My cat had an accident - I'm sick with worry!

On May 27, 3:22 pm, Calico wrote:
I live on the third floor of an apartment block and yesterday I didn't
close one of the windows properly. Next thing I realise that I hadn't
seen puss in a while so I went looking for her when I noticed she had
pushed it open and jumped out onto concrete. I ran down and managed to
get her back inside but she had a bloody nose and seemed to be in
shock.

Shock is always serious, and always requires a medical check.

She's a calico, and goes CRAZY when taken to the vet so I thought the
best thing to do was to keep her in her environment and keep her calm.
She was walking around okay & didn't seem to have broken anything
apart from busting her nose.

This was a mistake, but you know that now.

So she kind of curled up and went into herself so I thought the best
thing to do was to let her be. Then this morning she was still really,
really subdued and I noticed that she was going to the toilet a lot
and passing small amounts of blood. I also read lots on the internet
last night about cats dying from going into shock so I got her into
the vets at 11 am this morning. (she had her fall about 2pm yesterday)
As expected the vets examination was traumatic for the cat she ended
up biting the vet and on one of his shelves. But we got her down & he
gave her anti-shock meds & painkillers. He said that she had injured
her back but couldn't tell how severe the damage was without doing x-
rays. So he's keeping her in today & tomorrow.

I feel so guilty! I should have made sure the close the window
properly and brought her to the vet IMMEDIATELY after it happened.
She's up there now and I know she is going to be totally stressed out
& I am convinced she is going to die in a cage up there from some
internal injury. It's Sunday today so there is probably no supervision
up there today/tonight.

"Probably"? You didn't ask?

It's possible there's no overnight supervision. The possibility that
no one goes in during the day on Sunday to feed, water, clean up for,
and check on the animals staying the weekend is ZERO. Think about it
for half a second: sick animals, need regular food and water, need
meds, need other care--no one comes in for 24 hours or more. Does this
strike you as _possible_? In the real world, I mean, rather than in
the heart of your panic and guilt?

The vet said there was no threat to her life and that I shouldn't
worry but I just KNOW the cat isn't going to get better. And if there
is a chance she'll probably require surgery in another district so I
don't know if it would be better to let her go!

You are speaking from fear and guilt. You do NOT "know" that the cat
isn't going to get better. You could have ASKED the vet if there would
be overnight care, and if not if it would be better for the cat to be
at home, or to be moved to another veterinary hospital where there is
overnight care.

The time to decide whether it's appropriate to go ahead with surgery
is AFTER the vet recommends surgery. I'm not clear on why "in another
district" would be a deciding factor.

Has anyone had similar experiences with back injuries and cats? She
seemed okay yesterday but for being subdued & was even purring this
morning & was walking okay and everything.

So, in fact there's lots of reason to believe that your vet was NOT
blowing smoke or demonstrating his incompetence when he said that the
cat's life is not in danger. And, yes, btw, someone DOES have
experience with cats and back injuries--YOUR VET. Whom you are
choosing not to believe because he is declining to feed your guilt and
fear.

I should mention that this is my brothers cat who passed away a couple
of years ago. He ADORED her so she has to be make it. I've been crying
all day thinking about him and the cat being frightened up in the
vets. What am I going to do??

Take a long, soothing bubble bath and then make yourself a nice,
soothing cup of tea. It's the best thing you can do for your cat right
now--stop having hysterics. You need to be able to listen to the
information the vet gives you tomorrow, and make rational decisions
about it. Panic and guilt are lousy foundations for important
decisions.

Lis

On May 27, 5:13 pm, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:
"Fred G. Mackey" wrote in messagenews:7OSdncsFu__qb8TbnZ2dnUVZ_gGdnZ2d@comca st.com...





MaryL wrote:
"Fred G. Mackey" wrote in message
...

Calico wrote:

I should mention that this is my brothers cat who passed away a couple
of years ago.

No need to take the cat to a vet if it already passed away. It's time to
bury it.

Damn you're dumb!

Worse than just a troll .... a *cruel* troll. Score = -1

This person deserves to be treated cruelly. They let their cat fall out
of a third story window, saw that it was severely injured and waited until
the next day to take it to the vet.

Furthermore, they are hanging on to their cat as if it is somehow a piece
of the brother they lost.

Someone should rescue this feline.

I don't think anyone deserves to be treated cruelly. However, the failure
to take the cat to a vet immediately is very disturbing. I thought from
your message that you were only commenting on her grammar because you quoted
only one sentence ("I should mention that this is my brothers cat who passed
away a couple of years ago") and then said that it is time to "bury" it.
So, perhaps I was the one who was cruel. If so, I apologize.



