Update on neighbors' cat (long)

We took the neighbors' cat to the vet today. She was easy to cage (she's a trusting soul) but really thought we were doing her wrong once that door was shut behind her. Good thing the vet's office is near our house. When we got there, we told them about the sores on her neck, that she needed routine shots also and deworming (just in case.) We also asked the vet to make sure she was a girl (we're not experts ) and check if she had been spayed. He said that she was a girl and hadn't been spayed. Then he felt her tummy and said she was probably pregnant. DH and I said: OMG! We made an on-the-spot decision to have her spayed. And felt terrible and guilty about it, though we believed it was the right thing to do. We asked them to board her for the weekend and give her pain medication as needed.

I am sick with a sore throat and cough, so I went to bed soon after arriving home. DH met with a friend. About two hours later, DH found a message from the vet on our answering machine that said "Oops...I've made a mistake. Call me." DH said all sorts of things were running through his mind, like maybe they'd given her the wrong anesthesia.

As it turned out, the vet said he had just made a small cut on her when he saw that she had already been spayed! I know this story sounds implausible, but I promise you, I am not making it up. We are still picking her up Monday, as planned, so she will be MIA for the weekend. I bet at some point the neighbors' are going to start wondering if something has happened to their cat. (Whichever neighbors they are.) They will probably really wonder when she returns home with a shaved belly.

This whole experience has bad, especially for poor Hattie. We were just trying to help; we wanted to get those sores on her neck treated. Then things snowballed and went wrong. Thank goodness she is okay. What is that old saying about good intentions?

But why is that bad? You were doing the right thing for her. The very first cat that adopted us was a situation where they had to begin surgery in order to tell she'd been spayed. They shaved her belly, and there was a scar - but it was so jagged, the vet though it was pretty unlikely it was a spay scar. The only way it could be is if she bolted while with the stitches in her - and then it'd be a miracle she didn't get an infection that would have taken her life.

But that was apparently what happened.

I'm not quite sure how the vet could think she was pregnant, but...

Hopefully she'll recover just fine from the anesthesia. Is there anything that can be done for the sores on her neck?

You SO did the right thing and for the right reason. She'll recover just fine, and she's a lucky kitty to have crossed your path!

No good deed ever goes unpunished. I have learned that one the hard way myself a few times lately!

I think you did the right (and kind) thing with the animal's best interest in mind. If the neighbors would have gotten the sores taken care of themselves, you wouldn't have had to get her belly shaved! LOL

Thank you. Seeing things through different eyes makes me feel a little better. I'm not sure why the vet thought she was pregnant. He handled her stomach (to my untrained eyes) pretty roughly. She has a bit of a belly, too.

When we first got Callie as a stray, we took her in to be spayed. They had knocked her out and shaved her when I got a phone call asking me if I knew that she was already spayed. Well, obviously not!! So she got knocked out and shaved for nothing! Don't beat yourself up about it. At least you knew to do the right thing and she's getting treatment for the sores on her neck. That's a whole lot more than the neighbors have been doing for her!

And the skin problem from the flea collar? It can be fixed up without too much fuss?

If possible I'd keep her until the neighbors came looking for her.

If they do track her down tell them that because her neck was so bad you thought she was a stray.

In the mean time you can decide what your next move will be. Keep, release or rehome her.

I wish there were more concerned people like you in this world.

What did the vet say about her sores?

Originally Posted by CheshireCat

If possible I'd keep her until the neighbors came looking for her.

If they do track her down tell them that because her neck was so bad you thought she was a stray.

In the mean time you can decide what your next move will be. Keep, release or rehome her.

I wish there were more concerned people like you in this world.

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Thanks! We would bring her inside in a New York minute if Speck and Daisy weren't so adverse to the idea. I'm really surprised at Speck. He's sweet and has tolerated Daisy since the day she came. (And she's mean...I hate to say it because she's my baby...but it's the truth.) The last time Hattie came in our house (because she wants to come in and tries often) Speck tried to fight her and Daisy attacked Speck. Daisy had a rough life prior to joining our family and can't stand any noise or confusion. She lashes out at whoever happens to be near when something upsets her. Poor Hattie was behind the blinds trying to escape through a shut glass door. DH vows Hattie will someday be our cat...though he still calls her Blackie.

Originally Posted by My4LLMA

What did the vet say about her sores?

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The vet didn't say anything about the sores, though he did make a face when he felt them. We gave the vet tech a laundry list of things we wanted done to her, and she had it all written down on the router form. The pregnancy scare kind of shifted the focus of the visit, especially with me starting to panic right there in the exam room. (I was already trying to think of how I could find homes for the kittens...the only people I would trust are on here far away or relatives already at their limit of cats.) For such a calm nurse, I'm a very anxious animal person.

Your Hattie ordeal makes me keep thinking about Mister. I think if he were in bad shape, we'd maybe ave thought more about taking him in. But, besides his teeth, he really does seem to be in good condition, at least on the outside. Plus he's never hungry when I put food out for him. So while he may not be getting the best care possible, wherever his home is, he is probably getting taken care of better than your Hattie. So we just hang out with him in the yard when he comes around.

Anyway, I also think you definitely did the right thing with taking her for a checkup. Good luck with eventually being able to have her inside without starting World War 3 with Speck & Daisy!!

You are such a wonderful person hun, and you absolutely did the right thing!

Originally Posted by Kailie

You are such a wonderful person hun, and you absolutely did the right thing!

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Thank you.

Hattie is now home (at our home) and sleeping in a flower pot on the back porch. We went a bought some flannel blankets for her last night in preparation for her coming home. I haven't gone out to see her yet, but DH says her neck is much better. I figure they gave her a steroid shot of some sort. DH also says her stomach is very shaved. I am about to go visit with her.

So glad her neck is "much" better - it sounded like it was really bothering her.

You're such angels!

Originally Posted by LDG

So glad her neck is "much" better - it sounded like it was really bothering her.

You're such angels!

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You know, when I went out to see her, she had some type of topical cream on her neck. Glad we don't have to put anything on her, because I don't want her to hate us. She seems exhausted, but purring and friendly as ever. I think she wants to be our cat. Maybe we can have joint custody....

I actually think jcat has an arrangement like that!

I bet poor thing is exhausted. But she knows you're taking care of her!