So this morning, we woke up to find bloody pawprints all over the house -- so many of them that it was clear somebody had been bleeding for hours. Frantic inspection of kittypaws ensued, and sure enough, Dylan's left front paw was bleeding badly.
I threw on some clothes, gathered Dylan into a carrier, and started off for our usual vet, which is about a 15-mile drive. On the way, I called to make sure they could see him -- and they couldn't, not until mid-afternoon.
I made a U-turn and headed for the SPCA in McKinney, where we adopted Dylan, and called them as I drove. They were having a spay and neuter event and couldn't handle any other patients today, but they gave me the number of a vet they work with.
I headed in that direction and called, but they were short a doctor today and couldn't take Dylan, either.
So I was driving around in circles, the gas gauge was touching E, Dylan was crying pitifully in a too-small carrier, and I was just about in tears myself. I decided it had been a mistake to call ahead -- it only gave them a chance to say no. But if I walked in with a bleeding cat, surely...
I had noticed awhile back that a new vet had opened an office just a couple of blocks from our house. Clearly, now was the time to give them a try. It was a lovely little place, spotlessly clean, and the people seemed nice... and although the doctor was on her way out for the rest of the day, she stayed to take a look at Dylan!
Dylan was good as gold while she and the tech investigated the injury, though it was still bleeding badly and had to hurt something awful. It turned out that most of one of his pads is sort of peeled, poor baby... an almost surgical slice, shallow, but leaving a large raw area. After some discussion of glue and sutures, the doctor concluded that it would probably do better without either.
She carefully bandaged it in layers of gauze, self-stick wrap, and some very sticky stretch fabric tape. She gave me some liquid Clavamox for him and put an E-collar around his neck with a little gauze bowtie. And she suggested I get some "Yesterday's News" litter for him, because our usual Tidy Cats would stick to the bandage. All the while, Dylan was gentle and tolerant, and they couldn't say enough about what a good kitty he was. They told me to come back on Friday and let them make sure he was healing right. Okay.
A three-minute drive home, I let Dylan out of the carrier -- and suddenly, he was bucking like a bronco, frantic to get out of the E-collar! It was a terrifying sight, this poor kitty flinging himself around the room, and then, inexplicably, barrelling straight into a wall with an awful whack! I ran and held him, stroked him, talked to him about getting used to the collar, staying calm, being a good kitty like he was for the vet... but as soon as my hands left his body, he was off again, completely frantic, slamming himself around in all-out panic mode. It lasted for a painfully long 20 seconds -- and then suddenly both the E-collar and the bandage were off, and Dylan settled down on the kitchen floor to lick at his paw... which was now gushing blood again.
Back to the vet, another bandage that wraps up farther around the leg... no collar, because he clearly can't handle it emotionally, but they lend me a nice big carrier he can stay in... the hope being that if he's not trying to walk around, he might leave the bandage alone.
So I set up the carrier at home with a little litter box (temporarily filled with torn-up papertowels) and food and water, and I go out to find the "Yesterday's News" litter the vet suggested. Five stops and 90 minutes later, I finally track some down and head home.
And there sits Dylan, with the litterbox and the food bowls all overturned, the bandage mostly chewed off, and a considerable puddle of blood. At least eight hours after the injury, it's still bleeding terribly!
So I called the vet tech and she called the vet, and they agreed that sutures may be necessary after all. The tech told me to rebandage it (they'd given me the supplies to do that with) and bring him back in the morning. If the bleeding has stopped, they may just replace the bandage and have me keep him in the crate -- but if not, they'll sedate him and do sutures.
Either way, Dylan has some time in the crate ahead of him, I'm afraid. Poor ol' guy. The other kitties are very concerned about him, hanging out close by and keeping him company. I got him some adult cat "milk" as a treat, and he loved that. And when I rebandaged, I made a top layer with the very sticky stretch fabric tape around the injured part -- I don't think he can chew through that stuff. At least he hasn't so far.
Tonight, I'll bring his crate into my room, so he won't feel alone. Poor Dylan! He's such an emotional kitty... when he's sad, he's just so very sad, bless his heart.
Can you think of anything else I could do to make him feel better?
