URGENT: My vet is a butcher

Hi,

I took a feral cat that I have been feeding to the vet yesterday to be spayed and now I think that she has a fever. She feels quite hot on the top of her head and she is shivering. What should I do?

I know that you are going to tell me to take her to another vet but I live in a very rural part of Greece and the vet I took her took is the best around here! I feel so bad about what I have done to her when I was only trying to help.

When I took her to the vet yesterday I was somewhat concerned about the level of hygiene compared to what I would expect if I took her to a vet in the UK (where I am from). The vet spayed her straight after treating other animals without changing her smock and she did not wear a mask and chewed gum throughout the operation. There was also an open window in the operating theatre to the rest of the surgery so I was quite concerned. I should have trusted my gut and taken her straight out of there. I feel very guilty.

Anyway, it is not an option to take her back to the vet or to another vet because as I said she is the best available here so what can I do to help this cat? The vet did give her an antibiotic shot after the operation so could this be causing the fever or if not will it help her to fight off the infection that I guess she has got after the operation?

Is there anything I can do the help bring down her fever? She is not eating or drinking at the moment.

How awful! It sounds like your only option is to contact this vet. Does she know about the fever?

Definitely take her back to a vet, whether it's the same one or a new one. If she has an infection, she may need further antibiotics... the solution could be as simple as that.

Sometimes there's a bad reaction to the anesthesia, but I'd think that would happen just after she woke up, not the next day.

Can you get her temp? If her temperature is too high, the best thing for her would be to take her to a vet and have her put on IV fluids and antibiotics. The IV fluids will bring her temperature down much quicker than anything else. It does sound like an infection. Were you given an antibiotic script to take home with you? I hope you can find a vet to care for her!!

I would take her back to the Vet.

I agree with the suggestions already posted here - if it's an infection she needs more antibiotics, and fluids will help too, especially since your cat isn't eating/drinking.

She is also most likely in pain. Spay surgery is major, invasive surgery. Imagine having this type of surgery yourself and not having pain meds...
Please urge this vet to give you pain meds for your cat. Typically, a vet will give a shot of pain meds right after the surgery, but the pain relief is temporary. Find out if your cat received such an injection, and demand meds that you can give at home. Ask that another injection be given to the cat while you're there with her - she needs relief immediately. Buprenex is a very effective pain killer for cats - it can be administered by mouth (it comes in little syringes) or put directly into food.

Please try not to feel guilty - because of your location you have less than ideal vet care available. You're trying to be responsible and do the right thing. The best you can do now is to make sure your cat gets the follow up care she needs.

I can go into a pharmacy here and buy antibiotics for myself without a prescription so I guess I could also go to any vet and buy antibiotics for her without taking her in.

The vet visit was a terrible experience for both of us. People living in the US would have no conception of what a visit to the vet is like here. As I said the cat is feral but she is also very friendly and trusting, we have been feeding her for a year. My husband and I got her in the cat carrier without much problem but never having been in a car before she screamed in fear all the way to the vet's which took about half an hour. The vet's surgery is also a shop and non surgical cases are treated right in the shop. The operating room is just a corner that has been partitioned off and has a open window into the shop. As is common here I turned up at 6 o'clock for the appointment as arranged and then had to wait for 45 minutes to be seen. When we arrived the shop was full of barking dogs and the poor cat had to wait for 45 minutes cowering in the corner of the cat carrier in absolute terror. Seeing her distress I almost left at the point but I stayed because the cat needed to be spayed and all the foreigners here that I know recommend and use this vet. There is very little pet ownership here and the vet's are mostly for the sheep and goats.

When it came time to perform the spaying operation I was horrified that the vet did not appear to be using sterilized equipment or a mask and even invited me in to watch without suggesting that I wore a mask or anything. The window was also open to the area where many dogs were waiting and one was on a drip. I watched from outside and was even more surprised when she chewed gum the whole time!

Any idea how long an antibiotic injection is likely to last? As I said the vet gave her one 25 hours ago. I fear that taking the cat back to the vet will be incredibly traumatic for her. She is sleeping peacefully now, I tested the back of her neck and she does not appear to be dehydrated.

The vet did give her a shot for pain as well as an antibiotic shot and also 5 days supply of pain killers in tablet form to be given twice a day. She said to start to give the pain killers 24 hours after the surgery. I have crushed one and put it in some food but as she won't eat she hasn't taken it. She is sleeping peacefully at the moment so I don't think I should try to force one down her but I will if I think that she is in pain.

I also want to add that the vet is not a bad person. She gives time to some of the pet charities operating here to spay feral cats and dogs. The problem is really that standards in many things here are not really up to first world standards and it is difficult if you expect things to be different. In most things it is OK but when it comes to both human and animal medical treatment it is distressing when things go wrong.

The antibiotic shot has likely worn off by now. Typically injections are used as a concentrated dose to jump start and followed by a normal dose over a period of 5-14 days (depending). Does the incision site look red? Swollen? Bruised? Green? Yellow? Normal? Is there any fluid coming from the incision? Have you taken a temp?

Please don't give antibiotics without them being prescribed by a vet. It's absolutely essential that a vet determine whether it really is an infection... since this cat just had surgery, something else could be wrong and you wouldn't know. Plus just giving medicine randomly could make things worse, if what's happening with her is an allergic reaction to yesterday's antibiotics.

If your cat seems to be doing better, you could wait a bit and see if the fever and symptoms subside. But absolutely don't give unprescribed medication.

