Edgar The Cat's Face Reattached After Accident

BOSTON — Me-ouch! Veterinarians on Tuesday performed an unusual surgery to reattach the face of a cat they believe was injured by a car's fan belt, probably because she tried to stay warm under the hood.

Edgar, a 4-year-old long-haired feline, went missing from her home in Winthrop for three days last week. When she finally came home, her owner found her in her litter box _ with part of her face dangling from her head.

"When her owner saw her face, she passed out," said Elizabeth Kendrick, a surgical technician at Angell Animal Medical Center.

The owner, who asked not to be identified, recovered from the shock and rushed Edgar to an animal hospital.

Remarkably, Edgar suffered no major blood loss nor any permanent nerve damage from her accident. She just needed to have her facial skin stitched back on during an hour-long surgery, according to veterinary surgeon Michael Pavletic.

"And she should be fine after this," Pavletic said.

Besides the skin hanging from Edgar's face, Edgar seemed normal, Kendrick said.

"She was purring and sticking her head up so we could pet her," Kendrick said. "She even tried to chew at her skin. I'd never seen anything like it."

Pavletic reattached Edgar's face using about 35 stitches. She came through the surgery with no problems, though she looks as though someone punched her in the eye. "She'll need to take some medicine but I don't anticipate her having any problems," Pavletic said.

Bonnie Beaver, a professor of small animal clinical services at Texas A&M University, said such animal injuries are extremely rare since cats are usually killed instantly from car fan belts.

"She may have problems later," Beaver said, "but the cat was saying, `I may have lost this life but, by golly, I have eight more.'"

Comments

[NathanA]

I will never need payday loans – that is if I have nine lives! Did you hear about Edgar the cat and her incredible recovery? It’s an amazing story. Edgar, a four-year old female longhair, went missing from her home in Winthrop, Massachusetts for three days last week until her owner discovered her in her litter box with a shocking appearance. Apparently, Edgar was looking for a warm place to sleep, so she crawled into the engine block of a car. The owner of the vehicle started the car, and poor Edgar was injured by the car’s fan belt. Michael Pavletic, a Massachusetts veterinarian, performed a cat face surgery which required 35 stitches. Amazingly, Edgar did not suffer major blood loss or nerve damage and pulled through the surgery with no problems; except it looked like she had gotten into a cat fight and came out with a black eye. "She'll need to take some medicine, but I don't anticipate her having any problems," Pavletic said. I'm guessing she will need a few no fax payday loans to preserve her eight remaining lives.

Click to learn more on payday loans.

[jfor]

one life down, eight to go.

[CaliRN]

I can't help but smile when I see this picture of Ms. Edgar. If she could speak she would probably say "I have had a really bad day; can I go home now ... and can somebody take this collar off!"
I wish Ms. Edgar a speedy, uneventful recovery. She will need TLC, a calm/quiet environment, and good nutrition to heal well. Hopefully she will not experience any future complications.

[susierr]

I love my two tabby cats too. They were adopted from a local shelter, and I was required to sign a form that promised I would not allow them to roam outside. We live on a busy street, in the city. They have the basement, first & second floors to roam on. The youngest one, Morgan had to be declawed on her front paws because she was born with "club feet" short and stubby. Her claws began to grow into the pads of her paws, and the only way was to remove them. The older one, Captain has his claws and he is just the coolest guy.

He wants to go outside so badly, so I bought a very large cage (for a big dog) and in the nice weather, I put them both outside with food and water and they love it. I will do yard work by them and it makes a great day for all of us.

CATS RULE!

[KCFreedom]

What's the big deal? There's people in Hollywood and network news who get this done every year.

[JJ30]

I'm glad the kitty is going to be okay. I love happy endings! :-)

[topkatnc]

As a cat lover I can say cats can get into some crazy places. One of my cats got into my dryer. I turned it on and for 8 min my cat pug had a wild ride. When i realized he was in there I almost fainted. He lived through and never got back in the dryer, I am glad Edgar is going to make it.

[Election2008junkie]

Did anyone else think it is strange that the Cat's name is Edgar but this author consistently referred to the cat as "She" and "Her"?

Perhaps someone did name their female cat Edgar, but i think it is more likely that the author is a bit prejudiced and thinks that cats are feminine creatures.

I have 4 male cats myself and I can assure you that cats are very Macho!!

[Clarke]

Nah, I see that a lot. When they're kittens, it's hard to tell what sex they are, and by the time people figure out they made the wrong call, the name's already stuck.

And hey, as Liman said in "Garfield," why worry about naming an animal that won't come when you call it?

[MistahCharleyPhD]

My cats DO come when I call them. I wonder why so many people think cats can't learn to do this.

[lawahine]

I named a cat Pete once then we found out it was a girl a few months later.

I can't believe this cat survived. Such a great story!

[NormM]

The picture caption starts, "Edgar, a 4-year-old long-haired female cat..." So yes, this is a female named Edgar.

[Gemma08]

I read a book once by Alison Lowry (Wishing on trains) where the cat was called "Not The Dog".

[comacoma]

Well.. I once had a cat named "Fido".....

[Mark701]

Go Edgar!!

[augusteighteenth]

I love happy endings with animals

[ginxy]

go kitty go! hang in there sweet edgar.

[Soundofthunder]

On the bright side, Edgar (the cat) didn't have to swap faces with John Travolta or Nicholas Cage then star in a bad movie.

SOT

[pangursperson]

lol, good one. I hated that movie too.

[ErnestineBass]

Years ago something similar happened to me. One winter's day I'd dashed home to have lunch, and when I cranked up the old Chevy to return to work, the engine made this horrible sound. I immediately shut the car off, popped the hood and found a large white long-haired cat in the narrow space between the fan and its cowling looking up at me, wide-eyed and shaking. After a moment, it tore out of there like the devil was after him.

Several days later I saw the cat, alive and well and sporting an inverted mohawk the length of its back.

[realitycheck7]

I thought you were going to describe how half your face was torn off

[Tatiana]

Ditto!

[OutsiderSA]

I Luv Lolcats

[realitycheck7]

who doesn't?

[frantaylor]

Oh please. Real cats in action are much more entertaining.

[OutsiderSA]

My cat(s) are Lol cats - real ones - breaks my heart when they have to be put down.

[CynAnne]

Poor sweet Edgar! So glad she'll be okay, and hugs for her poor owner (it must have been a horrible sight to see)..please take that extra second to tap on the car-horn and possibly save a life..! =) ...

[lewes17266]

They must have thought she was a boy when they named her and just did not change her name later when they realized the mistake. Bless her heart. What a way to get a facelift! What a way to become famous!