As a vet it is always exciting and interesting to meet pets who have huge personalities. Nellie was a tiny, long-haired Persian cat with a gigantic character. This is her story about how we undertook surgery to help her breathe more easily.

Nellie was rescued back in 2012 as a young mum-to-be and taken on by her owner who also kept one of her kittens as well, so that son and mum stayed together.  Her vaccination status was unknown but in 2014 Nellie had her first bout of cat-flu. This presented as classic flu type signs with a runny nose and fever.  Being young and otherwise healthy she recovered well with only limited support needed. If cats have been exposed to the cat flu viruses as kittens, they can stay hidden in the body and in times of stress come down with clinical signs – much like the cold sore virus in humans. While Nellie had subsequently received vaccinations to help boost her immunity towards these viruses, in November 2023 she became ‘snuffly’ again.

Being brachycephalic (flat-faced) with tiny nostrils, Nellie was having a hard time with her breathing due to her blocked nose. This put her off her food and drink and while we tried supporting her as an outpatient with appetite stimulants, steam baths at home and medications, it became clear that Nellie needed more serious intervention. Being so small she did not have the reserves to go without food for very long! She was admitted for fluids and placement of a naso-gastric feeding tube. This could have been a huge challenge in a resistant patient with tiny nostrils, but Nellie’s exceptionally sweet nature meant she accepted the miniature feeding tube problem-free. She stayed in with us for three days receiving tube feeds and medications to help her. She was discharged, having turned a corner when starting to eat by herself. 

Nellie was improving daily, but her next challenge came in the form of a nasty eye ulcer that had developed from one of the flu viruses – feline herpes virus (FHV). This caused a painful, inflamed eye and having lost an eye to cancer in 2017 it was imperative that we got on top of this new condition to save Nellie’s vision. 

We started anti-viral eye drops and with the amazing commitment of Nellie’s owner in administrating the frequent eye drops, eventually the eye improved and the ulcer healed.  

For such a tiny cat, Nellie showed great spirit in overcoming all that life had thrown at her – from her early pregnancy, ocular cancer and cat flu to name only a few of her conditions. Sadly, Nellie lost her one last battle, having developed collapsing episodes earlier this year that was unresponsive to all we could do. With such a huge personality, she will be greatly missed! 

Amy Parsons BVetMed GPCert (SAS) MRCVS – Lead Vet – Surgical Services