*URGENT* Help Needed (LONG)

On 2005-03-08, Brandy*Alexandre penned:

FYI, I just looked at the PetsMart site, and they have it for $18.99 and
free shipping. I ordered one.


I hope Kami likes it!

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

Bandit will need surgery to remove all the necrotic (dead) tissue from the
wound - she really was getting gangrenous (I will never quit beating myself
up for not catching it sooner!). The vet is going to make sure she removes
all the dead tissue and close up the wound with stainless steel sutures.
She's going to give her intravenous antibiotics and fluid. The vet said she
has a really good chance of a complete recovery.

She has to stay at the vet's tonight and will have her surgery first thing
in the morning and then should be able to come home tomorrow around 4:00PM.

Oh, and the vet is going to reimburse me for the emergency vet charges and
there will be no charge for the surgery or medications she needs - she just
kept saying how sorry she was that Bandit and I had to go through this.

This vet is definitely a keeper! I know it was her mistake (or a vet tech's
or whatever), but people make mistakes and she owned up to it right away and
took steps to help, so I have to forgive her and everything else she has
ever done has been excellent and has built my confidence in her.

Please continue sending purrs for her surgery and recovery.

Thanks!

Hugs,

CatNipped

On 2005-03-08, Brandy*Alexandre penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav:

I hope Kami likes it!


Well, it's never too much of a risk to try new things for Kami. If they're
rejected, the cat rescues benefit.

*nod* that's what I do, too. It's still annoying when she's more likely to
ignore something than to use it.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

OK, I'm feeling a *little* bit better at having had to leave Bandit at the
vet. I just talked to them and they said Bandit is resting comfortably, she
ate a good amount of food, and she's getting her pain meds. She's actually
probably better off not having to walk to the litter box and not having
three younger cats bothering her and eating her food (it's a "just cats"
vet, so there isn't any d*g smells or barking to upset her). She's also
getting antibiotics intravenously - which is better than me trying to shove
them down her throat and her spitting them back up and foaming at the mouth
from the taste.

I just can't wait until this is all over and my baby is back home again and
healed and not in pain any more.

Hugs,

CatNipped

CatNipped wrote:

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


Oh, ouch! Poor Bandit. Purrs to her and to all of you.

--
Jean B.

"CatNipped" wrote


I just can't wait until this is all over and my baby is back home again
and
healed and not in pain any more.


Me too, for you. It will be okay. But tonight will be a tough
one for you.

Love & prayers for Bandit ...

"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

This is horrible. The poor baby and poor you guys.

Listen, you KNOW you are a good kitty mom and there is nothing at your home
to cause such a burn. You would have heard her cry out in pain when it
happened.

I would be interested to see what the vet said and nail his balls to the
wall.

Keep us updated on the poor baby. I hope she feels better.

--
..oO rach Oo.


"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.


It's great that she was honest about it, but I would still be very upset.
The whole heating blanket thing sounds unecessary to me--and now
that they have discovered that it can be harmful, maybe they will
discontinue it. You and Bandit have probably saved other kitties
the same hurt.

I've actually read where heating pads can be very helpful for cats
recovering from surgery. However, I would think they'd use one that is
definitely pet safe. Maybe instead of electric heating pads, they could
use a hot water bottle or pad. Catnipped, I'm sorry to hear about Bandit
and hope she feels better soon. I don't like to bring up the money
aspect, but I do think your vet should pay your emergency vet fees as well
as her own fees at the least.

--
PawsForThought


Our vet uses a hot water bottle and it works very well. Both our girls had
them for their spay.... plus their own blankets from home.

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
Bandit will need surgery to remove all the necrotic (dead) tissue from the
wound - she really was getting gangrenous (I will never quit beating
myself
up for not catching it sooner!). The vet is going to make sure she
removes
all the dead tissue and close up the wound with stainless steel sutures.
She's going to give her intravenous antibiotics and fluid. The vet said
she
has a really good chance of a complete recovery.

She has to stay at the vet's tonight and will have her surgery first thing
in the morning and then should be able to come home tomorrow around
4:00PM.

Oh, and the vet is going to reimburse me for the emergency vet charges and
there will be no charge for the surgery or medications she needs - she
just
kept saying how sorry she was that Bandit and I had to go through this.

This vet is definitely a keeper! I know it was her mistake (or a vet
tech's
or whatever), but people make mistakes and she owned up to it right away
and
took steps to help, so I have to forgive her and everything else she has
ever done has been excellent and has built my confidence in her.

Please continue sending purrs for her surgery and recovery.

Thanks!

Hugs,

CatNipped



Wow... that's great she is willing to do that. I take back my evil thoughts
I had of her.

Purrs and hugs for you all for your kitty's recovery.