Broken jaw needs wiring

Hello,

I really wanted my first post to be a happier one introducing my two lovely cats a Russian Blue and a DSH tabby. I'll have to make another thread for the introductions.

Last night while driving home at night I saw in the middle of the road a cat lying in a pool of blood obviously in shock but still alive. I had no other choice but to pick her up and fly to the closest emergency vet.

Diagnosis:

Pregnant

Feral

Terrified

Broken Jaw in two places

Vet offered to put her down but I just couldn't. I keep seeing those big yellow eyes in total shock fear and something inside me keeps telling me that I cannot give up so easily on this living creature. She deserves a chance. I believe that I was driving on that road at that second for a reason.

Vet wants to wire her jaw and I have to feed her through a tube they claim.

I have two cats at home my 12 year old DSH who has not accepted my 10 month old Russian Blue yet and have to be kept separated which I know will cause more problems bringing a third cat home but I guess the bathroom can be her recovery room.

How difficult would it be to care for this cat if kept in a big cage. Is it possible to home her eventually? she is around two years old.

She is FIV negative, and Feline leukaemia negative and we will abort the kittens and spay her too at the same time. She is about 5 weeks pregnant according to the vet and he thinks it' s not a problem to abort the kittens and we should do it anyway because the anaesthetic will affect the babies during the operation.

I will ask the vet to cut her nails during the operation and I figure if her mouth is wired she shouldn't be able to bite anyway. Once she is back to health I f I cannot find her a home worst case scenario I could release her back on the streets but in a better and quieter location with less traffic. Maybe near the sea where the fisherman constantly feed the strays.

The cat rescue people that I have talked to said that I should euthanise her and donate the money to do more TNR on healthy cats.

Is what I'm planning to do possible considering that I have no experience caring for a cat with a broken jaw who is feral?

Can that cat turn into an indoor cat one day?

I know there are probably many posts on this site with similar stories but unfortunately it;s 2.30 am where I am and I am very sleepy, confused and stressed over the situation and the vet will be calling me at 8 am so that I can give them an answer on what I want to do. I really do not have time to research all the threads.

I promise next time I will use the search option before asking questions.

Regards,

I had a cat with a broken jaw many, many years ago. The wiring of the jaw was successful and he lived for many years after that. Usually, non-feral cats are syringe fed with a very watery, blended wet food. That is probably why the vet wants to put in a tube. It all depends how feral she is and how well the two of you bond. Cats with broken jaws will start to try and eat on their own a week or so afterwards. It depends on where the break(s) are and how it's wired. Are both jaws broken once each? Or is it the bottom jaw in two places? Thank you for stopping on the road.

I have little experience with ferals. There are, however, many people on this forum who do. One should be along shortly. There are a number of North American members who are just getting off work. You might try posting in the Caring for Strays and Ferals section as well since time is a bit of an issue.

I've had a very long discussion with the vet this morning and he said that a decision must be made by tomorrow morning at the latest. He advised me that it would be very difficult to nurse this cat back to health for someone with no experience as the cat is becoming very difficult to approach. She is lashing at the nurses and does not want to be handled. He thinks this is a street cat that will not be happy sitting in a cage for 6 weeks and it would be extremely difficult for me to feed her through a tube.

Once again he said that the kindest thing to do would be to euthanise her.

I really want to fix this poor cat. I want to give her a chance but I'm also worried because to be fair the maximum I have done in the past was board a street cat in a spare room while she recovered from an injury. I had to give her 1 or 2 pills of something a day which was a little difficult.

Has anyone experienced a similar story with a feral and was successful in nursing them back to life?

MODS: Is it ok to put a similar thread in the feral section too?

Hello Banana,

Thank you for stopping to help this cat. Whatever happens she is much better off now than being left where she was.

I've taken in two very feral cats that were badly injured. In both cases the vet suggested euthanasia, but I asked them to try to save them. Both cats needed treatment for infected wounds, one cat was kept in at the vets for three weeks and had several operations to gradually pull the skin back over the affected area, the other cat needed nearly 30 stitches. However, both cats were able to eat by themselves. Having syringe fed sick cats before I can imagine how difficult tube feeding will be with a cat that can't be handled.

