more tragedy

[SandyNY]

Little Louie, who is the mother cat of the kitten who died last weekend, is dying. She showed up across the road so I went over and she did not stand up but talked to me. I could see her eyes were not dialating properly and that there appeared to be something wrong with at least one back leg - figured she got hit by a car or attacked by a dog . no carriers around, put together a file storage box and grabbed a dirty towel and went backover to her. She fought being picked up and shoved in a box - carried her to the office where i decided to put her in the crate which is set up to evaluate her injuries. She has no visible signs of injury; except her back legs barely worked. went and got her some food. put it in the cage and she threw up - she also pottied so am now thinking she is suffering poisoning. she quickly went down hill as in she was allowing me to touch her all over ... so a trip to any vet would entail me shoving her back in a box that i could barely keep together or bouncing the crate down the stairs and somehow into the car - then the lovely long bouncy ride... she would only be put to sleep whereever. since she seemed to be going fast, didn;t want to put her thru all of that. she is still resting inthe crate/ half in the side turned box - covered it all up as the light was bothering her. Her back legs are very cold now - not just feet but up to knees. front feet cold too but she can move them all. she was purring when i pet her face and lfts head to look at me when i stop or when she arouses. her gums have good color and she is not dehydrated. Just before leaving i found a blanket to cover her cold legs but when i tried to put it on her,she hissed! At least she is home. she is not even a year old. maybe her and her baby have some sort of immunity problem where they cannot fight a certain illness? I may have Louie sent to cornell for test - will see what happens. i know it won;t do her any good but i am concerned with just losing her kitten last weekend -even tho they were living apart.

[Dianne]

Sandy, I'm so sorry. Were you able to look at her front claws to see if they were ragged from gripping the road? Vet told me with injured cat that he looks at front/rear claws to see if they are shredded from grasping the road when hit by car.

Warmth: Could you put multiple blankets ontop a heating pad to provide some warmth, and move her there? Or think of something else with warmth, even a down vest (Carol's idea).

How are you keeping her hydrated? or fed?

A vet may not recommed PTS if you tell him NO ! Tell Vet you are willing to work with this pet a bit longer.

Hissing at you could be PAIN. You could get pain meds from vet.

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

I agree, she sounds like she is suffering from something that a doc could Dx. Do you have a local humane that might sponsor her trip?

[critters]

Sandy, I'm so sorry. Were you able to look at her front claws to see if they were ragged from gripping the road? Vet told me with injured cat that he looks at front/rear claws to see if they are shredded from grasping the road when hit by car.
.

YES!! That's a nifty trick I learned from "E Vets." Back ones, in particular, get worn away because they dig in when they see that they're going to be hit.

I suspect you may be right about them having a funky disease. My Joy and her son Mist both died of FIP, Mist first.

I'm sorry she's in such bad shape.

[SandyNY]

Ok, Let's START OVER.
We will rename this post
ANOTHER HORROR STORY
(and you will understand why i did not rush her to the vet right away)
I took carrier and heating pad back after giving cat a couple hours to rest. she was better after a little rest. her eyes were dialating ok. Maybe she had JUST been injured earlier?
anyways, I packed her up and drove her to the emergency vet. they were closed. closed whole weekend -c losest emergency is over an hour away. call regular vet office and they are still open. this is my inner voice :shudder shudder don't go !
so, to the regular vet office. it is not the one who saw mickey after her accident shudder
cat is examined. vet says "we need to do xrays, it will cost babble babble babble" Sandy says "OK"
little louie screams and cries and cries and cries - i had to go out to the reception area it was so bad.
little louie comes back. vet returns with xrays. Louie has a broken pelvis. She also has a spot in her vertibrae sort of at the base of the tail where there is an empty spot - looks as if one vertibrae is missing. vet points out large area as "swelling"
Vet says "this is bad area.it probably is spinal cord injury. which means she cannot control bladder or bowels. that is no kind of life. "
Little Louie has ability to move all feet, legs, toes. she reacts to pain.
Sandy sees this as possitive.
vet not buying it.
Mind you, we do not KNOW she has no control, the vet is guessing based on the area of the injury and she is trying to convince me that it is inhumane to make this kitty live. I need to understand the severity. i need to understand what it will feel like to not be able to poop on one's own.
Vet Says: You can take her and put her back in the crate you had her in. But you have to look every day to see if she is going pee and poop. if she is not going then you have to come back in a week or two. you cannot keep her unable to pee and poop.
Sandy says yes, ok, ut i can express her.
vet says but that is pee and poop is different and she has a broken pelvis and if you dig up in there or push you are going to be pushing on her broken pelvis.
Sandy says Owner vet has shown me two cats he had here as patients with broken pelvis.
vet says there are different severities and you are not understanding the severity.this is no condition for her lifestyle. she is feral.

