Surgery Saves Kitten Weighing Less Than 1 Pound

When tiny kitten Sunshine was brought to the Itsie Bitsie Rescue by a Good Samaritan, it was immediately clear to staff that she was not going to be a typical case. The rescue takes in approximately 750 kittens per year, mostly strays and transfers from shelters. These kittens are a highly vulnerable population and are the most likely to be euthanized at shelters. But maybe none as vulnerable as Sunshine.

“We could tell right away that she had pectus excavatum, but she was stable,” said Kristen Puff, director of operations at Itsie Bitsie Rescue.

Pectus excavatum (commonly called “sunken chest”) is a birth defect most commonly occurring in humans but can also occur in many different mammal species. It causes the sternum and ribcage to be formed in a concave (curving inward) position instead of convex (curving outward). This can place tremendous pressure on the lungs and chest, preventing normal breathing.

The condition does not resolve itself and requires surgical intervention to correct the defect.

Soon after arrival at Itsie Bitsie, things changed quickly for the 3-week-old Sunshine. She could not nurse from her bottle or lie down and developed respiratory distress. She was taken to the Emergency Room at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) and cared for by staff veterinarians Dr. Justine Oriel and ER intern Dr. Olivia Taubenfeld.

The 271-gram (0.59 pounds) kitten was treated for aspiration pneumonia and stabilized enough to go home.

Two days later, Puff brought Sunshine back to the VMTH to meet with Dr. Peter Delisser of the VMTH’s Soft Tissue Surgery Service and small animal surgery resident Dr. Andrew Backman. They discussed options for the surgical correction of Sunshine’s pectus excavatum, but ideally that would happen after she had grown more.

Later that afternoon, Sunshine returned to the VMTH, again in respiratory distress. This time, it was worse. Dr. Alba Planas, a fellow in the Feline Pediatric Service, worked with critical care specialists Drs. Steven Epstein and Kate Hopper to stabilize her.  

Surgery could not wait, so Drs. Delisser and Backman were called in to perform surgery on the now 310-gram (0.68 pounds) kitten. Previously, the smallest kitten to undergo this surgical procedure at UC Davis was 600 grams (1.32 pounds).

The surgeons successfully secured an external splint to Sunshine’s chest with sutures that went under her sternum and ribs. Over the next six weeks, the splint gradually pulled her sternum and ribs into a more normal configuration.

Dr. Planas monitored her throughout recovery with routine recheck appointments. When the splint was removed, Sunshine weighed 1.01 kilograms (2.22 pounds) and was recovering well. She is now in her foster-to-adopt home. She will return to the VMTH for her spay surgery and then will be officially adopted by her foster mom.

Part of Sunshine’s care was made possible by donations to the school’s Feline Pediatric Compassionate Care Fund. The fund provides essential financial support for kittens receiving medical care at the VMTH. These vulnerable patients rely on the expertise and advanced resources of UC Davis, including specialty services, education, and clinical research programs, to get the care they need. Donations help diagnose and treat medical issues, giving kittens like Sunshine the best chance of a bright future in a loving forever home.

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