Yiassou !

Wow ! Another Greek !

So I know exactly what you mean.. in which part of Greece are you living?

I am in Naxos

It is a great thing to sterilize the cats ! is better to care best for a few than having a lot of them wondering around and prone to diseases

Usually vets here give a shot of Baytril before they go home and the next day you start on 1 pill of baytril for 5 days)

I would take the cat back if you feel the cat has fever, and specially if after 24 hrs of the operation (after they wake up completely) is not eating.

Is the insition swollen?

Is she thirsty? try putting a bowl of water close to her, even a little of milk to encourage her, or even best tuna water from canned tuna.

I've sterilized about 15 strays and usually the first 24 hrs they do not eat.. but they do drink.

Which pain killers did he gave? are you sure they are painkillers and not antibiotics? they never gave me any painkillers here... just the antibiotics

if you want you can PM me.

Ronit

Originally Posted by emmylou

Please don't give antibiotics without them being prescribed by a vet. It's absolutely essential that a vet determine whether it really is an infection... since this cat just had surgery, something else could be wrong and you wouldn't know. Plus just giving medicine randomly could make things worse, if what's happening with her is an allergic reaction to yesterday's antibiotics.

If your cat seems to be doing better, you could wait a bit and see if the fever and symptoms subside. But absolutely don't give unprescribed medication.

Click to expand...

I know that when I was living in Europe a lot of the medications that were prescription in the US were OTC there. I was assuming that was the case with the antibiotic in Greece. Otherwise, yes, absolutely what emmy said. In any case, if the antibiotics are OTC in Greece, I would still call the vet to confirm you are caring for her correctly and administering the proper dosage.

The vet definitely said they were painkillers, it says Synulox on the packet. The incision looks normal, it looks dry, no pus etc.

She seems a little better. She definitely isn't eating but she might have drunk a little water, I can't remember exactly how full the bowl was when I put it in with her last night.

She also has a 9 week old kitten that she severely stresses out over. I suspect he is her first kitten and she is very over anxious about him. I think that part of her problem is also that she is very stressed about him being with us. The vet said to separate them for 10 days but as we only have him in the next room she can hear him cry for her sometimes so that is making things worse.

Ronit - I am in Southern Crete in a farming area close to the Libyan Sea. Almost the most southerly point in Europe before Africa.

I just googled Synulox and I see that it is indeed an antibiotic, obviously a case of the vet's poor english and my poor greek!

Originally Posted by wanderer

I just googled Synulox and I see that it is indeed an antibiotic, obviously a case of the vet's poor english and my poor greek!

Click to expand...

Ok, so the good news is at least you have antibiotics to give your cat. I still urge you to get at least 3 days worth of pain relief for her. Cats are excellent at masking how bad they feel, so please don't wait until you "think she is in pain". Believe me, you won't be able to tell, and if it's obvious that she is in pain you've waited too long. Surgery is painful. Coping with pain will also be more stress on her body and will keep her from healing as fast as she would with pain relief. You can try to "hide" the pills in a morsel of very smelly food - try fish flavor. If she still won't take her meds in food, you should pill her (not easy, I know). The benefit of getting the meds into her far outweighs the momentary stress of being pilled. Make sure to follow the pills with *at least* 6cc of water to make sure they get flushed down the throat.

Your kitty doesn't sound like a feral cat. If she were truly feral, you wouldn't have been able to touch her, let alone get her in a carrier. True ferals aren't friendly, although with time they can become so.

I don't think you should keep her separated from her kitten, since doing so is distressing to her. It must be very frustrating and sad for her to hear him and not be able to see and comfort him. Being with the kitten may help her. Give it a try.

Thank you for everything you're doing for this kitty and her little one, under difficult circumstances. They're very lucky to have you caring for them!

Originally Posted by KTLynn

I don't think you should keep her separated from her kitten, since doing so is distressing to her. It must be very frustrating and sad for her to hear him and not be able to see and comfort him. Being with the kitten may help her. Give it a try.

Click to expand...

I agree. The vet told me the very same thing, but it was very distressing to her to not be around her kittens. I let her have them and they were perfectly fine together. Cats will heal very quickly, so just keep an eye on her incision. He will still try to nurse her. I let mine nurse and everything was ok, no problems at all.

I know exactly how things are for cats in Greece, I have heard stories that have brought me to tears.

Good luck with everything you are doing for this sweetie.

Oh my.....sounds like a shaddy place, but I understand it's one of the only places.

I would deffinitely keep an eye on the poor thing. I think it is quite normal for a female to not eat or drink the first day. It's a pretty painfull ordeal. Have you tried wetting her lips with the water to try and get her to at least drink?

Hi ! I hope today the cat is better... I think is a good idea if you bring the kitten to the mother, I've done that, she will feel better for shure.
As for the antibiotics, do not panic if you see diahrrea, i've had experience with Synulox and it gives diahrrea. Try smashing it into a little of canned food.

Regards !

I think she is a little better today, she is drinking water but she will not eat so I think that I will have to pill her.

What is the best way to go about this? I have done it before with several cats but it was a long time ago. As I remember I used to coat the pill in butter, wrap the cat in a towel, open her mouth by pressing on the corners, insert the pill, close her mouth and then massage her neck while elevating her chin to make her swallow.

I am a bit nervous about doing it as I will have to do it on my own (husband is at work) and I don't completely trust the cat to not bite. Also I am concerned about hurting her because of the spay incision.

Any advice welcome.