Abu Dhabi vets perform Dh35,000 brain surgery to save life of family's beloved cat

A family in Abu Dhabi are breathing sighs of relief after life-saving brain surgery was performed on their beloved cat.

A family in Abu Dhabi are breathing sighs of relief after life-saving brain surgery was performed on their beloved cat.

Suganya Jothilingam, 36, a freelance HR consultant from India, thought something was awry when Elsa, her cat, started to show signs of stress and strange behaviour.

She would soon learn that the Arabian Mau had developed a brain tumour that required surgery.

“Elsa was acting stressed but at first we thought nothing of it and that she was just looking for attention,” said Ms Jothilingam.

“We noticed a lot of changes in her behaviour as she kept meowing and then the big red flag for us was she was kept walking around in circles.

“She wasn’t walking in a straight line at all so I called the vet. After they examined her, they immediately told me this was much more serious than stress.”

Ms Jothilingam was given a choice between a craniotomy or euthanasia.

She said there was no decision to be made.

“I’ve had her for seven years and she is part of the family,” she said.

“The doctor told me she would need brain surgery or the only alternative would be to put her to sleep.

“I didn’t want the regret of not giving her at least a chance of surviving.”

The surgery took two hours, with Elsa being anaesthetised for three hours and then taking another two to recover.

Ms Jothilingham said the surgery cost her a total of Dh35,000 ($9,529).