Bonza is a very special thirteen year old cat who came to see us as she was having trouble breathing and was not eating very well. When we examined Bonza, we noticed that her breathing was very deep and faster than normal and she was quite thin.

We did xrays of Bonza's chest which were very abnormal- it looked as though her intestines were in her chest, rather than in her abdomen. Surgery revealed just that. Bonza had a condition called a diaphragmatic hernia. This means that she had a hole in her diaphragm (the muscle separating the chest from the abdomen). This hole had allowed her liver, spleen and most of her intestines to move into her chest, which meant that Bonza's lungs were being squashed. We believe the hole in Bonza's diaphragm occurred when she was in a car accident at about one year of age. She had also lost one of her eyes in that accident.

We repaired the hole in Bonza's diaphragm and she made a slow and steady recovery. Bonza is currently doing very well and her human companions are very happy!

Bonza had a condition called a diaphragmatic hernia