely used specialist surgery to try to give him a new bottom and save his life.   

The operation to give Toulouse a new bottom, and attach his colon to it, has rarely been carried out in the UK.

Vet Chris Coutts said: “The operation itself was very tricky given Toulouse was still a small kitten and it was most certainly a team effort to get it done.

 We didn’t fully know what we’d find, so it was a case of seeing what the situation was and go from there. Luckily it all went very well."

The surgery was successful and despite still needing regular trips to the vets Toulouse is four months old and Chris is hopeful he will go on to lead a normal life.

Nadia added: "We couldn’t quite believe the miracle Chris and his team had performed, but knew Toulouse now had weeks and months of recovery ahead of him.

 “It had been a huge rollercoaster of emotions in the 24 hours we’d had him, but at least he was still with us and his sister.

 “I didn’t expect him to survive the first night as he was still so tiny, so just stayed with him all night and watched over him."

Toulouse is now on a special diet of white fish, chicken and scrambled eggs and has even managed to go to the loo.

Nadia said: We’ve gradually been spending more time enjoying playing with Toulouse and Mila, and watching them grow up together.

 “Both of them have been kept indoors to help Toulouse’s recovery, although short trips in the garden have happened recently.

 “Each day we worry less about his recovery and look forward to the day when we only need to go back to the vets for annual booster vaccinations and not check-ups on his recovery."