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August 2025 Veterinary Case of the Month

Keep Away From Rabbit Holes

Little Man is a happy healthy kitten now but he had been in big trouble.

Little Man is a happy healthy kitten now but he had been in big trouble.

WARNING: PICTURE OF LIITLE MAN BEFORE TREATMENT AT BOTTOM MAY BE DESTRESSING TO SOME PEOPLE.

Little Man is a sweet adventurous kitten whose curiosity got the better of him and led him far from home. Along with straying away from his mum, he decided it would be fun to stick his head down a rabbit hole.  Now this could have just been a fun encounter with a rabbit, but instead of finding a rabbit, he unfortunately got infected by a bot fly larva. 

Bot flies lay their eggs near the entrances to rodent or rabbit holes, and, as the eggs hatch, the larva in filtrates the skin of the unfortunate mouse, bunny or kitten that sticks it head in the hole. The bot larva forms a large lump on the neck and creates a small breathing hole for itself through the skin of the unfortunate host. That would have been not too bad for Little Man if that is all that happened, but outdoor flies (blowflies and house flies) also laid their eggs in the area.  They are attracted to moist areas.  If Little Man had been with his mum, her busy tongue would have kept him clean and removed all those pesky fly eggs.  However,  he was lost and alone, and he had not yet learned the all-important cat skill of self-cleaning.  So now this second batch of eggs hatched.  Their larvae, are commonly called maggots and these maggots eat through the skin and into the tissue of the unfortunate host. So poor Little Man was now alone, hungry, and had maggots in his vulnerable little skin around his neck.

Fortunately, a Good Samaritan in Thorndale brought him into the clinic. Little Man was in pretty rough condition but his sweet personality shone through. He was dehydrated so we had to put him on intravenous fluids. We also had to sedate him to remove the larva and treat him with antibiotics for the infection. He’s a tough little guy and he didn’t let his neck slow him down. He soon started eating again and was charming everyone at the clinic.  He is now adopted out into a new home, we’re hopefully he will have learned to not stick his head down rabbit holes

Little Man when he first came to out clinic.

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