sandy says "she is not feral to me "( as louie resting against sandy, head in hand, paws wrapped around, purring.SAVE ME! SAVE ME!!!!
I understand says sandy.
Sandy's inner voice is jumping around going wild, but you all know that so i will leave it out -
Sandy says:" Um, don't you want to give her some prednisone for all the swelling you showed me in the xray??"
Sandy continues to insist on pain medication ( asked at least 5 times - never given to cat there) and insists on subq as cat is now dehydrated , as sandy shows vet.
point out to tech that they should subQ where the cat is - every time you move her, you are hurting her, Sandy says. tech is more careful in her movements of the cat now.cat still cries under sub Q in "the back"
When the cat came back from her first trip to "the back" - she emerged with blood on her neck. vet claims she had a cut; vet gave her antibiotic. only added antibiotic to take home meds after sandy insisted that she needed anything other than chews for the meds.
Sandy explains ,as kind as possible ,that she has medicated many cats and never had one take a chew medicine. vet prescribes a pain med as 1/8 a tab per dose. sandy asks if cat was given med - no. is it cut up - no.
vet made a production of injecting rabies "per the law" before anything else
But did not document it in the chart as discovered at check out when sandy insists on rabies certificate. another $16 please. shudder shudder what was that colored liquid injected into cat?RUN RUN!! RUN!!!
Vet states that if cat does not potty in the crate in a week or so that sandy needs to bring her in.
sandy states that she most certainly will not bring cat back to her as vet has clearly stated her opinion.
set up an appt with owner vet to folow up . told them to leave xrays out as will be needing another vet to look at them.

did not put her back in crate. brought her to home and put her in carrier with heating pad - but pad too big/ carrier too small i think. put her in rainie's room.had to go do work and feeding etc came home and gave her "homeopathic pain med" as medication prescribed not in my drug book and want to give her SOMETHING before get to look up ( this vet has prescribed incorrectly before) she took well. she is using dry food dish for headrest so made up some kmr and kitten can food mix and given by syringe/off hand and did not have to force. poor louie.
please pray for Louie. all she ever wanted was to be a mom,. she had 3 and has lost all. now this. she is crazier than samson so you just have to love her tons. poor little louie. she isn;t even ayear old yet.

[SandyNY]

PS: Opinions/ direction on her care welcome!!!
did not even put litter in with her yet.
would you use small carrier or dog crate with more room? Less room right? don't want to be lifting/ moving her.
her body temp was a little low and her feet felt cold so have her on heat pad - she is nice and warm now.

[Dianne]

Little Louie has ability to move all feet, legs, toes. she reacts to pain.

That's good news. But no pain meds from the vet?

Have you been able to hold her over a litter box to see if she will urinate by herself?

Sandy, I'm so sorry that you've had bad luck getting cooperation from a vet. Listen to your inner voice if it tells you to keep trying. If a vet tells you there is no quality of life without bladder and bowel control, you know that they have never seen a happy paralyzed pet.

