My cat, adult ragdoll, developed another post-surgical complication. Vet appointment is scheduled for tomorrow, seeking experiences and opinions.
He had dental extractions about 3 weeks ago, followed very soon by another oral surgery, under tongue (details here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/278797/...er-tongue-cat-is-not-eating-sheduled-draining ). For 2 weeks he had follow-up weekly visits to the vet, all progressed OK.
After getting encouragement that he is better, we relaxed and allowed him to lick his fur, he was insisting on it. For 2 prevous post-op weeks we watched him as hawks, day and night, taking shifts (he was severely stressed by e-collar, even by soft one), distracting him when he started. In the same time, last week, his skin sensitivity increased, he licked more (I would say 4 on the scale from 1-10, from none to non-stop).
Today I noticed saliva on the chin, and while wiping it off noticed something in the mouth, took a better look and there is a fairly big brown ball under tongue on one side. Not as big as sublingual salivary mucocele was, but it should not be there. Looks to me, from a few very short glances (cat doesn't allow more), like a matted fur, it could started as a fur tangled to previous surgery stitches, if they didn't dissolved yet.
Baby (cat's name) vomited his first hairball in a month yesterday, has normal appetite, usual stool and urination, not agitated more than before that, seems to be not in particular discomfort, but sleeps more last two days.
What are my options now?
If this is an entangled hairball, or some kind of inflammation (should be red then), or it's a food that reached it's way into the sublingual pocket that was made. By color looks like hairball, not food (he eats canned) or inflammation.
It's unlikely that it can be removed from not-anesthetized cat without damaging place of previous surgery, even if I sincerely hope so.
Another surgery under general anesthesia, third in one month? It can't be left as is, or at least it seems so to me.
What we can do to prevent this from repeating?
1. We could take shifts of Baby-sitting again, maybe for a month-month and a half, some day we also will need a sleep.
2. E-collar as protection is not an option, from my experience, he doesn't rest, walks around and bumps into objects, and he will need to eat somehow...
3. Will full body shaving, while and if he would be under general anesthesia, help with reducing possibility of accumulating hairball under tongue again? If our vet has this option, of course. His drooled chin was shaved before surgery, he seems OK with that, and expected temperature this weekend is near 30C...
4. I have read about using e-collar and modified baby romper for the months on a cat with compulsive licking (http://www.cat-health-guide.org/feline-skin-sore-licking-comments.html ), but it's too hot and unlikely our cat will allow it, it's a high-strung scaredy cat.
Any thoughts?
I'm scared out of my wits with possibility of third surgery in a month, or that vet can send me to a specialist for removing affected salivary glands at all (this I most likely wouldn't able to afford).
He had dental extractions about 3 weeks ago, followed very soon by another oral surgery, under tongue (details here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/278797/...er-tongue-cat-is-not-eating-sheduled-draining ). For 2 weeks he had follow-up weekly visits to the vet, all progressed OK.
After getting encouragement that he is better, we relaxed and allowed him to lick his fur, he was insisting on it. For 2 prevous post-op weeks we watched him as hawks, day and night, taking shifts (he was severely stressed by e-collar, even by soft one), distracting him when he started. In the same time, last week, his skin sensitivity increased, he licked more (I would say 4 on the scale from 1-10, from none to non-stop).
Today I noticed saliva on the chin, and while wiping it off noticed something in the mouth, took a better look and there is a fairly big brown ball under tongue on one side. Not as big as sublingual salivary mucocele was, but it should not be there. Looks to me, from a few very short glances (cat doesn't allow more), like a matted fur, it could started as a fur tangled to previous surgery stitches, if they didn't dissolved yet.
Baby (cat's name) vomited his first hairball in a month yesterday, has normal appetite, usual stool and urination, not agitated more than before that, seems to be not in particular discomfort, but sleeps more last two days.
What are my options now?
If this is an entangled hairball, or some kind of inflammation (should be red then), or it's a food that reached it's way into the sublingual pocket that was made. By color looks like hairball, not food (he eats canned) or inflammation.
It's unlikely that it can be removed from not-anesthetized cat without damaging place of previous surgery, even if I sincerely hope so.
Another surgery under general anesthesia, third in one month? It can't be left as is, or at least it seems so to me.
What we can do to prevent this from repeating?
1. We could take shifts of Baby-sitting again, maybe for a month-month and a half, some day we also will need a sleep.
2. E-collar as protection is not an option, from my experience, he doesn't rest, walks around and bumps into objects, and he will need to eat somehow...
3. Will full body shaving, while and if he would be under general anesthesia, help with reducing possibility of accumulating hairball under tongue again? If our vet has this option, of course. His drooled chin was shaved before surgery, he seems OK with that, and expected temperature this weekend is near 30C...
4. I have read about using e-collar and modified baby romper for the months on a cat with compulsive licking (http://www.cat-health-guide.org/feline-skin-sore-licking-comments.html ), but it's too hot and unlikely our cat will allow it, it's a high-strung scaredy cat.
Any thoughts?
I'm scared out of my wits with possibility of third surgery in a month, or that vet can send me to a specialist for removing affected salivary glands at all (this I most likely wouldn't able to afford).
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Anyway, I hope you can figure out what's causing Baby's skin issues.
