A lynx cub was taken to the Douglas Animal Hospital veterinary clinic in serious condition. The predator was found late at night in the barn of a resident of New Brunswick, Canada, and no one knew how long it had been there. According to its rescuers, the lynx began convulsions due to hypoglycemia and hypothermia, and its body temperature was so low that it was not shown by a thermometer. It took the family over an hour to get to the clinic, but they were in a hurry, knowing that it was only a matter of minutes.
At the hospital, the little lynx, who weighed only 1.5 kilograms, was tried to warm him up with a heater and special shoes made of insulating materials. The kitten survived the night, but the next day was still in a critical condition, and the clinic decided to give it a blood transfusion. With this level of dehydration, exhaustion and anemia (anemia), the animal’s organs could soon begin to fail. Blood donations were needed — and urgently.
The doctors contacted the local shelter, which provided their charge, a cat named Smuckers, for the procedure. He underwent a quick examination and it turned out that the cat was an ideal donor for the lynx. He matched all the parameters — blood type, age (the candidate must be under 8 years old) and weight (sterilized cats with a body weight over 4.5 kilograms are suitable).
Blood was drawn from the cat under sedation and then administered drip to the raptor. To restore balance, Smuckers received subcutaneous and intravenous injections of nutritional fluids, and when he woke up he was treated to a hearty lunch.
A nurse named Courtney, who was by the lynx’s side during the blood transfusion, said that the cat tolerated the procedure calmly. To reduce its stress level, it was covered with a blanket.
Donor blood was infused very slowly, and the entire process took about four hours. All this time, the doctors monitored the raptor’s vital signs on monitors to detect signs of rejection of the biomaterial in time. Fortunately, none of this happened. The lynx was under round-the-clock observation. She was treated with intensive medication and fed through a tube, and by the end of the first week, the raptor was on the mend.
«The most important thing now is that all systems function again without any internal damage. She is still too weak to eat or drink, but we are helping her,» said the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, the charity that took custody of the animal.
Doctors are pleased with how the process is going and call the ward «a real fighter.» The clinic hopes she will recover soon and be able to return to her natural habitat.
As for Smuckers, his sacrifice did not go unnoticed. The city heard about his heroic act and the Fredericton SPCA has found an owner for the cat, according to the Fredericton SPCA. Smuckers will be going to a new home very soon.
