Blood
Hero husky saves kitty with blood transfusion at Nebraska Humane Society
Oct
Who says dogs and cats can’t get along?
A 6-year-old husky mix named Bret Michaels donated blood Monday at the Nebraska Humane Society to a kitten with flea anemia, likely saving the feline’s life. Pam Wiese, a spokeswoman for the shelter, said the transfusion from canine to feline “is not super common” but happens from time to time.
Bret Michaels, a 6-year-old husky mix, donated blood Monday to help a month-old kitten fight off flea anemia.
“Transfusions (to a cat) from a dog can be done once,” Wiese said. “That gives the kitty time to build antibodies.”
“>
The medical procedure’s necessity became apparent while medical staff were inspecting three month-old kittens that had been brought in as strays. The cats were dirty, cold and covered with fleas.
After bathing the kittens, staff noticed one of the trio seemed “wobbly, weak and lethargic,” according to a social media post.
People are also reading…
“These symptoms, combined with the state he was in, all pointed to one thing: flea anemia,” the post said. “For adult animals, a flea infestation might only affect a small percentage of healthy red blood cells in the body. But for this tiny guy, the impact was far greater.”
A month-old kitty that came to the Nebraska Humane Society battling flea anemia got a transfusion from dog named Bret Michaels on Monday.
Cats don’t have the luxury of a universal donor type such as the type O blood used by humans. Transfusing the wrong blood could have dire consequences and veterinarians decided the kitten couldn’t wait for testing to be done to determine a suitable feline donor.
Canine to feline blood donation is a process known as xenotransfusion, Wiese said. While it’s not a permanent solution, it gave the kitty time to build antibodies.
Bret Michaels, named for the rock singer, was a good donor candidate because he recently came to the shelter and had bloodwork done. Soon after the transfusion, the as yet unnamed kitty, started showing signs of improvement and is now resting with his siblings.
A month-old kitten receives a transfusion of canine blood Monday at the Nebraska Humane Society. The kitty was suffering from flea anemia.
Wiese said staff at the Nebraska Humane Society gave Bret Michaels “a round of a-paws” for being such a calm and brave boy. She also lauded the veterinarian team for their quick thinking.
After reading about the husky’s heroics on social media, a family reached out to cover his adoption fee. The only cost to his adopter would be $5 for a microchip transfer into their name and licensing fees where applicable.
“Our staff is just the best,” she said. “They do everything and anything they can for our animals.”
[email protected], 402-444-1272
#lee-rev-content { margin:0 -5px; }
#lee-rev-content h3 {
font-family: inherit!important;
font-weight: 700!important;
border-left: 8px solid var(–lee-blox-link-color);
text-indent: 7px;
font-size: 24px!important;
line-height: 24px;
}
#lee-rev-content .rc-provider {
font-family: inherit!important;
}
#lee-rev-content h4 {
line-height: 24px!important;
font-family: “serif-ds”,Times,”Times New Roman”,serif!important;
margin-top: 10px!important;
}
@media (max-width: 991px) {
#lee-rev-content h3 {
font-size: 18px!important;
line-height: 18px;
}
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article {
clear: both;
background-color: #fff;
color: #222;
background-position: bottom;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
padding: 15px 0 20px;
margin-bottom: 40px;
border-top: 4px solid rgba(0,0,0,.8);
border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(0,0,0,.2);
display: none;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article,
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article p {
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, “Segoe UI”, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, “Apple Color Emoji”, “Segoe UI Emoji”, “Segoe UI Symbol”;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article h2 {
font-size: 24px;
margin: 15px 0 5px 0;
font-family: “serif-ds”, Times, “Times New Roman”, serif;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article .lead {
margin-bottom: 5px;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article .email-desc {
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 20px;
margin-bottom: 5px;
opacity: 0.7;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article form {
padding: 10px 30px 5px 30px;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article .disclaimer {
opacity: 0.5;
margin-bottom: 0;
line-height: 100%;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article .disclaimer a {
color: #222;
text-decoration: underline;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article .email-hammer {
border-bottom: 3px solid #222;
opacity: .5;
display: inline-block;
padding: 0 10px 5px 10px;
margin-bottom: -5px;
font-size: 16px;
}
@media (max-width: 991px) {
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article form {
padding: 10px 0 5px 0;
}
}
.grecaptcha-badge { visibility: hidden; }
