First of all, I would like to start by saying that this article is not intended to praise or advertise any specific veterinary clinic or veterinarian. I am writing to share the story of my beloved cat and emphasize the importance of seeking a second opinion when it comes to veterinarians and sincerely thank the doctors who saved our beloved pet.

It all started last Saturday morning, a week ago. The previous evening, we had our dear friends over at our house and had a delightful evening together. After they left, I tidied up the terrace, unaware that our little girl had quietly slipped out onto the terrace.

Smoothie, our mischievous cat, joined our family during the winter, so it was our first summer together. Therefore, I had been putting in a great effort to keep her away from windows and balcony doors because I couldn’t predict what she would do.

Our little one is quite accustomed to jumping and leaping around as she comes from the streets. I first saw her on a cold December evening in the courtyard of my workplace, and the moment I picked her up, I realized two things: this little troublemaker was a handful, and I would never be able to let go of her. Moreover, my husband fell in love with her as soon as he saw her too.

We got Smoothie as just a kitten and gave her that name because of her soft, white, adorable face. She was a perfect blend of a diva and a princess, I must say. Our love for her knows no bounds, and she graciously reciprocated that love. She adores being picked up and cuddled.

In the following period, sadly, we would discover that Smoothie was sick (probably due to poor living conditions on the streets), and we would make great efforts to nurse her back to health.

Fortunately, those difficult days passed quickly, and as a result, our daughter recovered and joined our family as the youngest and sweetest member. However, her mischievousness never went away. She constantly tried to go onto the terrace, especially when she saw birds flying around...

Eventually, that night I mentioned earlier, due to my carelessness, she sneaked onto the terrace and unaware of her presence, I accidentally closed the door on her. I don’t know what happened that night, and thinking about it still horrifies me, but when I woke up in the morning, I couldn’t find Smoothie at home.

Knowing her love for hiding (which cat doesn’t, right?), I assumed she was hiding somewhere in the house and playing a game with me. I tried luring her out of her hiding spot with some treats. I opened the treat packet and waited in the middle of the hallway, expecting her to appear with her usual mischievous gait. However, despite the seconds passing by, the little troublemaker did not show up.

"Don’t scare me like that, Smoothie," I said tremblingly, but the house echoed silently. I anxiously looked down from the balcony wall, but thank God, I didn’t find what I feared to see on the street.

With my spouse, we searched every corner of the house and even the roof. We thought that she might have left us, given her background on the streets and her energetic nature, and that she couldn’t find her way back home. We were crying and searching simultaneously.

Finally, even though I didn’t have much hope of finding Smoothie there, I decided to go downstairs and look around outside. As soon as I stepped out the door, I was greeted with a shocking sight: our little one was lying there, not far from the inner part of the building where we lived.

Upon seeing me, a glimmer of recognition appeared in her eyes. She let out a small meow from her tiny mouth. I rushed toward her and carefully took her in my arms. Her once pure white fur had turned grayish, and her eyes looked vacant, but other than that, she seemed fine (or so I thought at the time). When I held her in my arms, she touched my heart with her paw. Her claw pricked my skin a bit, but it didn’t hurt. This is how I realized she had become weak.

When I returned home with our pet in my arms, my husband was overjoyed. We hugged our little one and shed quite a few tears. Then, as I tried to clean her up, I noticed urine and blood on her hips. While trying to understand what had happened, her legs trembled and she collapsed suddenly.

Chaos begins

From that moment on, it was complete chaos. We quickly put her in her carrier bag, not even realizing what we were wearing, and rushed out of the house. We headed to the nearest veterinary clinic, which seemed nice and clean. She was immediately X-rayed, revealing that she had four or five fractures in her hips.

The veterinarian there, whose name I prefer not to mention, informed us that our pet’s heart was positioned higher than normal due to a congenital anomaly – something we had never heard about in previous check-ups. However, the X-ray results were clear and the veterinarian insisted it was the case. Furthermore, he said Smoothie needed immediate surgery, or we would lose her.

Due to the panic, we couldn’t think calmly then; we just thought that whatever needed to be done should be done. The doctor informed us that the necessary surgery couldn’t be performed there and advised us to go to a professor he knew. He provided us with the address and asked us to call this professor, whose name I also didn’t want to mention, to let them know that we were coming.

He mentioned the place in the Avcılar district of Istanbul, so we hit the road again. While driving toward Avcılar, my mother called us – I informed her about the situation. She reminded us that there was a good clinic, Veterinary Medical Park (Medikal Park Veteriner), in Beylikdüzü, a district on the fringe of the city (where my family was already living) and where they often took their cat, Sherlock, advised us to go there instead of seeing that professor.

In fact, I was already familiar with that clinic. We had taken Sherlock and Smoothie there a few times, but initially, it didn’t come to my mind due to the panic, and later on, the distance made me hesitate. However, I am so grateful now that we chose that clinic!

Shocking turn of events

As soon as we entered, we asked the veterinarians for help, explaining that our pet needed immediate surgery. One of them quickly attended to us. He stated that according to the X-ray, there were five fractures in her hip and there might be more that weren’t yet apparent. He also assured us that the fractures could likely be corrected through surgery.

Then came the shocking revelation that left us stunned:

"When she hit the ground, the impact caused internal bleeding in your cat. It was such severe bleeding that it even pushed her heart, which is normally located at the bottom, upward," the doctor said.

Imagine the horror we experienced at that moment.

"Isn’t this due to a birth-related anomaly?" my husband hardly asked.

The doctor said it wasn’t the case.

"Well, what about the surgery?" I asked.

The doctor took a deep breath and calmly said, "Your cat is not currently stable enough for surgery. If we proceed with the surgery, the risk of losing her is very high. She will first need to stay in intensive care, and once she recovers, we can proceed with the surgery."

We trusted the doctor. And thankfully, our daughter made a remarkable recovery in intensive care within a few days. She recently underwent surgery and is currently in a rapid healing process. She needs to remain in intensive care for at least another week, but we are willing to do whatever it takes for her full recovery.

The Veterinary Medical Park and the veterinarians working there not only saved our pet’s life but also took excellent care of her and offered discounts. We are delighted and grateful for everything they have done, especially for bringing our beloved one back to us. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Fortunately, our story had a positive outcome. Smoothie can run and play like before, and her spirits are high. We eagerly count the days until we can bring her back home.

However, sometimes I can’t help but think, what if we hadn’t sought a second opinion, and our pet was immediately taken into surgery by the veterinarians who didn’t recognize the internal bleeding? I don’t even want to imagine what the consequences could have been.

As I mentioned before, one reason for writing this article was to emphasize how crucial it is to seek a second opinion regarding veterinarians. The first veterinarian didn’t understand our daughter’s condition and recommended immediate surgery. However, the second veterinarian quickly grasped her condition and suggested intensive care to give her a chance of survival. And in the end, they were right.

In such situations, please take your pets to a second veterinarian. Sometimes, the initial diagnosis may be incorrect, and a second veterinarian can save them.