It is possible to gain a feral cats trust, but it is a long process. At the moment the cat you found is in a strange place, in pain and confused so she is going to be very defensive. Once she has been operated on and is in a quieter place with just one person she'll feel calmer. So in terms of gaining a feral cats trust over time, I'd say it's worth trying.

I don't have any experience of cats with broken jaws though. I guess she's not even able to lap water by herself?

@catwoman707  @Red Top Rescue  what do you think?

This has touched my heart, as I too have saved many ferals who were either injured (one had been shot), hit by car, or extremely sick.

While vets see things in a different way, at least the majority do, myself having a cat rescue group, it's about saving their precious life, they are absolutely just as entitled and valued as any house cat, in my opinion and heart.

Yes, you can save this cat.

You will want to crate her, not loose in a small room, as it will be too difficult to get ahold of her feeding tube.

You will wear gloves when dealing with her, and you won't be touching her, only the feeding tube on her side.

You will talk to her as often as possible, she will know who you are, you saved her.

There is something that happens there, she knows, believe me, she knows it was you.

This doesn't mean she will easily accept you, because this may be all she has ever known, and the total lack of socialization to humans will cause her great fear of you.

That being said, she may have been owned at some point of her life, maybe as a baby kitten, so somewhere inside there is the memory of that too, as it never leaves them, they simply turn feral from time living as a feral cat does.

So caged, you will need to put your hands in the cage to change her litterbox and to get the food into her tube.

This can be done fine, if the litterbox is at the back of the cage, count on the fact that she will be in it all the time for a while. The sides act as a shield and security in a way.

You can cover the back half with a sheet, this will also help calm her butt down. It makes it safe too.

If it were me, I would rig up something so that she ......okay this is hard to explain.

It's easiest on her if she doesn't have to see what you are doing to her. So if you have say a piece of cardboard you can use to block half of her body as well as keep her in the back of the cage, you can use the tube either through the wires in back outside of the cage, or if you have to go inside the cage, have your gloves on and I HIGHLY suggest doing this in a room with the door shut, because if she escapes on you, it will be a nightmare trying to get ahold of her to feed.

Have the syringe all ready to just shoot it in the tube. I don't think you will have as much trouble as we are expecting you may. The best part is she will be out of it pretty good still when she goes home with you, for the rest of the day at least.

So you will be able to feed her when she is still groggy, and it will be alot easier.

I LOVE that you are willing to care for her!! You are a true angel

Once she is good to be unwired and released, who knows, you may even have an outside mouser cat. Or she can be relocated, but be very careful of this, because she should be acclimated to her new home/yard before allowing her to be free again, otherwise she will be a lost soul, not knowing where to go and wander aimlessly.

I've had MANY ferals in cages for one reason or another, and she will do fine. 

Oh, also meant to say, don't be afraid of her! Can't bite and short nails, she won't hurt you, you may not even need gloves.

Thank you all for the help and advice.

I will be going to the vet in two to three hours to give them my decision.

I will not save her kittens and we will abort them. They are three weeks away from being born and the vet tells me that they are not ''viable'' until a few days before birth. I also think that the world does not need 3,4 or 5 new homeless kittens and it will make it impossible to approach her to feed her when she is in pain, scared, confused, eating through a tube and caring for new born kittens.

Once she has recovered from the operation if I haven't found a home for her I will have to release her back on the street but in a quieter neighbourhood. I live in an apartment in a busy city. I will release her in a quiet neighbourhood near the sea not too far away from me. There are many cats that live there and the fisherman feed and take care of them. I guess we will cross that bridge when we reach it.

Regards,

A very smart decision.

NOBODY "likes" the thought of aborting, none of us. But it is the cold hard reality of what must be done. 

I used to be against doing so, but after so many years of rescue, and seeing what really goes on and how many will not be allowed a life that have already been born, shipped to the shelter by the truckloads daily during kitten season, to be euthanized, there is no question on whether to abort or not. 

VERY sad, no doubt, but necessary.

I've been to the vet earlier today and here is the latest:

Last night they gave her a long lasting antibiotic

Pain killers

An injection under the skin to rehydrate her

and something to increase her appetite because she hadn't even tried to eat anything.

