If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Oscar's at the emergency clinic overnight
On 2006-07-04, Takayuki penned:
Awww, poor Oscar. She really loves her meowmie! I read your post about Oscar having an itchy paw, and it didn't sound like an emergency. Amazing the things they can hide from us! Sending purrs for her. It got bad fast. Friday evening she was licking her paw, but the paw itself didn't look too bad. I decided to wait through the weekend so she could see her regular vet (heh, clearly the fates had other plans), but it was definitely looking worse over that time, and I kept reconsidering my decision, but it didn't *seem* bad enough that I would want to traumatize her by taking her to an emergency clinic where she'd have to sit around in her carrier for hours. By last night, having her sit around in her carrier seemed a lot less traumatic than any other options. But still I just thought I needed some help getting the sock on and taped up. I didn't think she'd need surgery. -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Oscar's at the emergency clinic overnight
Monique Y. Mudama wrote: Short version: Oscar needs to get an abscess (sp?) removed/cleaned, so she will be staying overnight at the emergency clinic. I am freaking out a bit, but also extremely tired (and about freaking well finished with stressful events in my life, thank you very much!). So sorry to hear that. I know it is difficult, but please try to relax a bit and get some rest, espeically since today is a holiday. Sounded like you didn't get much sleep. Please watch out you don't get stressed out that you get a tummy flareup. Oscar is in good hands now. When Rusty was in the emergency clinic for a weekend because of a urinary blockage, the vet called to update me. Purrs for both of you. Winnie |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Oscar's at the emergency clinic overnight
On Tue, 4 Jul 2006 00:19:27 -0600, "Monique Y. Mudama"
yodeled: Short version: Oscar needs to get an abscess (sp?) removed/cleaned, so she will be staying overnight at the emergency clinic. I am freaking out a bit, but also extremely tired (and about freaking well finished with stressful events in my life, thank you very much!). Long version: As some of you may have read, I brought Oscar to her vet's this morning. The vet and I put her in an E collar, and I got liquid antibiotics to give Oscar twice a day. The vet said, if the E collar didn't work out, we could try a baby sock taped to the leg, but we really wanted the E collar to work because it allows the paw plenty of air flow and kept her from licking *any* of her paws. I got home planning to somehow find a way to give Oscar her meds, but when I came home she was in silent hiding, and she hadn't touched *any* of the treats all over the house, let alone her food. Finally I found her hiding in the back of the elevated dirt area in the basement. I carried her out -- she was purring and trying to rub her face on me, but she couldn't because of the collar -- and brought her upstairs. As soon as I set her down, she started backing up and did so until she hit a wall, then got "stuck" there. As I called DH and his aunt (a medical professional, human variety) for advice, I heard some loud noises. Oscar went missing again. I think I once again had the chance to intimately explore the basement. We have shops close by, so I was able to get tiny baby socks and some vet wrap (the stuff that sticks to itself but not other stuff). Came home and searched for Oscar everywhere. Not in the basement, not in the bedroom. Finally found her under the futon in the guest room. I guess she backed under it, then couldn't get out because of the stupid collar. I felt like such a traitor as she purred and slobbered in thanks for being rescued. Straight into the bathroom, where I had stashed the new stuff and the medicine. I couldn't get the medicine into her mouth with the collar on, so in a gesture of trust, I removed the collar. She put up a minor commotion over the medicine, but I actually think most of the dropperfull got into her mouth. Next step, baby sock. She was so hungry that I managed to slip the sock onto her paw a few times as she ate, but she would freak out when I started trying to put the tape on, and the sock instantly came off. I asked my neighbor to help, but that just seemed to make everything worse. I had a hisspitting, bucking, clawing, biting fiasco on my hands. Every attempt, though, the second I put her down, she purred and rubbed on me and told me how much she needed my comfort. I felt evil. I wished I were a smoker so I could have a smoke to take the edge off. Decided to go to an emergency clinic to ask for help bandaging the paw and maybe a sedative. The closest one also had the shortest anticipated wait, so there we went. Unlike our regular vet, no humans go back with the patients. They refer to pets as "kids" and owners as "parents", a touch I appreciated. Also had coffee, tea, and snacks. I went with the camomile tea, hoping it would calm me down. I fully anticipated some kind of help getting the paw wrapped and getting out of there, so I kind of went into shock when the vet tech, Katie, came out to let me know that there