Bertie is a two-year-old cat who was brought in to see us after a run in with a car.

Bertie was in a bit of a bad way, so the vets and nurses quickly got to work to stabilise him.

We gave him a strong painkiller and settled him in an oxygen tent to make sure he could breathe well.

When he was more comfortable we took some x-rays and performed an ultrasound scan which showed that Bertie had fractured his mandible (the lower jaw), broken a canine tooth and bruised his lungs.

Now we knew the problem, we got to work fixing it.

A piece of wire was used to secure Bertie’s jaw in a position that would allow it to heal; and this would need to stay in place for 6 weeks.

We placed a feeding tube called an oesophagostomy tube so we could syringe feed Bertie directly into his oesophagus (the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach).

It was really important for Bertie’s recovery that he received enough calories and nutrients and it would have been too painful for him to eat via his mouth straight after his car accident.

Bertie was such a brave boy during his stay with us in hospital. He loved having a cuddle and would purr loudly during clinical examinations (which made it very difficult to hear how his lungs were recovering!).

After a few days and nights with us Bertie went home to his family to continue his recovery.

He is doing brilliantly and will soon be able to have the wire removed from his jaw and his broken tooth removed.