Horse’s Blood Saves Kitten’s Vision

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By Adrea

When 14-week-old kitten, Bravo, needed help to save his eye, a horse named Logan stepped up.

Bravo in danger of losing his eye

Dr. Heather Kennedy, a veterinarian at the Fieldhaven Feline Center, told CBS13, “[Bravo} developed a corneal ulcer – a painful ulceration on the outer most layer of the eye. And he only has one eye, so we wanted to preserve that one good eye.”  The kitten had already lost his right eye, veterinarians believing it was due to the same issue, a destructive virus and ulcer. The team wanted to do all they could to preserve the other one.

In cases such as this, a serum is made from the animal’s own blood. A serum is made from that blood and is then capable of curing the virus.  Unfortunately, Bravo was too tiny to have blood drawn.  However, a horse could be the perfect donor.

Logan donates his blood

“Serum is one of the components of blood. We draw blood from an animal, spin it down to get serum, and we use that as an eye drop,” the veterinarian shared.

The founder of the center, Joy Smith, heard about Bravo’s plight.  She volunteered Logan, a 1,200-pound horse, to provide the blood that would be spun into the serum. Smith told the news agency, “Horses and cats really do go together. Of course, a horse has gallons of blood so we had plenty of blood. And so they took the blood, spun it down and treated the blood and treated the eye with the serum and as you can tell it’s doing really well.”

Making new friends

Bravo and Logan met and it seems the two made fast friends and the serum is working well. Just like this horse and kitten story, there are other accounts of inter-species assists when it comes to health issues. Dog’s blood has been used successfully in a variety of procedures including transfusion, as well in sight saving measures.  There are also accounts of cats who donate blood regularly, to make sure blood is on hand for emergency purposes.

The use of blood from cats and other species has gone a long way to aid felines in need. If your feline, canine, or equine is healthy, you may want to consider donating its blood for such purposes. Contact your local veterinarian or rescue for details on how you can help.  Kittens, like Bravo, will be all the happier and healthier for the kindness of you and your pet.

 

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