MaryL- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

No, Mary, you were not the one who was cruel.

LIs

"Lis" wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 27, 5:13 pm, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:
"
MaryL- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

No, Mary, you were not the one who was cruel.

LIs


Thanks!

MaryL

On Sun, 27 May 2007 12:59:02 -0700, Calico wrote:

On May 27, 12:48 pm, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:
"Calico" wrote in message

ps.com...





snip

The vet said there was no threat to her life and that I shouldn't
worry but I just KNOW the cat isn't going to get better. And if there
is a chance she'll probably require surgery in another district so I
don't know if it would be better to let her go!

Has anyone had similar experiences with back injuries and cats? She
seemed okay yesterday but for being subdued & was even purring this
morning & was walking okay and everything.

I should mention that this is my brothers cat who passed away a couple
of years ago. He ADORED her so she has to be make it. I've been crying
all day thinking about him and the cat being frightened up in the
vets. What am I going to do??

I won't be so foolish as to tell you "don't worry." *All* of us would worry
under these circumstances. However, I will tell you that it is very foolish
for you to try to decide in advance that you *know* your cat is not going to
get any better, and especially since your vet has not said anything to lead
you in that direction. In particular, DON'T EVEN CONSIDER "LETTING HER GO."
It is *much* too early to be making that kind of decision. You need to
follow your vet's advice and give your cat a chance to recover. You are
really speaking from fear and guilt, not from logic or even from realism.
Also, *give yourself a break.* I know you feel terrible about not closing
the window properly, but it was not deliberate cruelty or gross negligence.
All of us have done something in our lives (probably many "somethings") that
we later regret. You need to stop thinking that way right now both for your
own sake and for the well-being of your cat. She deserves to be given an
opportunity for a good life and not to be destroyed simply because you are
fearful.

Please keep us updated.

MaryL


Thanks - I just have an awful feeling that the vet made the wrong
decision in keeping her in there tonight. He said she'd be fine but
surely she would be better off at home where at least she would be
relaxed and have someone to check on her. And I don't believe him when
he said there was no threat to her life. I'll keep you updated.
Hopefully she'll be okay.


Just sit tight! Cats have survived bad falls. The cat need rest, quiet
and fluids and the Vet will provide these things. We shall all purr for
your cat's recovery and you can do this too. Best wishes. MLB

On 27 May, 22:45, Lis wrote:
On May 27, 3:22 pm, Calico wrote:

I live on the third floor of an apartment block and yesterday I didn't
close one of the windows properly. Next thing I realise that I hadn't
seen puss in a while so I went looking for her when I noticed she had
pushed it open and jumped out onto concrete. I ran down and managed to
get her back inside but she had a bloody nose and seemed to be in
shock.

Shock is always serious, and always requires a medical check.

She's a calico, and goes CRAZY when taken to the vet so I thought the
best thing to do was to keep her in her environment and keep her calm.
She was walking around okay & didn't seem to have broken anything
apart from busting her nose.

This was a mistake, but you know that now.





So she kind of curled up and went into herself so I thought the best
thing to do was to let her be. Then this morning she was still really,
really subdued and I noticed that she was going to the toilet a lot
and passing small amounts of blood. I also read lots on the internet
last night about cats dying from going into shock so I got her into
the vets at 11 am this morning. (she had her fall about 2pm yesterday)
As expected the vets examination was traumatic for the cat she ended
up biting the vet and on one of his shelves. But we got her down & he
gave her anti-shock meds & painkillers. He said that she had injured
her back but couldn't tell how severe the damage was without doing x-
rays. So he's keeping her in today & tomorrow.

I feel so guilty! I should have made sure the close the window
properly and brought her to the vet IMMEDIATELY after it happened.
She's up there now and I know she is going to be totally stressed out
& I am convinced she is going to die in a cage up there from some
internal injury. It's Sunday today so there is probably no supervision
up there today/tonight.

"Probably"? You didn't ask?

It's possible there's no overnight supervision. The possibility that
no one goes in during the day on Sunday to feed, water, clean up for,
and check on the animals staying the weekend is ZERO. Think about it
for half a second: sick animals, need regular food and water, need
meds, need other care--no one comes in for 24 hours or more. Does this
strike you as _possible_? In the real world, I mean, rather than in
the heart of your panic and guilt?

The vet said there was no threat to her life and that I shouldn't
worry but I just KNOW the cat isn't going to get better. And if there
is a chance she'll probably require surgery in another district so I
don't know if it would be better to let her go!