By the morning she had eaten a large amount of wet food even with a broken jaw on her own.

It is still very difficult to aproach her and she lashes out and fights back if anyone tries to handle her. ''vicious'' is the word that the vet used to describe her.

The vet advised that because she had already managed to eat quite a large amount there is an option not to operate on her and just gige her cage rest and strong antibiotics. He said that her jaw will heal but obviously not in a perfect way but he also said that would be the cheapest option.

I don't want to disclose for now what I was quoted for the operation and what the total bill would be after factoring in care, medication, anaesthetic, drip etc.... but it is not cheap at all. This is one of the more expensive vets in my city but one of the few open 24 hrs so had no choice but to take the cat there that night.

I'm not sure if I really would want her jaw to heal on it's own in a way that might cause her problems eating in the future especially if I end up releasing her back on the streets one day as explained in my previous post.

Any advice would be apreciated.

Regards,

You are wonderful for wanting to help this cat. I had a cat thirty years ago who fell from a window and broke its jaw. The vet did not operate but let it heal with rest in a cage for a couple of weeks. The jaw healed and he was able to eat by himself after a few days. So I guess it all depends on how badly it is broken and exactly where. If she is already eating and you can avoid the tube (which I personally think would be a nightmare with a feral) then there is a good chance of recovery. But she will have to be kept very quiet and isolated. Most ferals sort of go into shock in a cage, after a short initial period of fighting to get out. So you could play this to your advantage, but do not let her see your cats or do anything that might set her off on an aggressive streak where she might injure herself. After a few days she will realise that you are there to give her food and she will stay quiet while you do the necessary things in the cage. The first week of healing will be crucial - do not worry if she does not eat much. As long as she gets something down every day her system will be fine until she can start eating normal quantities. Good luck, I hope it works out.

BANANA said:

 
I've been to the vet earlier today and here is the latest:

Last night they gave her a long lasting antibiotic

Pain killers

An injection under the skin to rehydrate her

and something to increase her appetite because she hadn't even tried to eat anything.

By the morning she had eaten a large amount of wet food even with a broken jaw on her own.

It is still very difficult to aproach her and she lashes out and fights back if anyone tries to handle her. ''vicious'' is the word that the vet used to describe her.

The vet advised that because she had already managed to eat quite a large amount there is an option not to operate on her and just gige her cage rest and strong antibiotics. He said that her jaw will heal but obviously not in a perfect way but he also said that would be the cheapest option.

I don't want to disclose for now what I was quoted for the operation and what the total bill would be after factoring in care, medication, anaesthetic, drip etc.... but it is not cheap at all. This is one of the more expensive vets in my city but one of the few open 24 hrs so had no choice but to take the cat there that night.

I'm not sure if I really would want her jaw to heal on it's own in a way that might cause her problems eating in the future especially if I end up releasing her back on the streets one day as explained in my previous post.

Any advice would be apreciated.

Regards,

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I really can't say about not having her jaw set/wired, because I have no clue where the breaks are and just how bad/off they are.

This is a big determining factor for her, how well she will heal, and how close to normal her jaw will be, but once healed, that's basically that, you get what you get, so it's pretty iffy.

I highly recommend you having records transferred to another vet, one who deals more with ferals and who might recognize the fact that this is not an owned cat so he will gladly give a big break on costs, many out there who truly are in it for the animals will do this, it's not a rare thing at all.

You don't have to feel like you are hurting anyones feelings either by having recoreds transferred once you find a different more appropriate vet for her.

The front desk will do this and the new vet will call to request them.

Hi Banana,

Just checking in, how's the cat doing?

I'd like to second Catwoman707's advice about looking for a vet that is happier to treat feral cats. There are 2 vets near here. One refuses to treat ferals "or other wild animals". The other gives me a 30% discount on any feral cat I bring in and even let me borrow his trap when I had a lot of cats to TNR. A feral friendly vet is a great asset.

Hoping for some good news, fingers crossed for you.

Update!

The cat is now at another vet for a second opinion.

The new vet's nurse just called me and said that there is no need to operate and the best option would be to let the jaw heal for a few days on it's own and they will keep her with them for observation.

