Vet Tech Journals: First day..

Well just got back from my first day at the new clinic, and i think i'm
going to have a fun time there.

I got my schedule and i'm getting along great with everyone. I
helped out with mainly simple things, getting blood, putting the
appointments into the exam rooms. I'm getting to do thigns that
previously i hadn't been allowed to do at previous clinics.

My foot arches hurt, but i'm happy.

A few things about the clinic

there are about 3 hospital cats. Rosie, Sergio and I forget the name
of the other one. Rosie is kinda skittish but wanders around and will
rub against you if you're not busy.

Sergio, is known among the other employees as a psycho cat. I found
that out when i went to scritch him behind the ears. He seemed to like
it, but suddenly he let out a small hiss and took a swing at my hand.
Fortunately i moved my hand away. This is a cat with a SERIOUS
attitude problem.

I haven't met Nox, but i would say that Sergio is her counterpart. In
the afternoon, we had a dog tied up while we were getting some other
things done, and suddenly the dog started barking loudly and pulling.
I looked to see what he was barking at and I saw Sergio, about 4 feet
in front of the dog. Man if looks could kill. It was like he was also
giving the dog the finger. sheesh!

The other interesting thing that happened was at the end of the day.

A girl came in and said she and her employer had been spraying
pesticide outside her workplace when she found this tiny kitten in the
bushes.

It's black and white and about 5 weeks old The poor thing was
lethargic and covered in fleas Poor thing!!

My coworker and I brought it into the back treatment room to tackle it
with flea combs while the receptionist talked to the doctor to make up
and estimate, etc After a few minutes we decided to stop until we knew
exactly what we were doing The kitten was a bit squirmy, but we were
too busy pulling off fleas

So I decided to go weigh him I took him out and put him on the scale
His weight was 0.8 pounds. That's right, he hardly even registered on
the scale he was so small

He started to run away so i kinda scruffed him with my right hand and
scooped him up with my left.

"REEEEOOWW!!!!" *CHOMP!*

Searing pain is in my left index finger as this tiny kitten clamped his
jaws down I pulled on his scruff and was going "OWLEGGOOWOWLEGGO!!"

He let go only for a moment and then chomped down again, this time
harder I could feel his little teeth piercing my skin.

Finally I got him to let go and took him back into treatment where the
conversation went something like this.

"The little bugger BIT me!"

"What? He BIT you? That tiny thing?"

Hmph....... Everyone said the same thing.


yeahyeahyeah, i got bit by a kitten so small he barely registered on
the scale. His baby teeth weren't even completely in and he still
nailed me. harhar, hmph.

I scrubbed my hand with betadyne for like 5 minutes and then soaked it
in a betadyne/water solution for a few more minutes. It didn't swell
up that much, and wasn't too sore, so i figured i would live. I have
one puncture mark from the first bite and two from the canine teeth
from the second bite. Owie......

I have some leftover amoxicillan from a few months ago, so i took some
as soon as I got home.

I'll keep an eye on it and if it gets bad, I'll go to the doctor.

It still just floors me that on my FIRST day, i not only get BIT, but
bit by a kitten i could fit into my shoe. SHEESH!!!

Anyways back to the kitten. We gave it a bath and picked off all the
fleas with the poor kitten screaming every step of the way; and one of
the receptionist wanted to name it Bessie. I said "Why not something
more appropriate, like Pirahna?" She wasn't amused.

The kitten was so anemic from all the fleas that it was practically
impossible to find a vein to get enough blood.

Then we ran the FELV/FIV test, and she came back FELV positive.
eeek.......

All the employees that had been contimplating taking in this cat
suddenly changed their minds. I mean most of us have cats and we can't
bring a FELV positive cat into our household.

The girl that brought her in said she had two cats and didn't have a
way to really isolate the kitten. So i think we decided that we were
going to keep her overnight at least until we can find out if a home
can be found for her.

An FELV positive cat is a big resposibility. So I don't know what's
really going to happen.

Purrs that something good will happen to this kitten.

and purrs for my poor finger.

Kristi

ARGH!!

And now I come home and Mayhem is crying for attention. So i reach
down and pet her and WHAT does she do?

