Part of Otter’s skull never formed. The tiny kitten came into the world with an encephalocele: an opening in his head through which the brain was covered only by membranes and fluid. He was rescued in Northern California in 2022, malnourished and infected along with his sister Bunny, and taken to the Baby Kitten Rescue center in Los Angeles, where Caroline Grace took on his case.
What came next seems straight out of a movie. First a patch, then a black helmet made completely to measure by a designer named Bruce, so that Otter could move around without bumping into walls or furniture and literally smashing his head open. Every day that area had to be cleaned with an antiseptic solution to keep it sterile. The MASH veterinary hospital went further: they implanted a titanium mesh over the cranial opening. The surgery worked. The signs of hydrocephalus disappeared.
In January 2023, Otter no longer needed the helmet. He and his sister Bunny were adopted together by the same person. 🐾
