Update on Poppy

Poppy has to have an op on her eye tomorrow

The ulcer is healing but there is a lot of scar tissue which has formed and this is preventing the ulcer healing up completely. When she opens her eye, you can see it but as soon as she sees us looking at her, she shuts the eye again - she thinks every time we look at her, we are going to put her eye drops in.

What our vet is going to do is abrade (sp) the scar tissue off to allow the ulcer to finally close and heal.

Has anyone had this done to their cat before? If so, how did your cat get on and what aftercare did you have to give? I know I will be given full instructions when I collect Poppy tomorrow afternoon but would like to know in advance if possible. Would have asked tonight but the surgery was virtually queuing out the door it was so busy.

I have no experience with this or advice really, but I do want you to know I am thinking of Poppy and sending vibes!

Had a call from my vet about half an hour ago. He left a message on my phone to say Poppy was out of surgery and recovering. I have to phone between 1 and 2pm to arrange to pick her up.

Hopefully this will now cure the problem. Fingers crossed.

for the surgery to of worked

its nearly 1 now so not long to wait to arrange to pick Poppy up

Collected Poppy from the vets just after 5pm. She was still dopey from the anaesthetic.

They have debrided the scar tissue on the cornea, inserted a guard lens and put three loose holding stitches in her outer eyelids.

I still have to put drops in her eyes and also ointment. Not going to be an easy task but my son is very good at holding her still.

She has also been given Metacam (that will please her as she loves the taste of it - strange cat!!!) to ease any discomfort.

She is also wearing a "lampshade" and has to keep that on until the eye is healed. Still wondering how she is going to eat with that on. Taking it off is easy enough, it's getting it back on as I know from experience they are very fiddly and with a squirming cat who doesn't want it, I think I need to come up with a brainwave on how to feed her.

She's sitting on my lap right now and enjoying all the attention. Even our dog gave her the sympathy vote when she came back from the vets. Buddy and Max sniffed her all over, Max walked away but Buddy started grooming her. Good job she was still groggy from the anaesthetic. I somehow think she wouldn't be too pleased to be groomed by a dog LOL.

Buddy seems to have taken on the role of nurse and has been keeping a watch on her all night, bless him.

We have to go back to the vet on Saturday to check how things are. She will have to keep the guard lens in for 7 to 10 days.

I really hope this works.

for Poppy's quick recovery.

Originally Posted by mrsgreenjeens

for Poppy's quick recovery.

Click to expand...

I really hope it works too. If it doesn't she could possibly lose the eye. The vet fees are rising all the time too. At the moment we're not far short of £1000 ($1523).

Still, if it works, it will be worth it. She's sleeping just now which is just as well because she keeps bumping into things because of the lampshade and that she can only see out of one eye at the moment.

We did manage to overcome the feeding problem. I had some tasty cat pate so gave that to her using the top off a container, sitting it inside a roll of tape to give it height. Crude but very effective. Poppy was able to eat her dinner with no problem as the top was small enough for the lampshade to fit over and Poppy enjoy her meal.

Poppy's just back from getting her check-up at the vet.

He's really pleased with her progress. If all goes well, she should get the contact lens out round about Friday next week.

I have to say, Poppy is a model patient. She is so good about getting her medication, drops in her eyes 3 times a day and being poked at by the vet.

Not a claw in sight. She is such a laid-back, friendly cat

It's as if she knows we're all trying to help her and save her eye.

Brave little cat

I'm sorry I missed this thread before.

I do have some good news for you though,I know someone whose cat has been through this same problem and ultimate procedure. She is now doing perfectly well. Eye is so clear and open, you'd never know anything was ever wrong at all.

Be careful with the metacam, it can cause acute kidney failure in cats.

Originally Posted by otto

I'm sorry I missed this thread before.

I do have some good news for you though,I know someone whose cat has been through this same problem and ultimate procedure. She is now doing perfectly well. Eye is so clear and open, you'd never know anything was ever wrong at all.

Be careful with the metacam, it can cause acute kidney failure in cats.

Click to expand...

The stitches were in a bit tight so it was making it difficult to get the drops and ointment in Poppy's eye. I put on a good glob knowing it would sink in.

The vet decided to remove the middle stitch to make it easier to apply the ointment and drops.

Whoever did the sutures put in a "running" stitch - one came out - they all did. One vet with a red face Must have been the trainee vet who did them

Anyway, our vet decided that Poppy didn't need to have it restitched and is happy with her progress. The guard lens is still in place but you can see the eye is healing behind it.

She has to go back on Tuesday to see how the eye is coming on but I don't think she'll be too long before she gets the lens out and is back to normal. So far, it's looking good.

I know about the concerns with Metacam and voiced my concerns to the vets nurse when I picked Poppy up after her op.

It is a case of balancing the possible side-effects against what Metacam is supposed to do. As she says, kidney failure is comparatively rare but Metacam must be given on a full stomach or put on food. Poppy likes her food so this is not a problem and she is only getting it once a day and a very small dose.

Hopefully, sometime next week I will hear the words I long to hear - "I don't need to see her again"

Glad things are going so well for Poppy!

I figured you knew the risks of metacam, but feel compelled to mention it whenever I read of it being used in cats. I know it's used a lot and is approved for use in cats in the UK.