29/05/2026
- From the Hospital ♥️🏥
⚠️Warning: This post contains some medical images from Cruise’s treatment and surgeries.
Tonight’s From the Hospital is a special one. It’s also a long one.
Many of you may know Colin and his late wife Joylyn through their years of fostering for Street Cats South Canterbury. Between them they helped so many cats, and some of you may even have beloved cats at home because of the love and care they gave to rescue animals
Cruise is one of their own.
Cruise was born at Colin’s home to a foster cat and was the only surviving kitten in the litter after the others sadly passed away from cat flu. He needed a huge amount of care to survive and thrive, and naturally Colin and Joylyn became incredibly attached to him and decided to keep him. Since Joylyn’s passing, Cruise has become even more special to his Dad.
On the 13th of May, Colin found Cruise in the yard covered in blood and rushed him straight into us. After examining him we quickly realised Cruise had suffered a dog attack. We admitted him immediately for pain relief, IV fluids and close monitoring.
The following day we anaesthetised Cruise to properly assess the extent of his injuries and take X-rays. Unfortunately the injuries were extensive. Cruise had suffered a fractured pelvis, multiple deep puncture wounds, and tearing of the external abdominal muscles causing an abdominal hernia.
Over the weekend we monitored him closely and worked hard to keep him comfortable.
By Monday however it became clear Cruise needed a blood transfusion. He had lost a significant amount of blood during the attack and his anaemia continued to worsen despite supportive care.
Blood transfusions in cats are no simple task. Cats have different blood types and naturally occurring antibodies, meaning transfusing the wrong blood type can be life threatening. This meant we first needed to cross match potential donors to ensure compatibility.
After ruling out our clinic cats - and a few slightly unwilling staff cats from home 😅 - we finally found a suitable donor and proceeded with the transfusion.
Thankfully Cruise responded beautifully. He perked up immensely afterwards and for a short while we were hopeful we may soon be able to send him home.
Sadly dog attack wounds are often much worse beneath the surface than they initially appear. The crushing force from a dog’s jaw and shaking motion during an attack can cause severe tissue trauma.
Over the following days some of Cruise’s damaged tissue unfortunately began to die off, causing several wounds to break down and meaning we were far from out of the woods.
Since then Cruise has undergone several more surgeries. His latest procedure involved a superficial axial flap - a reconstructive surgery where healthy skin and tissue, still attached to its own blood supply, is rotated to cover a large wound that otherwise would struggle to heal.
This was a very lengthy and delicate procedure, with Cruise under general anaesthesia for almost three hours. During this procedure we also placed a drain to help remove fluid build-up and reduce pressure under the graft site while healing begins.
After a couple of very long weeks in hospital, tomorrow is finally the day Cruise gets to go home 🥰
As you can imagine, Cruise’s care over the last couple of weeks has been incredibly extensive. We have done a huge amount of his treatment ‘for love’ to try and help keep things manageable for Colin, however despite this he is still facing a very significant bill.
We know times are incredibly tough financially for many people at the moment, and unexpected veterinary costs can become overwhelming very quickly.
Colin has done absolutely everything he possibly can for Cruise, just as so many devoted pet owners would, but after weeks of hospitalisation, multiple surgeries, a blood transfusion and intensive nursing care, the costs have inevitably added up.
With Colin’s permission we wanted to share Cruise’s story not only because he has been such an incredible patient, but because cases like Cruise’s become so much more than “just another case” to our team.
These patients challenge us like nothing else. They make us think outside the box, keep us on our toes, and pull at our heartstrings all at the same time. We pour so much time, effort, love and worry into them that they start to feel like our own.
We celebrate every small win - and trust us, you’ve never seen people get as excited over poos appearing in a litter tray 😅 - and we feel the setbacks deeply too.
Through it all, Cruise has been the sweetest boy. Despite everything he has endured, he has put complete trust in our team every single day, and we can absolutely see why his Dad loves him so much.
Seeing Cruise finally head home tomorrow makes every stressful moment, every late night, every difficult decision and every little victory completely worth it ❤️
There is absolutely no expectation, especially in difficult times, but if anyone would like to contribute even a small amount towards Cruise’s care we know it would mean the world to both him and Colin.
Cases like Cruise’s are always a reminder of just how quickly life can change, and how deeply connected we are to the animals we share our lives with. So give your pets an extra cuddle tonight from all of us 🫶🏼
