"CatNipped" wrote in message
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"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
Oh gawd, I am *SO* freakin' *STUPID*. How could I have been so d*mn
*BLIND*!

I told you guys that my 15-year-old, Bandit, had her teeth cleaned on
Feb.
25 - a week ago last Friday. Well, since then she has been even meaner
and grumpier than usual, growling and hiss-spitting at everyone and
everything. My reaction to that (**@$$HOLE**) was to leave her alone
except to pet and brush her head and back to try and soothe her. I
figured she had a touch of arthritis that all the fighting at the vet's
had aggravated (**STUPID**). Sunday she was walking even more stiff than
usual, then yesterday afternoon I noticed a horrible smell from her. I
attributed that to her getting litter all over her hind quarters when
she
urinates.

Every night when I give them their canned food I pick her up off my bed
and take her over to the food dish to make sure she eats OK and none of
the younger cats eat her share. Last night when I picked her up a felt
something wet on her stomach. Again, I though litter box (she's long
haired and sometimes when she squats down in the litter box her rear
quarter will get wet and litter will stick - I brush her off every
night.

So last night at around 9:10PM I was brushing her and decided to turn
her
over to make sure I got any stuck litter off of her tummy. Ohmygawd, I
was appalled at what I saw.

Bandit had lost the hair on her belly and there was a *HUGE* area (about
2
1/2 inches in diameter) that looked like a big, weeping blister. The
stench (*horrible* smell) was coming from that. I had just taken my
Ambien, Alluna, Melatonin, and 2 muscle relaxers (Zanaflex), so I
screamed
for DH to come down and drive us to the emergency vet.

We got there at 9:30PM, but I was so out of it from the meds I didn't
even
realize it wasn't until about 11:45PM before the doctor even saw us.
They
had to give Bandit 2 shots of sedative in order to calm her down enough
to
handle her. The would *NOT* let me handle her (hospital pollicy
bullsh*t), no matter how much I begged. I was *SO* worried about them
giving her so much sedative when she was in an obviously weakened state.
Finally they let us back in to see her so I would hold her down on her
back while the vet looked at the sore.

The vet said it looked like a burn, possibly a chemical burn but more
likely a heat burn (she kept asking us if there was something Bandit
could
have been burned on at home). There is *NOTHING* in my house, either
chemical or heat, that could have burned Bandit. Our heating vents are
on
the ceiling and Bandit doesn't even come upstairs much less go into the
kitchen by the stove. Then I thought about the report I posted hear
from
when she had her teeth cleaned and they had something on there about a
heated recovery.

I know Bandit is a *VERY* bad cat at the vets and it's possible that the
techs didn't check on her as often as they might have another cat. But
do
you think that she could have been burned by the heating pad they
used???!!

I am *SICK* with worry, self-recriminations, and just plain outrage that
my baby could have been in such horrible pain for *10 DAYS* without my
even knowing it. Imagine having a burn over your entire stomach, from
groin to sternum, and having it go untreated for that long - ohmygawd!!!

The emergency vet gave us some Clavamix, some pain pills, and some
Sulfadine (SP??) cream to put on the wound and I'm supposed to call my
regular vet this morning. I just don't know if I can *TRUST* my regular
vet - OK, it may have been a mistake, they happen, or neglect by a vet
tech and the vet may have had no idea anything happened, but it makes me
wonder.

What should I do??? Any advice????? Please send lots of purrs that my
baby gets better soon!!

DH is staying home with her today and I'm going to try to get off the
rest
of the week. I'll keep you all posted on how she is. Thanks for
listening, guys.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Actually, I just got off the phone with my vet and I feel *SO* much better
about her. *SHE* brought up the probability that it was the heating
element
that caused the burn - no denial, no excuses - she said that no other
injection nor the anesthesia would cause something like that. They
immediately pulled the heating blanket out of use as soon as the emergency
vet called them this morning and are going to have it thoroughly checked
out
before using it again.

I know that mistakes happen and can forgive that, and the fact that she
is
willing to, up front, take responsibility makes me trust her even more. I
really do like this vet, so Bandit is going to see her today at 12:30.
I'll
keep you posted.


Taking responsibility includes covering the cost of the emergency clinic and
any additional treatments and medications resulting from the accident
(actually, negligence).

Just remember, if this happened to a human, the Dr. would have a huge
malpractice suit.

Phil