a Determined team Saves Dinky

Dinky is a small, white and black kitten with dark brown eyes owned by Dell Livsey and Barry Ball of Stillwater. At barely 6 months old, Dinky came down with a parvovirus, even though she had been vaccinated for prevention.

Parvovirus primarily attacks the lining of the intestinal tract, causing internal ulceration and ultimately total sloughing of the intestinal epithelium that results in dehydration, malnutrition, anemia and death 60 to 90 percent of the time. Dinky’s severe condition required hospitalization in the small-animal intensive care unit for more than two weeks, during which many people helped her recover.

Early Dec. 19, Livsey rushed Dinky to the hospital where Dr. Paul DeMars immediately started aggressive treatment continued by Dr. Jennifer Peters, who made sure Dinky had every chance to be cured, Livsey says.

Wendi Johnson, the fourth-year veterinary student assigned to the case, and Peters called Livsey at least twice a day with updates on Dinky’s condition. When a subsequent infection attacked the inside of Dinky’s mouth, Peters and Johnson did everything possible to keep the pain level down and feed the kitten with minimal discomfort.

“They treated Dinky with kindness, compassion and love as if Dinky were their own pet. Their hard work and determination to save my kitten extended through the holidays when we all know people’s thoughts are far away from work,” Livsey says, noting that the veterinarians and staff rotated shifts during the holidays to keep the hospital open around-the-clock.

Dinky then developed serious neurological signs requiring the consultation of Dr. Michael Lorenz, dean and professor at the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences.

“The concurrent history of clinical signs and findings suggestive of feline distemper were of great interest since the viral agent usually does not infect the brain or spinal cord in cats of this age,” Lorenz says.

When tests did not confirm spinal cord or brain infection, Lorenz theorized Dinky may have developed hemorrhages in the central nervous system as result of the primary disease. Regardless of the cause, he says the kitten should have good functional recovery from her neurological disease.

During this part of her hospital stay Dinky encountered fourth-year veterinary student Billy Hendrix. “His compassion went far above and beyond the call of duty. Billy spent much of his own time hand-feeding Dinky to be sure she got enough food,” Livsey says.

“Dinky has lost some ability to coordinate her back legs but has learned to adapt to her disability. I expect her to remain this way or even slowly improve over time,” DeMars says. “The aftereffects of her illness should in no way shorten her life or limit her quality of life.”

Dinky is improving every day, Livsey says. “None of this would have been possible without the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine, its faculty, staff and students. I have never known a group of people who worked together in such a heroic effort to save a young cat.”

DerinDa Lowe