was an abscess (however that's spelled) and Oscar would need to get surgery to have it drained. I waved away any discussion of price, just wanted to understand the risks. I elected to get her blood checked first to make sure she doesn't have any conditions that would keep her from waking up after the anesthesia. So. Oscar is there now. It's midnight. There was another surgery case there, so the estimate is that she will be done around 4am. Because of the delay, they'll keep her till the morning with no hospitalization charge. They won't call me unless something goes wrong, so in theory I can sleep (hah). They let me say good night to her, and also let me drive home for an ancient (like, from when she was 6 months old) catnip pillow and a sock for licking. I wasn't able to give them to her myself because another surgery was being prepped when I got back. I'm hoping she'll be tempted to lick the sock instead of her paw. I'm strongly considering keeping Oscar there for a few days. They mentioned needing to give her two other medicines (in addition to the antibiotic? Not sure). I figure that she will stay cleaner, have people to watch her better (tomorrow's a holiday, but I have to work the rest of the week), and won't be able to get into trouble. Not to mention that maybe they will cause her less trauma than I would, trying to handle the paw or feed her the meds. And presumably she won't require the e collar. That would be about $120 a day. With the kitty-morphine they gave her (B-something, can't remember the name), she was calm enough to even luv up on the vet techs. How scary and exhausting. Purrs for both of you to feel better soon. Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh Make Levees, Not War |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Oscar's at the emergency clinic overnight
Monique Y. Mudama wrote: Short version: Oscar needs to get an abscess (sp?) removed/cleaned, so she will be staying overnight at the emergency clinic. I am freaking out a bit, but also extremely tired (and about freaking well finished with stressful events in my life, thank you very much!). Long version: As some of you may have read, I brought Oscar to her vet's this morning. The vet and I put her in an E collar, and I got liquid antibiotics to give Oscar twice a day. The vet said, if the E collar didn't work out, we could try a baby sock taped to the leg, but we really wanted the E collar to work because it allows the paw plenty of air flow and kept her from licking *any* of her paws. I got home planning to somehow find a way to give Oscar her meds, but when I came home she was in silent hiding, and she hadn't touched *any* of the treats all over the house, let alone her food. Finally I found her hiding in the back of the elevated dirt area in the basement. I carried her out -- she was purring and trying to rub her face on me, but she couldn't because of the collar -- and brought her upstairs. As soon as I set her down, she started backing up and did so until she hit a wall, then got "stuck" there. As I called DH and his aunt (a medical professional, human variety) for advice, I heard some loud noises. Oscar went missing again. I think I once again had the chance to intimately explore the basement. We have shops close by, so I was able to get tiny baby socks and some vet wrap (the stuff that sticks to itself but not other stuff). Came home and searched for Oscar everywhere. Not in the basement, not in the bedroom. Finally found her under the futon in the guest room. I guess she backed under it, then couldn't get out because of the stupid collar. I felt like such a traitor as she purred and slobbered in thanks for being rescued. Straight into the bathroom, where I had stashed the new stuff and the medicine. I couldn't get the medicine into her mouth with the collar on, so in a gesture of trust, I removed the collar. She put up a minor commotion over the medicine, but I actually think most of the dropperfull got into her mouth. Next step, baby sock. She was so hungry that I managed to slip the sock onto her paw a few times as she ate, but she would freak out when I started trying to put the tape on, and the sock instantly came off. I asked my neighbor to help, but that just seemed to make everything worse. I had a hisspitting, bucking, clawing, biting fiasco on my hands. Every attempt, though, the second I put her down, she purred and rubbed on me and told me how much she needed my comfort. I felt evil. I wished I were a smoker so I could have a smoke to take the edge off. Decided to go to an emergency clinic to ask for help bandaging the paw and maybe a sedative. The closest one also had the shortest anticipated wait, so there we went. Unlike our regular vet, no humans go back with the patients. They refer to pets as "kids" and owners as "parents", a touch I appreciated. Also had coffee, tea, and snacks. I went with the camomile tea, hoping it would calm me down. I fully anticipated some kind of help getting the paw wrapped and getting out of there, so I kind of went into shock when the vet tech, Katie, came out to let me know that there was an abscess (however that's spelled) and Oscar would need to get surgery to have it drained. I waved away any