They also commented that the cat is still very difficult to approach but she is managing to eat on her own.

''She ate a large amount of wet food'' was the comment used by the nurse.

I asked her to let the vet know that I want to talk to him. He will be calling me tomorrow morning I guess when he is due back again at the hospital.

The cat is still pregnant.

And I am still a little confused where and when to release her back on the streets. Everyone has told me that she will not be suitable for rehoming. I know from the many threads here that everything is possible but I do not think that a foster home would be easy to find where I live.

The animal charities are full and even kittens have a hard time getting adopted.

I'm also now confused about the fact whether aborting the kittens is the right thing to do. On the one hand I'm being told that 2 to 3 weeks before being born those kittens are not viable and not fully developped but others are now telling me that I will be killing living babies so close to being born. Help Please!!!!

Regards,

That's great news about her jaw.

OK, I'm supposed to be working now but I'll post again when I get off in a few hours.

Well, it's great that her jaw will heal without being wired and that she is eating on her own. This makes your job a lot easier.

If she does end up being released outside there are a few things you need to think about. First of all, if you release her into an area she doesn't know she will try to head back for her own territory. Obviously this will be very dangerous for her, she risks being injured or even killed. If you want her to stay put you'll need to keep her crated for at least a month so that she starts to think of the new place as her home.

@LDG  has got her feral cats crated in a tent at her new place at the moment. You can read about that here.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/285682/...w-me-this-is-long-oh-and-lots-of-pictures-too

The best kind of place to release her would be somewhere rural where she could be a barn cat. Maybe you could do some research and find out if there are any farmers looking for barn cats to control the mice at their place. Of course, she'd need to be crated in the barn for a while so that she accepts it as her new home.

Aborting kittens is never a nice thing to have to take responsibility for. There is no way that kittens born 3 weeks premature would survive. Cats are pregnant for 9 weeks so you can imagine how underdeveloped they'll be just 6 weeks from conception. If you decide not to spay abort you'll have to keep mother cat and her kittens contained until the kittens are 6 weeks old, then spay the mother, then set about socialising the kittens and find homes for them all. Unless you have people you know and trust that are willing to take in the kittens they'll end up in shelters. Shelters are always so over-crowded and healthy cats and kittens are put to sleep every day. There is a very real chance that these kittens will have that same fate. Unless the people telling you not to spay abort are willing to take full responsibility for the kittens themselves they have no right to criticise you. I think it's far more important to take care of the cats and kittens we have in the world right now then bring any more into it.

You might be really lucky and find a farmer who'll accept the spayed mother cat and her kittens, but you'd have to make sure the whole family was spayed, neutered and crated for as long as it takes to get them adjusted to their new home.

I know it's heartbreaking, but if I were in your shoes I'd spay the mother now and then think about the best way to release her once her jaw has healed. 

The vet just called me.

He said the cat had a huge absces in her mouth and the bone had started to melt away so doing an operation now would cause other problems and there is not enough bone there for wiring etc.. We would need to insert a plate and so on.

He said that she does have a fracture but it's minimal and it will heal on it's own with cage rest and antibiotics. He has removed one Molar tooth today where the absces is. She had been eating food on her own with the fracture and absces for the last two days.

When I questioned him on the fact that the first vet did not mention the absces and said that she had her jaw broken in two places he answered me very politically that he is in no position to comment on other vet's practices and would prefer not to.

He said that we will watch her for a few days and inspect her jaw again and if everything is going good then we will not operate or insert wires. but if she is not healing then we will look at our other options.

When I asked if she is rehomable he said that she is not as wild as i've been led to believe and she is somehow approachable but she is a street cat that will not be happy in a home. The best thing to do is treat her, neuter her and then release heragain.  I'm thinking In the fisherman's yard in a quiet part of town near the beach. There is allways excess amount of food there and the fishermen take care of the cats. I hope she will remain there and not go off looking for her old territory. There are many other cats living in the fishermen's yard.

Just a reminder: I found her in the middle of the road in the financial district of the city which is no place for a street cat with all the traffic and cars.

My other concern is shall we abort the kittens, neuter and then release. Or let her have her babies and then neuter and release. As mentioned before my conscience is starting to play with me and I'm starting to feel guilty about killing kittens.

