Wednesday, January 09, 2019

South

Things went south for Cheeky, one of the seven cats fixed Monday.

She didn't seem right after surgery Monday night.  But I touched an extended paw and she moved and hissed at me, so I thought she was just sleepy.

But yesterday morning when I went out to check on the cats, feed them again, and prepare to return them, I saw that Cheeky wasn't moving much and was crying out.  I pulled her out, with little reaction.  She was cold and barely able to move.

I got her into the house and on a heat frisbee, gave her karo syrup by mouth and called the clinic, wondering what to do, should I bring her back there (they're just a spay neuter clinic) or take her to another clinic.  They said to bring her up.

So I jumped into my clothes and did just that.

I got a few updates during the day, that she was not improving with fluids and heat and maybe euthanasia would be an option.  Later they did another surgery on her and found a bleeder.  Then they said she would not survive without a blood transfusion and the vet herself took her to an emergency clinic, where she is still, this morning.  I don't know if she survived the night.  I am about to call the clinic to see.

It's amazing to think they all worked to save her.  They see hundreds of cats come through for spay neuter.  Of course sometimes there are complications.   Now they were working to save one little torti, who had lived a hard life, out of sight mostly of humans, having litter after litter of kittens, existing on very little food. Now, she was not invisible anymore, with people working to save her.  It's beautiful to think about, especially if you have become overwhelmed with all the world's bad news.

I had returned four of the seven cats by then and told the folks she might not make it.  They were stoic about it, as most country folk would be, and as I knew this couple would be.  Stuff happens. Cheeky is about six years old and has had multiple litters each kitten season.  This is very hard on a girl.

 I thought i had a barn home lined up for the two younger wild kittens--Gia, the gray girl and Poco, the black male, but I've now had no response from the woman who offered and I suppose they will return today.   The couple had hoped not to get all seven back.

These things happen sometimes.  I remember one FCCO clinic, when they still had the spay neuter van, held in Corvallis.  The coordinator, a local woman, was chatting it up with someone, her back to a carrier.  I peeked inside the carrier.  The male cat had been neutered and now volunteers were supposed to check on them now and then, as they came out of anesthesia.  There was an inch of blood sitting in the carrier under the cat.  The cat was still alive and had to get an emergency Vitamin K shot to stop the bleeding.  He came from a dog kennel where there were lots of mice and they'd put out poison.   The cat had eaten poisoned mice and lost his ability to clot his own blood.  He survived.

I hope Cheeky is still among the living this morning.



Update:  Cheeky is doing just fine today.  I just called the clinic.  She had a blood transfusion and that did the trick.  I'll be picking her up after a dental appointment I have.

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:58 AM

    A bit touch and go but all sounds ok now.

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    Replies
    1. All good, she's back here, will recover here a couple weeks.

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  2. Wonderful news about Cheeky. And hooray for those (including you) who help.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks EC, she appears to be doing good, back here now.

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  3. Such good news about Cheeky. That's one special cat because all of you who gave her a chance.

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  4. I too have been having cat health issues. Namely, Ollie (if GQ was for cats, Ollie is so handsome that he would be on the cover) has been vomiting every other day or so. The vet said we could either do $200 worth of blood tests or we could try a new sensitive diet cat food, and check back in after a few days, so we (primarily I, I think, since Peggy seemed ready to start throwing money at the problem without further ado) opted for the food. Ollie's appetite was good anyway (and his weight was holding at a healthy ten pounds), but he ate so slowly that I had to keep the other cats from stealing his food. By god, now he's wolfing (ha) down this NEW FOOD, and then trying steal everyone else's food, and he's not throwing it up either. Wow, that was easy! It's astounding to see a cat go from being a slow eater to scarfing his food at the speed of light in the space of a single meal.

    A word about those two books. I don't know what your taste is, but the Loveridge book was one that I kept finding references to in other books, so I bought it and enjoyed it enough that I bought you a copy. It's very much a product of how a lot of people thought about cats back in the '40s through the early 50s or so, so I'm sure you'll find some of it objectionable (like the man's initial opposition to neutering male cats because it hit a bit too close to home for his comfort level), but I hope you'll find it worth a read. As to other book, I wondered if you would relate to the man's idea that animal rescue is a spiritual pursuit, not in terms of "SPIRITS," but in terms of a feeling a deep tribal connection (perhaps, cats being very different critters, you won't exactly relate) . I thought he went over the top (mentally) at times, but then "normal" people don't move, sight unseen, to rural New Mexico and devote their lives to helping dogs that are deemed hopeless. Have you read much by James Herriott, by the way? I have one book of nothing but his accounts of helping cats and their people, so when I saw another copy in St. Vinnie's, I bought it for you, and will send it off in the not too distant future.

    I've had two dogs get into rat poison, but as with the cat at the Corvallis, found out in time. In fact, I didn't even take the second dog to the vet because he had JUST eaten the food, so what I did was to pour a little hydrogen peroxide down his throat, and the food came right back up. The vet had suggested this when I called him at 10:00 p.m. when I had the problem with the first dog. He said that if the poison came up and looked like it was only recently eaten that I could wait until the next day to bring her in for the K shot. Looking back, being told to wait overnight seems more than a little odd to me, but that's what I did, and the dog did well (this was in the early '80s).

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  5. Oh, good news! How awful about that poor male lying in his own blood. ~shudders~ Best wishes for this sweet girl and your dental appointment. ~hugs~ Take care!

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