Chomps down for a love bite. OW!!!

She doesn't seem to understand why i'm yelling at her for biting
tonight.

Grrrrr......


Kristi

On Tue, 12 Sep 2006 19:25:05 -0700, Mischief wrote:

nd pet her and W


How does that little saying go? Something like:
Scratch? He never would.
He only bit the ones he loved
Because they tasted good." MLB

Mischief wrote:
Well just got back from my first day at the new clinic, and i think i'm
going to have a fun time there.

snip

If the bite broke your skin, the kitten needs to be quarantined for
rabies.

-L.

I'll mention it at work tomorrow.

The incubation period of rabies if 4 to 6 weeks, and this kitten is 5
weeks old. And I don't see how it could have been infected as a
neonate. It's considered a low-risk animal. But I know there is always
a chance and I'll ask if anything is gonna be done. If a home cannot
be found for the kitten, the vet might euthanize it, and send it to be
tested but I don't know if that will happen yet. And if not, I'll ask
if we're going to hold it for ten days for observation. But it would
really suck to observe it for ten days just to euth it anyway.

I am going to watch the site carefully. I scrubbed it thoroughly with
Betadyne for 5 minutes after i was bit, and then soaked it in a
betadyne/water solution for another 5 minutes. And I'm taking
amoxicillan.

If over the next few days it gets more swollen or if I see red tracks
then yes i'll go to the doctor and mention it.

I do know that rabies vaccines for humans are pricey, so i might call
my health plan and find out how much. Wouldn't hurt to get vaccinated,
but if its pricey i might have to wait.

I am up to date on my tetanus vaccine too


Kristi

poor little thing. Purrs that a cat-free household with open hearts will
come for the little mite.

"Mischief" wrote in message
oups.com...
Well just got back from my first day at the new clinic, and i think i'm
going to have a fun time there.

I got my schedule and i'm getting along great with everyone. I
helped out with mainly simple things, getting blood, putting the
appointments into the exam rooms. I'm getting to do thigns that
previously i hadn't been allowed to do at previous clinics.

My foot arches hurt, but i'm happy.

A few things about the clinic

there are about 3 hospital cats. Rosie, Sergio and I forget the name
of the other one. Rosie is kinda skittish but wanders around and will
rub against you if you're not busy.

Sergio, is known among the other employees as a psycho cat. I found
that out when i went to scritch him behind the ears. He seemed to like
it, but suddenly he let out a small hiss and took a swing at my hand.
Fortunately i moved my hand away. This is a cat with a SERIOUS
attitude problem.

I haven't met Nox, but i would say that Sergio is her counterpart. In
the afternoon, we had a dog tied up while we were getting some other
things done, and suddenly the dog started barking loudly and pulling.
I looked to see what he was barking at and I saw Sergio, about 4 feet
in front of the dog. Man if looks could kill. It was like he was also
giving the dog the finger. sheesh!

The other interesting thing that happened was at the end of the day.

A girl came in and said she and her employer had been spraying
pesticide outside her workplace when she found this tiny kitten in the
bushes.

It's black and white and about 5 weeks old The poor thing was
lethargic and covered in fleas Poor thing!!

My coworker and I brought it into the back treatment room to tackle it
with flea combs while the receptionist talked to the doctor to make up
and estimate, etc After a few minutes we decided to stop until we knew
exactly what we were doing The kitten was a bit squirmy, but we were
too busy pulling off fleas

So I decided to go weigh him I took him out and put him on the scale
His weight was 0.8 pounds. That's right, he hardly even registered on
the scale he was so small

He started to run away so i kinda scruffed him with my right hand and
scooped him up with my left.

"REEEEOOWW!!!!" *CHOMP!*

Searing pain is in my left index finger as this tiny kitten clamped his
jaws down I pulled on his scruff and was going "OWLEGGOOWOWLEGGO!!"

He let go only for a moment and then chomped down again, this time
harder I could feel his little teeth piercing my skin.

Finally I got him to let go and took him back into treatment where the
conversation went something like this.

"The little bugger BIT me!"

"What? He BIT you? That tiny thing?"