[critters]

My Beauty's pelvis was crushed, literally flattened on one side, but she was fine once she healed. I used about a 3x2 foot crate, and a bird dish would've been a BIG help. Beauty was so crushed that the fear was that there wasn't enough room in her pelvis for poop to go through her colon. She mostly slept the first 2-3 weeks or so, then she wanted OUT!! She slowly rehabbed herself as she felt like it.

[SandyNY]

can someone find a dosing of tramadol / ultram for a cat for me? not in my pill book. tried to look it up but couldn't find dosing.thanks.
yes, upon strong incistance, the vet gave her an rx of tramadol. she told me to give 1/8 a pill per dose. and would not give cat any initial med or cut pills so loose two doses just trying to cut a tablet into 8ths....
this vet has misprescribed before so don't trust her,plus she wanted to send cat home with no meds and to be allowed to leak pee and poop all over herself until i realized she needed to be put down. that is just plain abusive.

[Dianne]

http://www.vasg.org/s_thru_u.htm

TRAMADOL

a) Classification

i) An analgesic medication with a dual mode of action

(1) Mu opioid receptor agonist

(2) Monoamine reuptake inhibitor

b) General Information

i) An uncontrolled, oral analgesic for use in dogs and cats

c) Advantages/Recommended use

i) Acute or chronic mild to moderate pain management

ii) May be combined with other classes of analgesics including NSAIDs, NMDA antagonists, and gabapentin

d) Cautionary Information

i) May decrease seizure threshold
ii) Do not combine with TCAs, SSRIs, or MAO inhibitors due to the risk of serotonin syndrome

iii) Metabolism is principally via hepatic biotransformation, with a small amount excreted unchanged by the kidneys. Reduce dose or discontinue if significant hepatic or renal dysfunction exists

iv) Side effects, though rare, may include GI upset and sedation

v) This is a bitter medication that is not well accepted by cats even when compounded in a cat friendly liquid base...

iii) Cats

(1) 1 to 2 mg/kg (0.5 to 1.0 mg/lb) BID to QID

bid=two times a day
qid=four times a day

ii) Tramadol is available in 50 mg tablets

If you use the larger dose of 1 mg. per lb, you would use @ 1/4 tab, of a 50 mg tab ( or 12.5 mg) for a 12 1/2 lb cat. What does Louie weigh??

[SandyNY]

Thank you , Diane, Thank You!!
Funny the vet was able to prescribe meds w/ o ever weighing her, huh?
She is tiny - but the med not doing the trick. she is hurting. she took pills crushed in vitamin paste thinned with a smidge of kmr. gotta go sit and hold her hand.
her daughter had to be held. she needs to have her head in my hand and her lil paws wrapped around my hands/ wrists or else in my hand. she purrs so contently. poor lil pain filled girl.
she seems able to potty on her own despite it all; maybe long road trip tomorrow to find some help?

[Dianne]

Sandy, What is her condition today?

[SandyNY]

well, i initially said "tragedy"
she seemed better to me today. she seemed to be peeing on her own, she seemed to be trying to poop. got some great advice from a local person who has experiance expressing and dealing with spinal cord issues...
but i thought i remembered the xray showing the pelvic break not aligned and was concerned about that so took her for an hour and half rough ride to er vet. I also wanted vet backup for this ordeal as i didn't feel secure in learning everything on a broken bones kit on my own...
the neuro surgeon, bone surgeon, and er vet all agreed that euthinasia was the only option for little louie.

the pelvic break is not a "break" : but the broken part is twisted so there are two sharp, jagged points sticking out- that was not the vets main concern but it was mine. their concerns about the bones and fragments were there; but they were more concerned about her inability to ever regain any neuro function as the vertibrae appeared pulled apart in the xray.
Anyways, if the doctors are unwilling to play, you have no game.

[Dianne]

I'm so sorry Sandy.

[CarolC]

but they were more concerned about her inability to ever regain any neuro function as the vertibrae appeared pulled apart in the xray.
Anyways, if the doctors are unwilling to play, you have no game.

You would not be the first person in this group to have a paralyzed pet. If your kitty is not in pain, and you are willing do bladder care, you could keep her.