You are speaking from fear and guilt. You do NOT "know" that the cat
isn't going to get better. You could have ASKED the vet if there would
be overnight care, and if not if it would be better for the cat to be
at home, or to be moved to another veterinary hospital where there is
overnight care.

The time to decide whether it's appropriate to go ahead with surgery
is AFTER the vet recommends surgery. I'm not clear on why "in another
district" would be a deciding factor.

Has anyone had similar experiences with back injuries and cats? She
seemed okay yesterday but for being subdued & was even purring this
morning & was walking okay and everything.

So, in fact there's lots of reason to believe that your vet was NOT
blowing smoke or demonstrating his incompetence when he said that the
cat's life is not in danger. And, yes, btw, someone DOES have
experience with cats and back injuries--YOUR VET. Whom you are
choosing not to believe because he is declining to feed your guilt and
fear.

I should mention that this is my brothers cat who passed away a couple
of years ago. He ADORED her so she has to be make it. I've been crying
all day thinking about him and the cat being frightened up in the
vets. What am I going to do??

Take a long, soothing bubble bath and then make yourself a nice,
soothing cup of tea. It's the best thing you can do for your cat right
now--stop having hysterics. You need to be able to listen to the
information the vet gives you tomorrow, and make rational decisions
about it. Panic and guilt are lousy foundations for important
decisions.

Lis- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

i'd liek to add to that if I may...
it almost seesm to me that you are wishing this poor cat to have an
unhappy end to this awful occurence, why? and why won't you listen to
your your vet when they say that the cat will be ok? why are you
expecting, no actually DESIRING, the worst possible outcome here? why
are you expecting only bad things to happen ie for th cat to have to
be put to sleep?

have a bit of faith please, the vast majority of Vets are excellent
healthcare professionals who know what they are talking about and have
your animals best interests at heart and would not lie to you about
your pet's prognosis after an accident or illness. Ok there is the odd
case where the vet is a total crook and should not be allowed to treat
animals, Sheelaghs' ex-vet springs to mind here, but cases liek those
are really few and far between, very rare. There are governing bodies
who regulate how vets practise and monitor them to make sure they are
maintaining certain standards of care etc, otherwise the vet would not
be allowed to stay in business (which reminds me; Sheelagh have you
contacted the RCVS yet?).

have you actually enquired as to the provision of overnight care at
the surgery for your cat? i very much doutb that he/she wil be left
alone completely, there is usually either vet or a vet nurse on call
there overnight and at weekends as they will ahve anumber of resident
patients to look after and also it is part of what they are required
to do as part of their professional duties.

Also if they thought that the cat was getting unduly stressed they
would try to help it as they do realise that excessive amounts of
stress are not going to aid the cats recovery. they may seek to sedate
him slightly to reduce stress, but if you are worried that he/she will
get stressed in such an unfamiliar environment then you can do as i
have done in the past with cats who have stayed at the vets for a few
nights and take along a familiar blanket with my smell on it, some
favourite toys perhaps. Provided they are vaguely clean and not likely
to have come from a home where there has been some recent feline
infectious disease and so not going to pass on any infection or
similar, then I am sure the vet will allow this, mine certainly does.

I also do not see why you woudl need to 'let her go' (which i presume
means "put to sleep") if she needs surgery in another district, if
that si what she needs and the vet is admitting that she needs better
or more specialist help than he can give her what si the problem with
that? it means that she is going to be looked fater by probably even
better qualified health professionals than the ALREADY highly
qualified medical staff she is with now, how can that be a bad thing?
If your current vet thinks she is ok to make the journey to another
district then he should be trusted and believed, he wouldn't say such
things if they weren;t true. He wouldn't propose to move your cat
elsewhere to a better equipped clinic/surgery if (a) he thought that
she would not survive the move or (b) he thought that there was no
hope for her and not point in doing so, why would he waste his and
everyone's time like that?

I don't understand why you are being so negative, veterinary science
has done some wonderful things and vets can work wonders (if they get
to the animal in time of course). so calm down and chill out, right
now it is all out of your hands and, as dear departed Freddie Mercury
sang "it's in the lap of the gods" now.


you haven't said how old your cat is btw

bookie

I have to say, some of you guys have been very unkind. The cat didn't
seem to have any broken bones and was stunned more than anything. I
didn't realise the implications of shock and thought the best thing
was to keep her in a quiet place where she would be undisturbed and
not re-traumatised by going to the vet. By next morning - which was
sunday - the first thing I did was call all the local vets until I
found one that would take her. And that was indeed extremely traumatic
for the cat and all the vet did was put in her cage, completely
stressed, and left her probably unsupervised, until this morning. How
is that better than what I was doing? Anyway, to those of you who have
tried to make me feel better, thanks. I should find out more about the
cat tonight.