discussion of price, just wanted to understand the risks. I elected to get her blood checked first to make sure she doesn't have any conditions that would keep her from waking up after the anesthesia. So. Oscar is there now. It's midnight. There was another surgery case there, so the estimate is that she will be done around 4am. Because of the delay, they'll keep her till the morning with no hospitalization charge. They won't call me unless something goes wrong, so in theory I can sleep (hah). They let me say good night to her, and also let me drive home for an ancient (like, from when she was 6 months old) catnip pillow and a sock for licking. I wasn't able to give them to her myself because another surgery was being prepped when I got back. I'm hoping she'll be tempted to lick the sock instead of her paw. I'm strongly considering keeping Oscar there for a few days. They mentioned needing to give her two other medicines (in addition to the antibiotic? Not sure). I figure that she will stay cleaner, have people to watch her better (tomorrow's a holiday, but I have to work the rest of the week), and won't be able to get into trouble. Not to mention that maybe they will cause her less trauma than I would, trying to handle the paw or feed her the meds. And presumably she won't require the e collar. That would be about $120 a day. With the kitty-morphine they gave her (B-something, can't remember the name), she was calm enough to even luv up on the vet techs. -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully Poor Oscar. What is with abscesses this month...Oscar, Vino, Biskit too! With Biskit (and it was a relatively bad abscess), the vet hardly touched it except to clean it a bit, gave us antibiotic and sent us on our way. One time Bosley had one, different vet, they kept him overnight, sedated him to completely debride it, gave hime antibiotics, sent him home the next day. Don't know what the difference was. Bozzie's actually didn't look as bad to me as Biskit's. Maybe it's just vet preference of treatment. Oscar will get well, though and be good as new soon. Try not to get too upset. I imagine it's harder on you than her. Purrs for uneventful and fast healing. Sherry |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
update Oscar's at the emergency clinic overnight
I talked to the vet this morning. Apparently he decided last night,
when he finally got enough time to look at it properly, that it was *not* an abscess. So he did clean the wound, but no surgery/anesthesia required. That drastically reduced the cost, which means that I can use the extra from my deposit to pay for ... leaving her at the clinic today. I'll probably need to pick her up tomorrow morning. I can't afford to leave her there at $200 a day, but at least I know she'll be in an enclosed area. The vet's best lead is that there's some fiberglass that caused enough irritation that Oscar started licking. The licking appears to be most of the damage right now. The treatment for that is to leave the paw exposed and wait for the irritant to work its way out, which means ... e collar for Oscar. There's no way to get around it. He looked at the irritant under the microscope and couldn't swear it was fiberglass, but apparently that's the right size and there *is* exposed insulation in the basement. I knew I should really do something about that, but ... I never did. Certainly I can't let her be in the basement anymore, not until I find a way to block off the crawlspace or something. I need to figure out if I can make the bedroom safe for a terrified cat with an e collar, or if I need to put her in a bathroom. -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
#16
|
|||
|
|||
Oscar's at the emergency clinic overnight
On 2006-07-04, Helen Wheels penned:
I don't think you ought to blame yourself - abscesses can be well hidden and they can indeed turn nasty quickly whatever you do. OK, maybe the first vet shouldn't have missed it, but as we all know, our furry owners can be very good at hiding anything physically wrong. You certainly did the right thing by Oscar. No worries -- I wasn't blaming myself for the abscess, which it turns out didn't exist after all. There was a funky smell -- my regular vet and I discussed it and thought it might be expressed anal glands -- and I guess that along with other factors made him think the paw was worse than it actually was. But he pricked it and there was no pus whatsoever. The fiberglass that may have caused this irritation, which could very well have come from the basement -- that I blame myself for. Purrs for Oscar to be feeling better soon. And for you to get some decent rest. Thank you. I've just emailed my team letting them know I plan to stay home and watch Oscar Weds. I just don't feel comfortable at this point leaving her home alone without a chance to observe her. God I wish DH were back. He offered to come home ... but I don't want to do that to him. He's visiting his family, and his aunt flew there to spend time with everyone. Still ... I don't know. -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
Oscar's at the emergency clinic overnight
On 2006-07-04, Winnie penned:
So sorry to hear that. I know it is difficult, but please try to relax a bit and get some rest, espeically since today is a holiday. Sounded like you didn't get much sleep. Please watch out you don't get stressed out that you get a tummy flareup. Oscar is in good hands now. When Rusty was in the emergency clinic for a weekend because of a urinary blockage, the vet called to update me. I really like this emergency vet. He seems very good. What a rough job. When I came in this morning, a couple had brought their dog, who apparently was trampled by a deer in their yard (they live in the foothills). There wasn't much they could do but give him the final gift of release. It puts things in perspective for me. I know Oscar will be okay; I just need to take good care of this paw, and somehow get the antibiotics in her and some kind of cream on her pad twice a day. Steroid I think he said. They will get her started today, so by tomorrow morning hopefully she will be somewhat used to it. The vet said they will train me in cat-wrestling before I leave. He agreed that liquid form would probably work better than a pill popper -- at least some will get in. -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
update Oscar's at the emergency clinic overnight
On Tue, 4 Jul 2006 08:30:25 -0600, "Monique Y. Mudama"
wrote: I talked to the vet this morning. Apparently he decided last night, when he finally got enough time to look at it properly, that it was *not* an abscess. So he did clean the wound, but no surgery/anesthesia required. That drastically reduced the cost, which means that I can use the extra from my deposit to pay for ... leaving her at the clinic today. I'll probably need to pick her up tomorrow morning. I can't afford to leave her there at $200 a day, but at least I know she'll be in an enclosed area. The vet's best lead is that there's some fiberglass that caused enough irritation that Oscar started licking. The licking appears to be most of the damage right now. The treatment for that is to leave the paw exposed and wait for the irritant to work its way out, which means ... e collar for Oscar. There's no way to get around it. He looked at the irritant under the microscope and couldn't swear it was fiberglass, but apparently that's the right size and there *is* exposed insulation in the basement. I knew I should really do something about that, but ... I never did. Certainly I can't let her be in the basement anymore, not until I find a way to block off the crawlspace or something. I need to figure out if I can make the bedroom safe for a terrified cat with an e collar, or if I need to put her in a bathroom. I can certainly sympathize with poor Oscar. I have gotten fiberglass fragments in my skin before; it itches madly, and there is nothing you can do but wait for it to work its way out of the skin. Fortunately, it generally doesn't penetrate very deeply, so the itching will probably be gone within two or three days at the most. -- John F. Eldredge -- PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria |
#20
|
|||
|
|||
Oscar's at the emergency clinic overnight
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
... On 2006-07-04, Winnie penned: So sorry to hear that. I know it is difficult, but please try to relax a bit and get some rest, espeically since today is a holiday. Sounded like you didn't get much sleep. Please watch out you don't get stressed out that you get a tummy flareup. Oscar is in good hands now. When Rusty was in the emergency clinic for a weekend because of a urinary blockage, the vet called to update me. I really like this emergency vet. He seems very good. What a rough job. When I came in this morning, a couple had brought their dog, who apparently was trampled by a deer in their yard (they live in the foothills). There wasn't much they could do but give him the final gift of release. It puts things in perspective for me. I know Oscar will be okay; I just need to take good care of this paw, and somehow get the antibiotics in her and some kind of cream on her pad twice a day. Steroid I think he said. They will get her started today, so by tomorrow morning hopefully she will be somewhat used to it. The vet said they will train me in cat-wrestling before I leave. He agreed that liquid form would probably work better than a pill popper -- at least some will get in. Jessie is the hardest of my four to give medicine to, but I always choose liquid for her because I found the trick to it. Always put the medicine in the cheek on the outside of the teeth (towards the back of her mouth in the cheek pouch. This way it doesn't gag them and it seems to slip down their throat before they are able to spit it out. -- Hugs, CatNipped See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/ -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Overnight host needed | Nanny | Cat anecdotes | 0 | September 9th 05 03:29 PM |
Bizarre things the vet said | Candace | Cat health & behaviour | 45 | February 8th 05 09:27 PM |
Emergency Vet Fund - UPDATE | Yowie | Cat anecdotes | 26 | December 22nd 04 08:07 PM |
Emergency: Weird Episodes | Cathy Friedmann | Cat health & behaviour | 6 | August 11th 04 05:34 PM |
Animal Emergency Law Petition | kaeli | Cat health & behaviour | 20 | May 22nd 04 09:11 PM |