The new vet thinks she is 3 to 4 weeks away from giving birth as opposed to 2 to 3 weeks as the first vet suggested.

He asked me to call him again in 3 to 4 days for an update.

P.S: Norachan Thank you for your advice. You were quicker than me and answered most of my questions while I was typing my latest update

I've had a pregnant feral cat spayed and felt it was absolutely the right thing to do, and have never had any regrets about it. The one thing I don't think you should do would be to release her now without spaying her. Pregnant cats are very hungry, and she would suffer without a regular food source, especially if she's released in an unfamiliar territory. There is also the chance of miscarriage without proper nutrition, and if the kittens remain inside her she could become infected and die. I think you should get her the spay surgery ASAP and allow her to recover in your house either in a small room by herself or in a large crate or cage for a week or so. You won't have to make any decisions until she is healed.

Two summers ago I took in a feral female cat who was about 10-12 months old. She was in heat and there were complications with her spay surgery because she had a bad reaction to the anesthesia and she almost died. I kept her in a room by herself for almost a month, had to feed her with a syringe for a week, and she was on antibiotics for a while. When I brought her to my regular vet, they x rayed her leg and told me that someone had shot her and there is a bullet in her pelvis. The leg had broken and healed, but crooked. She has an odd gait and is not able to jump very high. I had not planned on keeping her. To this day she will only sometimes allow me to pet her and she panics if I have to pick her up, and sometimes swipes at me. However, I love this baby doll cat. She is very content to be inside and in fact runs away when she sees me open my front door. My original plan was to TNR her and give her to a neighbor's friend as a barn cat. When this plan fell thorough due to the friend's husband not wanting more cats, my plan was to release her back outside on my block. When I saw that she really could not take care of herself, I kept her inside. But this decision took a month. I had 3 other cats at the time (now I have 4 other cats) and she has adjusted to them. I had to wait for her to recover so I could see whether or not it would work out. I hope you will get her the spay surgery and allow her to recover, and then make your decision about what steps to take next. 

BANANA said:

 
The vet just called me.

He said the cat had a huge absces in her mouth and the bone had started to melt away so doing an operation now would cause other problems and there is not enough bone there for wiring etc.. We would need to insert a plate and so on.

He said that she does have a fracture but it's minimal and it will heal on it's own with cage rest and antibiotics. He has removed one Molar tooth today where the absces is. She had been eating food on her own with the fracture and absces for the last two days.

When I questioned him on the fact that the first vet did not mention the absces and said that she had her jaw broken in two places he answered me very politically that he is in no position to comment on other vet's practices and would prefer not to.

He said that we will watch her for a few days and inspect her jaw again and if everything is going good then we will not operate or insert wires. but if she is not healing then we will look at our other options.

When I asked if she is rehomable he said that she is not as wild as i've been led to believe and she is somehow approachable but she is a street cat that will not be happy in a home. The best thing to do is treat her, neuter her and then release heragain.  I'm thinking In the fisherman's yard in a quiet part of town near the beach. There is allways excess amount of food there and the fishermen take care of the cats. I hope she will remain there and not go off looking for her old territory. There are many other cats living in the fishermen's yard.

Just a reminder: I found her in the middle of the road in the financial district of the city which is no place for a street cat with all the traffic and cars.

My other concern is shall we abort the kittens, neuter and then release. Or let her have her babies and then neuter and release. As mentioned before my conscience is starting to play with me and I'm starting to feel guilty about killing kittens.

The new vet thinks she is 3 to 4 weeks away from giving birth as opposed to 2 to 3 weeks as the first vet suggested.

He asked me to call him again in 3 to 4 days for an update.

P.S: Norachan Thank you for your advice. You were quicker than me and answered most of my questions while I was typing my latest update

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This is much better news all around than the first vet had given you.

Isn't it crazy how much vets can vary?!

WELL worth a second opinion!

As I had mentioned in my prior post, it is surprising how many so-called ferals are not true ferals, but once owned at some point, but have been allowed to revert to a feral state for survival on the streets and without human contact.

It sounds like her chances of healing fine without surgery are better now that we know the real deal here.

