A young tabby cat from Dorset, born with an extraordinarily rare and fatal heart defect, has been given a second chance at life following a groundbreaking surgical procedure that cost his owners a total of £21,000.
A Race Against Time for a Failing Heart
One-year-old Kobi was diagnosed with a complex arteriovenous malformation, a condition so rare his vet described it as a one-in-a-million occurrence. Instead of having a single artery supplying blood to his heart, Kobi was born with five. This placed immense strain on the organ, pushing the kitten into the early stages of heart failure shortly after his owners, Marie Ruffell, 54, and Paul Lovatt, 47, brought him home to Poole in December 2024.
"He had a really strong pulse on his neck and whenever he played with his cat toys he got out of breath and ended up panting," said Mr Lovatt, a bathroom fitter. Their local vet in Poole detected the issue, leading to a referral to the Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists in Ringwood, Hampshire.
An International Zoom Operation
Faced with a case they had never seen before and a patient too small for conventional techniques, the UK veterinary team sought expert help. They contacted Prof. Matthias Schneider from the University of Giessen in Germany, one of the few specialists worldwide with experience in such anomalies.
In a pioneering five-hour operation, the surgical team in the UK was guided in real-time via Zoom by Prof. Schneider. Using a custom-made wire thinner than a human hair, they carefully inserted stents to block off four of the abnormal arteries. The procedure required immense precision, as closing the wrong vessel would have been fatal.
"The small patient size was a challenge," explained Tobias Wagner, head of cardiology at Southern Counties. "We do have custom made very tiny thin wires to gain initial access to these small blood vessels."
The Road to Recovery and a Hefty Bill
The life-saving surgery itself cost £12,500, much of which was covered by pet insurance and a veterinary research grant due to the unique nature of the case. However, the total cost to owners Marie and Paul, including all vet bills, specialist food, and transport, reached £21,000. "He's probably the most expensive cat in Bournemouth," Mr Lovatt remarked.
For the couple, the expense was never in doubt. "Without the operation he would have died for certain," said Ms Ruffell. "If the surgery would have cost more then we would have sold whatever was necessary to cover it, such as our car."
The gamble paid off spectacularly. Kobi was out of intensive care the next day and has made an incredible recovery. "It is incredible to see Kobi now," Marie added. "He is so energetic and playful." The successful operation not only saved Kobi but also brought a complex human medical technique into the veterinary field in the UK for the first time.
