Well, hell.
Jun. 18th, 2015 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
la_samtyrAs you all know, I am a cat lady (but not crazy yet.) Last week one of the outdoor kittens began limping, so I took him to a vet. Apparently an adult cat had bitten it; it's a very common thing with cats & kittens. The vet gave it a shot of antibiotic, worm medicine and some antibiotic drops to take home.
So I have been giving him the drops but he wasn't really improving and the limp did not go away. Yesterday, his leg suddenly swelled up and so I took him back to the vet just before closing. The vet thought it was probably a very bad abscess and he would have to keep the kitten for a few days to lance it and give it stronger antibiotics.
The vet called this morning. He said the abscess had been "extremely severe" and worse, it was hiding a fractured femur. While he could amputate, at best it would only give the kitten a few extra days to a couple of weeks and he would always be in pain. He said it would be kinder to put him to sleep, and I agreed.
This makes the third pet I have lost in less than a year and I tell you, I feel absolutely gutted. Lucky and LeeAnn were bad but in a way expected because of very advanced age and general failing health. But this little kitten has really shaken me up (not sure why, just that it did.)
Details of the vet call & diagnosis under the cut, 'cause it's kinda gory. Read at your own risk. You've been warned.
The vet said: The bite had not just broken the femur but fractured it (and the main growth plate, I think.) Worse, it had happened at the "knee" and damaged the lower leg as well. And the abscess had eaten away at this so there was no hope of saving the leg or even repairing it. He said the only real chance to do anything was to remove the entire leg because otherwise the abscess would just continue eating away at the bone.
Predators tend to 'hide' their injuries in order to survive; that's why it's hard to tell anything is seriously wrong until it's in an advanced stage. It was surprising that the kitten survived as long as it did, given the massive infection it had and the overall severity of the fracture.
While he could amputate, the best that would happen would be a few more days to maybe over a week or so, if that. (Any type of surgical repair was impossible.) It was the type of injury that is really impossible to recover from and even in an adult cat it would have been a poor diagnosis at best.
So I have been giving him the drops but he wasn't really improving and the limp did not go away. Yesterday, his leg suddenly swelled up and so I took him back to the vet just before closing. The vet thought it was probably a very bad abscess and he would have to keep the kitten for a few days to lance it and give it stronger antibiotics.
The vet called this morning. He said the abscess had been "extremely severe" and worse, it was hiding a fractured femur. While he could amputate, at best it would only give the kitten a few extra days to a couple of weeks and he would always be in pain. He said it would be kinder to put him to sleep, and I agreed.
This makes the third pet I have lost in less than a year and I tell you, I feel absolutely gutted. Lucky and LeeAnn were bad but in a way expected because of very advanced age and general failing health. But this little kitten has really shaken me up (not sure why, just that it did.)
Details of the vet call & diagnosis under the cut, 'cause it's kinda gory. Read at your own risk. You've been warned.
The vet said: The bite had not just broken the femur but fractured it (and the main growth plate, I think.) Worse, it had happened at the "knee" and damaged the lower leg as well. And the abscess had eaten away at this so there was no hope of saving the leg or even repairing it. He said the only real chance to do anything was to remove the entire leg because otherwise the abscess would just continue eating away at the bone.
Predators tend to 'hide' their injuries in order to survive; that's why it's hard to tell anything is seriously wrong until it's in an advanced stage. It was surprising that the kitten survived as long as it did, given the massive infection it had and the overall severity of the fracture.
While he could amputate, the best that would happen would be a few more days to maybe over a week or so, if that. (Any type of surgical repair was impossible.) It was the type of injury that is really impossible to recover from and even in an adult cat it would have been a poor diagnosis at best.
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Date: 2015-06-19 04:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-21 03:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-19 06:56 am (UTC)And don't I know about cats hiding injuries! After some experiences I'm off to the vet with even the slightest limp if it doesn't go away quickly, and I've had cats limping worse form nothing than cats limping with broken bones or torn tendons.
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Date: 2015-06-21 03:11 am (UTC)The surprising thing was how well he acted for so long. Even the vet was surprised at the extent of the damage. If I ever take another in for "limping", I think I will ask for an x-ray first instead!
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Date: 2015-06-19 08:01 am (UTC)((((Hugs)))))
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Date: 2015-06-21 03:19 am (UTC)At least when the vet went to lance the abscess, the little guy was fully anesthetized, so he really didn't know or feel anything else.
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Date: 2015-06-19 08:39 am (UTC)I think it's hitting you so hard because it was a very young animal, so it should've had a long life ahead of it instead of being put to sleep now. And having to make that decision is never easy anyway. Hugs.
(I've met an adult cat with only three legs, and he seems to be leading a content life. So it needn't be a death warrant in and off itself. But I suppose with such a young cat, and such a long-ongoing abscess, prospects were even grimmer than usual. :()
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Date: 2015-06-21 03:23 am (UTC)The surprising thing was how well he acted for so long. Even the vet was surprised at the extent of the damage. If I ever take another cat in for "limping", I think I will ask for an x-ray first instead!
I have a cat that is lame in one back leg; whatever had happened to her was just bad enough to cause a limp and when she 'found me' the injury had already healed and the vet said as long as she got around ok to just leave it be. But think even an adult cat would have had a hard time pulling through this.
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Date: 2015-06-21 08:49 am (UTC)Cats are tough and resilient and get through a lot, but of course there's no point in tormenting the little fellow just because one hopes that he may come out fine in the end.
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Date: 2015-06-19 01:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-21 03:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-19 09:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-21 03:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-20 02:15 am (UTC)**hugs**
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Date: 2015-06-21 03:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-20 04:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-21 03:26 am (UTC)*hugs*
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Date: 2015-06-20 03:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-21 03:26 am (UTC)