Oscar's at the emergency clinic overnight

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

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

I'm so sorry to hear about your and Oscar's ordeal. So was she licking
her paw then because she had somehow injured it? And the first vet
didn't notice? That seems odd. It must be a pretty bad abscess if she
has to get surgery for it. Vino's abscess seems very minor in
comparison. Many purrs for everything to go well and for Oscar's quick
recovery.
--
Britta
Purring is an automatic safety valve device for dealing with happiness
overflow.
Check out pictures of Vino at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album


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.

On 2006-07-04, badwilson penned:
I'm so sorry to hear about your and Oscar's ordeal. So was she
licking her paw then because she had somehow injured it? And the
first vet didn't notice? That seems odd. It must be a pretty bad
abscess if she has to get surgery for it. Vino's abscess seems very
minor in comparison. Many purrs for everything to go well and for
Oscar's quick recovery.

To be honest, I don't totally understand the reasoning behind
everything. I think these things can get bad in a hurry. This
morning Oscar definitely did not have a fever. It's possible the paw
was much worse by this evening, especially with me freaking Oscar out
trying to get the stupid sock on.

And come to think of it, maybe I didn't understand entirely. I think
they're just going to drain and disinfect the wound, but they
definitely are putting her out for the duration. Maybe because she's
a known trouble maker and they need her to be really still.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

On 2006-07-04, Monique Y. Mudama penned:

To be honest, I don't totally understand the reasoning behind
everything. I think these things can get bad in a hurry. This
morning Oscar definitely did not have a fever. It's possible the
paw was much worse by this evening, especially with me freaking
Oscar out trying to get the stupid sock on.

And come to think of it, maybe I didn't understand entirely. I
think they're just going to drain and disinfect the wound, but they
definitely are putting her out for the duration. Maybe because
she's a known trouble maker and they need her to be really still.

I found some links suggesting that an abscess discovered early can be
treated just by cleaning, but larger ones need to have the stuff
inside cleaned out via surgery.

Here's a great link that unfortunately doesn't exist anymore, but
google kept it:

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:...ient=firefox-a

Here's a less detailed link that says more or less the same thing:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...d_abscess.html

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2006-07-04, Monique Y. Mudama penned:

To be honest, I don't totally understand the reasoning behind
everything. I think these things can get bad in a hurry. This
morning Oscar definitely did not have a fever. It's possible the
paw was much worse by this evening, especially with me freaking
Oscar out trying to get the stupid sock on.

And come to think of it, maybe I didn't understand entirely. I
think they're just going to drain and disinfect the wound, but they
definitely are putting her out for the duration. Maybe because
she's a known trouble maker and they need her to be really still.

I found some links suggesting that an abscess discovered early can be
treated just by cleaning, but larger ones need to have the stuff
inside cleaned out via surgery.

It depends on how deep the wound is and where it is. I could treat about
2/3 of Jake's myself, the vet did the rest. And a degree of sedation is
easier on the cat normally rather than having to fight them. I agree with
you that after checking on her, I might be inclined to leave her for a few
days. Especially since she is determined to fight you. Though $120 a day
seems pretty high for aftercare.

Purrs of course on the way. For the both of you.
Jo

On 2006-07-04, Jo Firey penned:

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...

It depends on how deep the wound is and where it is. I could treat
about 2/3 of Jake's myself, the vet did the rest. And a degree of
sedation is easier on the cat normally rather than having to fight
them. I agree with you that after checking on her, I might be
inclined to leave her for a few days. Especially since she is
determined to fight you. Though $120 a day seems pretty high for
aftercare.

Revised estimate, more like $220. It's because it's an emergency
clinic, and I suspect the cost is partly prohibitive to make sure that
they have enough facilities for the urgent emergency cases as they
come in. But because it's an emergency clinic, staff is on hand all
night, at least until Weds morning.

The vet agreed with me that getting Oscar started on the ointment and
the antibiotic, and keeping her confined, is probably a good thing for
her healing, so I've decided to keep her there till Weds morning.
Then stay with her at home Weds. I may try to find out if I can leave
her at my regular vet's during the day for supervision.

Purrs of course on the way. For the both of you. Jo

Thank you.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
On 2006-07-04, badwilson penned:

I'm so sorry to hear about your and Oscar's ordeal. So was she
licking her paw then because she had somehow injured it? And the
first vet didn't notice? That seems odd. It must be a pretty bad
abscess if she has to get surgery for it. Vino's abscess seems very
minor in comparison. Many purrs for everything to go well and for
Oscar's quick recovery.


To be honest, I don't totally understand the reasoning behind
everything. I think these things can get bad in a hurry. This
morning Oscar definitely did not have a fever. It's possible the paw
was much worse by this evening, especially with me freaking Oscar out
trying to get the stupid sock on.

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.


And come to think of it, maybe I didn't understand entirely. I think
they're just going to drain and disinfect the wound, but they
definitely are putting her out for the duration. Maybe because she's
a known trouble maker and they need her to be really still.


Doesn't sound unusual to me. It's been a while since one of my guys had
one of these injuries, touch wood, but in my experience the vet always
cleaned, drained and stitched the wound under general anaesthetic.

Purrs for Oscar to be feeling better soon. And for you to get some
decent rest.

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

badwilson wrote:

I'm so sorry to hear about your and Oscar's ordeal. So was she licking
her paw then because she had somehow injured it? And the first vet
didn't notice? That seems odd. It must be a pretty bad abscess if she
has to get surgery for it. Vino's abscess seems very minor in
comparison. Many purrs for everything to go well and for Oscar's quick
recovery.

Actually, I was surprised that your vet did not treat Vino's
abscess the same way! Since cats tend to play rough with
one another, mine have had their share of abscesses from
"friendly fire" (so to speak). I have never encountered a
vet who did NOT anesthetize the cat, drain and stitch the
wound, and send him/her home with anti-biotics (but no
further treatment required by me).

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message
...


badwilson wrote:

I'm so sorry to hear about your and Oscar's ordeal. So was she licking
her paw then because she had somehow injured it? And the first vet
didn't notice? That seems odd. It must be a pretty bad abscess if she
has to get surgery for it. Vino's abscess seems very minor in
comparison. Many purrs for everything to go well and for Oscar's quick
recovery.

Actually, I was surprised that your vet did not treat Vino's abscess the
same way! Since cats tend to play rough with one another, mine have had
their share of abscesses from "friendly fire" (so to speak). I have never
encountered a vet who did NOT anesthetize the cat, drain and stitch the
wound, and send him/her home with anti-biotics (but no further treatment
required by me).


My family never shows any signs of distress until after 6pm on Friday,
preferable on a holiday weekend. So by default and by shear numbers (Sam
was a bully) I had to learn to treat some abscesses myself. I've also tried
to learn to check my cats over for any signs of bumps when I pet them
Though anymore its more likely for my daughter to pick up on it and leave me
a note.

Now all my cats have been pretty easy to treat. And daughter can scruff one
for me if need be.

Jo