At the end of May, veterinarian Dr Inna Karpenko from our Project Kishka in Poltava, received a special patient we named Bilka. This male cat, that we estimate to be 2 years old, broke his right front leg after a fall, most likely a rooftop, a balcony or similar. We will never know for sure what exactly happened to him, but we do know for sure that he was in great pain when he arrived at our clinic. Luckily, he was brought in by a volunteer and with this act of kindness, the volunteer saved his life. Because it is already very difficult to survive on the streets, even more so in wartime and when you are injured, your chances of survival are close to zero.

Because he was in shock from the pain, Bilka had a hard time breathing, refused to eat and was very stressed. An X-ray in the clinic confirmed his broken bones and thus, after Dr Inna Karpenko managed to stabilise poor Bilka, she started the treatments to save his leg.

Bilka received an operation in which the bones in his leg were reconstructed and a metal plate was needed to help his bones heal. And with the bones in his leg now slowly healing, so is Bilka. As the pain disappears, his appetite and will to live has reappeared. And he shows us what a very sweet, friendly cat he is. 

Although we suspect that Bilka used to be someone’s pet, no owners were found. Bilka will stay in the clinic until July, when it is time to remove the metal plate from his leg. If by that time no owners have been found, the grandmother of the veterinarian will adopt him. So for sure, Bilka will have a forever home!