Hmph....... Everyone said the same thing.


yeahyeahyeah, i got bit by a kitten so small he barely registered on
the scale. His baby teeth weren't even completely in and he still
nailed me. harhar, hmph.

I scrubbed my hand with betadyne for like 5 minutes and then soaked it
in a betadyne/water solution for a few more minutes. It didn't swell
up that much, and wasn't too sore, so i figured i would live. I have
one puncture mark from the first bite and two from the canine teeth
from the second bite. Owie......

I have some leftover amoxicillan from a few months ago, so i took some
as soon as I got home.

I'll keep an eye on it and if it gets bad, I'll go to the doctor.

It still just floors me that on my FIRST day, i not only get BIT, but
bit by a kitten i could fit into my shoe. SHEESH!!!

Anyways back to the kitten. We gave it a bath and picked off all the
fleas with the poor kitten screaming every step of the way; and one of
the receptionist wanted to name it Bessie. I said "Why not something
more appropriate, like Pirahna?" She wasn't amused.

The kitten was so anemic from all the fleas that it was practically
impossible to find a vein to get enough blood.

Then we ran the FELV/FIV test, and she came back FELV positive.
eeek.......

All the employees that had been contimplating taking in this cat
suddenly changed their minds. I mean most of us have cats and we can't
bring a FELV positive cat into our household.

The girl that brought her in said she had two cats and didn't have a
way to really isolate the kitten. So i think we decided that we were
going to keep her overnight at least until we can find out if a home
can be found for her.

An FELV positive cat is a big resposibility. So I don't know what's
really going to happen.

Purrs that something good will happen to this kitten.

and purrs for my poor finger.

Kristi

Ow!!! Don't worry, I am getting bitten left right and centre by 15cm long
siamese kittens all day; I feel your pain!! Since they figured out I dole
out the food, they seem to think i AM the food....is it just me, or are
kitten teeth sharper than adult teeth??

"Mischief" wrote in message
oups.com...
ARGH!!

And now I come home and Mayhem is crying for attention. So i reach
down and pet her and WHAT does she do?

Chomps down for a love bite. OW!!!

She doesn't seem to understand why i'm yelling at her for biting
tonight.

Grrrrr......


Kristi

Mischief wrote:
snip
Purrs that something good will happen to this kitten.

and purrs for my poor finger.

Kristi

Purrs for the kitten and your finger.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

On 12 Sep 2006 19:21:49 -0700 Mischief wrote:

Well just got back from my first day at the new clinic, and i think i'm
going to have a fun time there.

I got my schedule and i'm getting along great with everyone. I
helped out with mainly simple things, getting blood, putting the
appointments into the exam rooms. I'm getting to do thigns that
previously i hadn't been allowed to do at previous clinics.

My foot arches hurt, but i'm happy.


Good luck purrs for a successful first working week.

Squarely Yours
Michael

--
Square Dance is friendship put to music
Andrea and Michael with tomcat-cats Blacky and Merlin
More detailed info: http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de

On 12 Sep 2006 23:04:58 -0700, "Mischief"
wrote:

I'll mention it at work tomorrow.

The incubation period of rabies if 4 to 6 weeks, and this kitten is 5
weeks old. And I don't see how it could have been infected as a
neonate. It's considered a low-risk animal. But I know there is always
a chance and I'll ask if anything is gonna be done. If a home cannot
be found for the kitten, the vet might euthanize it, and send it to be
tested but I don't know if that will happen yet. And if not, I'll ask
if we're going to hold it for ten days for observation. But it would
really suck to observe it for ten days just to euth it anyway.

I am going to watch the site carefully. I scrubbed it thoroughly with
Betadyne for 5 minutes after i was bit, and then soaked it in a
betadyne/water solution for another 5 minutes. And I'm taking
amoxicillan.

If over the next few days it gets more swollen or if I see red tracks
then yes i'll go to the doctor and mention it.

I do know that rabies vaccines for humans are pricey, so i might call
my health plan and find out how much. Wouldn't hurt to get vaccinated,
but if its pricey i might have to wait.

I am up to date on my tetanus vaccine too


Kristi


When did you have your last tetnus (SP) shot?