Soft food regularly is a big help. She surely didn't get that out on the streets and likely continued to aggravate her jaw AND abcessed tooth.

If the abcessed tooth was due to decay, she is likely older than assumed prior, just fyi.

Abortion vs delivery-So you know what to expect if you choose to allow her to deliver.

She will need to be caged for approx 3 1/2 months if allowed to have the kids.

A month before birth, at least 6 weeks caring for babies, then separated for 2 weeks prior to spay, and another week to heal. I personally have never kept a cat caged when there was a month left, and allowed to deliver. I have only done this when she is VERY close to delivery, as I feel they are just too far developed to abort in good conscience. Mostly years back, as I have seen far more than I cared to in this area, and as I said, countless kittens who are born, then their lives are ended, which is so much worse to me.

Normally they can be delivered without human intervention, but trust me, cats are not normal and it's common for the unexpected to happen, so you will need to know what to do in case-

Baby gets stuck in the birth canal, she doesn';t chew off the cords, she doesn't get them breathing, she won't nurse them, some won't nurse, or she delivers early.

You get past all that and then will be watching for any /and or the smallest to not nurse well, and be prepared to feed it/them. Lots of time and patience.

During this earlier time, you may lose one, or more. You must accept this as nature, it is not us to make the call whether they all lived, or they all do not live.

At around 3 1/2 weeks old they will start getting messier, mom is growing tired of nursing them, she will be in heat again and restless to get away, and they will start checking out just what that food is that mom is eating, and will each begin to eat that way, and eventually eat on their own. 

Once they all eat on their own they will be separated from mom so she will dry up.

THIS to me is a heartbreaking point. She cries for them, they cry for her.

Meanwhile during their growth, you will be searching for homes to adopt them to. You might pre-arrange a rescue group to take them from you and be vaccinated, fixed, and adopted out. You may not though, this has been QUITE the kitten season and I know my rescue group, my fosters are burnt out by now and still have fosters to be adopted out. So this is very iffy. If not you will be on your own. If there are black kittens they usually take alot more time and might be more like teenagers by the time they find a home. They need deworming, de-fleaing, vaccines, spays/neuters, etc.

By the time they are ready, they are rowdy and extremely messy. Little hell raisers. 

You will also be searching for a place to locate her.

I'm not sure about the place you talked about that the fishermen feed them, as she may be taken and released there, but at that point, she has no place to be acclimated to, and no longer remembers where she came from, so you may have a wandering soul with noplace to go. 

Maybe not too, since by then she has forgotten where she once lived, and might stick around for food there.

You also said there are other cats there? This can be a huge issue too, often times there are cats who own the territory so-to-speak, and may very well NOT allow her to stay around and eat, especially when food is hard to come by, they don't want another cat taking away from them. 

Many households have mice in their homes/yards, this to me is ideal for her, she simply needs to be contained for a month and will acclimate there. Having a backyard kitty is actually nice. Just be sure she has shelter and a regular food/water supply. (maybe even a bit of interaction once she gets feeling safe and has some trust gained)

Aborting the fetuses-

If they are only approx 5 weeks developed, they don't even have bones developed yet. they are nearly unrecognizable as unborn kittens.

It is humanely done, and she will return to her unpregnant state in days.

You will have saved however many babies she would have had's lives, because for every kitten born and gets a home, there is one already born who will die due to lack of enough homes for all.

Obviously I am pro-abortion, especially at another month to go!

But I did try to realistically outline the facts of delivering vs abortion.

Bottom line is, you are this kitty's hero, and have now changed her life and future

If you decide to abort, there may be a hormonal roller coaster. This happened with a cat I found many years ago. I found her, and then found a home for her. I paid for the spay and the shots. It wasn't until during the spay that the pregnancy was discovered. Maybe ask the vet about possible hormonal changes?

cocheezie said:

 
If you decide to abort, there may be a hormonal roller coaster. This happened with a cat I found many years ago. I found her, and then found a home for her. I paid for the spay and the shots. It wasn't until during the spay that the pregnancy was discovered. Maybe ask the vet about possible hormonal changes?

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It happens very fast, within a couple days her body will have adjusted back.