And thanks for listening... it's been a hard day. And now I have to get down and crawl around the house to see if I can figure out what he cut himself on. We're so careful -- we don't even leave silverware in the sink overnight. But obviously, there's something sharp around here...
I threw on some clothes, gathered Dylan into a carrier, and started off for our usual vet, which is about a 15-mile drive. On the way, I called to make sure they could see him -- and they couldn't, not until mid-afternoon.
I made a U-turn and headed for the SPCA in McKinney, where we adopted Dylan, and called them as I drove. They were having a spay and neuter event and couldn't handle any other patients today, but they gave me the number of a vet they work with.
I headed in that direction and called, but they were short a doctor today and couldn't take Dylan, either.
So I was driving around in circles, the gas gauge was touching E, Dylan was crying pitifully in a too-small carrier, and I was just about in tears myself. I decided it had been a mistake to call ahead -- it only gave them a chance to say no. But if I walked in with a bleeding cat, surely...
I had noticed awhile back that a new vet had opened an office just a couple of blocks from our house. Clearly, now was the time to give them a try. It was a lovely little place, spotlessly clean, and the people seemed nice... and although the doctor was on her way out for the rest of the day, she stayed to take a look at Dylan!
Dylan was good as gold while she and the tech investigated the injury, though it was still bleeding badly and had to hurt something awful. It turned out that most of one of his pads is sort of peeled, poor baby... an almost surgical slice, shallow, but leaving a large raw area. After some discussion of glue and sutures, the doctor concluded that it would probably do better without either.
She carefully bandaged it in layers of gauze, self-stick wrap, and some very sticky stretch fabric tape. She gave me some liquid Clavamox for him and put an E-collar around his neck with a little gauze bowtie. And she suggested I get some "Yesterday's News" litter for him, because our usual Tidy Cats would stick to the bandage. All the while, Dylan was gentle and tolerant, and they couldn't say enough about what a good kitty he was. They told me to come back on Friday and let them make sure he was healing right. Okay.
A three-minute drive home, I let Dylan out of the carrier -- and suddenly, he was bucking like a bronco, frantic to get out of the E-collar! It was a terrifying sight, this poor kitty flinging himself around the room, and then, inexplicably, barrelling straight into a wall with an awful whack! I ran and held him, stroked him, talked to him about getting used to the collar, staying calm, being a good kitty like he was for the vet... but as soon as my hands left his body, he was off again, completely frantic, slamming himself around in all-out panic mode. It lasted for a painfully long 20 seconds -- and then suddenly both the E-collar and the bandage were off, and Dylan settled down on the kitchen floor to lick at his paw... which was now gushing blood again.
Back to the vet, another bandage that wraps up farther around the leg... no collar, because he clearly can't handle it emotionally, but they lend me a nice big carrier he can stay in... the hope being that if he's not trying to walk around, he might leave the bandage alone.
So I set up the carrier at home with a little litter box (temporarily filled with torn-up papertowels) and food and water, and I go out to find the "Yesterday's News" litter the vet suggested. Five stops and 90 minutes later, I finally track some down and head home.
And there sits Dylan, with the litterbox and the food bowls all overturned, the bandage mostly chewed off, and a considerable puddle of blood. At least eight hours after the injury, it's still bleeding terribly!
So I called the vet tech and she called the vet, and they agreed that sutures may be necessary after all. The tech told me to rebandage it (they'd given me the supplies to do that with) and bring him back in the morning. If the bleeding has stopped, they may just replace the bandage and have me keep him in the crate -- but if not, they'll sedate him and do sutures.
Either way, Dylan has some time in the crate ahead of him, I'm afraid. Poor ol' guy. The other kitties are very concerned about him, hanging out close by and keeping him company. I got him some adult cat "milk" as a treat, and he loved that. And when I rebandaged, I made a top layer with the very sticky stretch fabric tape around the injured part -- I don't think he can chew through that stuff. At least he hasn't so far.
Tonight, I'll bring his crate into my room, so he won't feel alone. Poor Dylan! He's such an emotional kitty... when he's sad, he's just so very sad, bless his heart.
Can you think of anything else I could do to make him feel better?
And thanks for listening... it's been a hard day. And now I have to get down and crawl around the house to see if I can figure out what he cut himself on. We're so careful -- we don't even leave silverware in the sink overnight. But obviously, there's something sharp around here...
