A STROKE of luck meant a pet cat narrowly escaped losing one of his nine lives.
Biscuit, a cherished family cat, has undergone a rare, life-saving operation to successfully remove a brain tumour - known as a feline meningioma.
The eight-year-old moggy was taken into his local vets by owner, Jez Etherton, after he had been experiencing breathing difficulties.
After performing an initial scan, the local practice referred Biscuit to Barnsley Vets for Pets - as they were equipped with a CT scanner and thus better equipped to deal with the poorly cat.
Scan results showed that Biscuit had swelling on his larynx, most likely caused by an allergic reaction.
However, during the scan the veterinary team also saw a 1cm lesion on Biscuit’s brain.
In Biscuit’s case, the tumour was a pea-sized growth on the brain, located beneath his left ear.
Finding the tumour this early on was extremely lucky for Biscuit, as he didn’t present with any symptoms.
Though normally harmless, once symptoms start to show, treatment usually comes too late.
With very few reported cases of the highly-specialised procedure, the vets performed the surgical removal of part of Biscuit’s skull - in order to extract the meningioma.
This intricate operation lasted just over an hour, followed by around-the-clock monitoring for two days.
Two weeks later, the fortunate feline was back to his old self, with his fur already growing back from the incision site.
Biscuit’s owner, Jez, said: “The moment they told me Biscuit had a brain tumour was awful.
“There were so many risks to consider, but the team at Barnsley Vets for Pets explained everything clearly and supported us from the start. “Seeing Biscuit happy and healthy again feels like a miracle.”
Dr Peter Richards, the practice owner and leading neurosurgeon at Barnsley Vets for Pets, said: “Luckily Biscuit’s tumour was identified early, which gave us a real opportunity to help him.
“The procedure needed careful planning and a steady hand, but he recovered exceptionally well and regained his confidence quickly.
“Based on the outcome, we expect him to enjoy his full life expectancy with no lasting impact from the tumour.”