"Calico" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have to say, some of you guys have been very unkind. The cat didn't
seem to have any broken bones and was stunned more than anything. I
didn't realise the implications of shock and thought the best thing
was to keep her in a quiet place where she would be undisturbed and
not re-traumatised by going to the vet. By next morning - which was
sunday - the first thing I did was call all the local vets until I
found one that would take her. And that was indeed extremely traumatic
for the cat and all the vet did was put in her cage, completely
stressed, and left her probably unsupervised, until this morning. How
is that better than what I was doing? Anyway, to those of you who have
tried to make me feel better, thanks. I should find out more about the
cat tonight.


Take responsibility for your actions. Your cat fell out of the window,
and you allowed her to go without veterinary treatment for 48 hours.
Any complaints you have with your vet, if indeed you ever took the cat
to a vet, are a separate issue.

Unkind? That is a very mild description of someone who neglected
to get their cat medical help, as you did.

Be an irresponsible caretaker, but don't do it and expect to tell people
about it and not be called on it.

Your cat fell out the window? Take her to the VET right AWAY. What
is hard to understand about that?

On 28 May, 08:17, "cybercat" wrote:
"Calico" wrote in message

ups.com...I have to say, some of you guys have been very unkind. The cat didn't
seem to have any broken bones and was stunned more than anything. I
didn't realise the implications of shock and thought the best thing
was to keep her in a quiet place where she would be undisturbed and
not re-traumatised by going to the vet. By next morning - which was
sunday - the first thing I did was call all the local vets until I
found one that would take her. And that was indeed extremely traumatic
for the cat and all the vet did was put in her cage, completely
stressed, and left her probably unsupervised, until this morning. How
is that better than what I was doing? Anyway, to those of you who have
tried to make me feel better, thanks. I should find out more about the
cat tonight.

Take responsibility for your actions. Your cat fell out of the window,
and you allowed her to go without veterinary treatment for 48 hours.
Any complaints you have with your vet, if indeed you ever took the cat
to a vet, are a separate issue.

Unkind? That is a very mild description of someone who neglected
to get their cat medical help, as you did.

Be an irresponsible caretaker, but don't do it and expect to tell people
about it and not be called on it.

Your cat fell out the window? Take her to the VET right AWAY. What
is hard to understand about that?

i second that, bookie

On 28 May, 08:17, "cybercat" wrote:
"Calico" wrote in message

ups.com...I have to say, some of you guys have been very unkind. The cat didn't
seem to have any broken bones and was stunned more than anything. I
didn't realise the implications of shock and thought the best thing
was to keep her in a quiet place where she would be undisturbed and
not re-traumatised by going to the vet. By next morning - which was
sunday - the first thing I did was call all the local vets until I
found one that would take her. And that was indeed extremely traumatic
for the cat and all the vet did was put in her cage, completely
stressed, and left her probably unsupervised, until this morning. How
is that better than what I was doing? Anyway, to those of you who have
tried to make me feel better, thanks. I should find out more about the
cat tonight.

Take responsibility for your actions. Your cat fell out of the window,
and you allowed her to go without veterinary treatment for 48 hours.
Any complaints you have with your vet, if indeed you ever took the cat
to a vet, are a separate issue.

Unkind? That is a very mild description of someone who neglected
to get their cat medical help, as you did.

Be an irresponsible caretaker, but don't do it and expect to tell people
about it and not be called on it.

Your cat fell out the window? Take her to the VET right AWAY. What
is hard to understand about that?

And be sure to be honest about what happened to your cat, otherwise
they won't be able to help you. Not Harsh, honesty will get you where
you need to be
S)

I have just got my cat back and thankfully, the vet expects her to
make a full recovery. However, I will just say that the whole time at
the vet was probably more traumatic to the cat than the fall, not to
mention the poor dote hardly being able to stand up at the moment
after the anaesthetic. The vet gave her the once over but gave no
treatment (apart from the injections when I brought her up first) so
in actual fact, the best thing for kitty was EXACTLY what I was doing,
which was keeping her in a nice, warm, quiet place. She is actually in
a awful state now compared to how I brought her in.

But I don't care a jot about any of that - or some of the assholes in
this newsgroup - I am just glad she is going to be okay, and hopefully
will not get the opportunity to try her paw at flying again.

Thanks to those who tried to offer genuine advice.