Cat blinded by Baytril

stephenq · Nov 23, 2015

Hey

While I don't believe in absolutes in the world of medicine I do believe that putting in the feeding tube was a great decision as it gives kitten the best chance for recovery with the lowest stress possible. Correctly done, tube feeding is a simple and easy procedure that the cat is minimally aware of, perhaps only to realize that she goes from hungry to happy.

A couple of notes that I'm sure your vet staff will go over with you in a demo of feeding. Go slowly. Too fast and kitten will start to get nauseous. If she starts to lick her lips during feeding stop immediately and wait until the licking stops. The licking indicates nausea.

Only give as many ML's of food as instructed at any given feeding.

Make sure you properly clean the tube by flushing it with water after feeding, with the amount of water as instructed by vet staff.

I think it's fair to say that kitten has a big following here on TCS and all of us, members and staff alike are rooting for her and for you in a big way.
:vibes:

lazer · Nov 23, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
Thank you for the support. Kitten came through her procedure fine and the staff said she was tolerating the tube well. Barring any unforeseen complications I can go pick her up today around noon.

Slept for 8 solid hours and still feel exhausted.

Best of luck, please keep us updated. She will pull through!

zed xyzed · Nov 23, 2015

eating on her own is a good sign, sending her healing thoughts

kittens mom · Nov 23, 2015

We are home. I left her crated while Mook scoped her out. Kitten seems to not quite know what to do with herself. She ate about a teaspoon of wet offered. And used the litter box.

Her tube feeding was supposed to be a noon. Since she ate some and I haven't had a chance to prepare the food I'm going to wait until the next feeding time so she can decompress. This is for the long haul. No sense starting out in a fight.

Vet was pleased with how she looked this morning. and that she ate twice on her own and used litter tray in her cage.

lazer · Nov 23, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
We are home. I left her crated while Mook scoped her out. Kitten seems to not quite know what to do with herself. She ate about a teaspoon of wet offered. And used the litter box.

Her tube feeding was supposed to be a noon. Since she ate some and I haven't had a chance to prepare the food I'm going to wait until the next feeding time so she can decompress. This is for the long haul. No sense starting out in a fight.

Vet was pleased with how she looked this morning. and that she ate twice on her own and used litter tray in her cage.

Glad to hear you're off to a good start. Stay strong, Kitten!

kittens mom · Nov 23, 2015

StephenQ said:
Hey

While I don't believe in absolutes in the world of medicine I do believe that putting in the feeding tube was a great decision as it gives kitten the best chance for recovery with the lowest stress possible. Correctly done, tube feeding is a simple and easy procedure that the cat is minimally aware of, perhaps only to realize that she goes from hungry to happy.

A couple of notes that I'm sure your vet staff will go over with you in a demo of feeding. Go slowly. Too fast and kitten will start to get nauseous. If she starts to lick her lips during feeding stop immediately and wait until the licking stops. The licking indicates nausea.

Only give as many ML's of food as instructed at any given feeding.

Make sure you properly clean the tube by flushing it with water after feeding, with the amount of water as instructed by vet staff.

I think it's fair to say that kitten has a big following here on TCS and all of us, members and staff alike are rooting for her and for you in a big way.

Around 3 I worked up the courage and prepped her food and gave her a small feeding. I figured the water was needed. Just to get the feel of this. How to set it up and have everything in hands reach and how was Kitten going to handle this. She was not charming in the ICU. Aside from some grumbling I got a few Mils of food in and rinsed the tube. While she's obviously still quite a sick cat she is much more alert.

At 6PM I gave the full feeding plus the clavamox rinsed and closed the tube. Took about 15 minutes and she didn't need to be restrained with more than an occasional hand on her. I prepped two feeding tubes that can be warmed in some water for midnight and the morning. First you agree to do this because you love them. Then you see your cat with her neck all wrapped up and a tube sticking out and you wonder if you can. No one should be intimidated by this procedure or doing it themselves.

And thank you for the lip licking warning. I don't see this as an unpleasant thing for the cat unless you fail to warm the food and water or go to fast. I don't want her to develop an unpleasant association with this.

She does seem very reluctant to climb or jump up on things. Considering being put under last night and not really having much nourishment for the past week that could be expected. And the wrap on the neck itself does restrict her motion a bit. Or at least she thinks it does. She limped on the one leg till I took the vet wrap off.

I plan a trip to the farm store tomorrow to get some more of the big syringes so I can do a full days worth of food prep at one time. I also informed the man of the house that he is gong to learn to do this too.

Thank you for the support. We no longer have our heads underwater but aren't on solid ground yet either. It's difficult because you want to see instant improvement. I was told to give this two weeks and then contact the vet unless their was an emergency.

She did find a spot by the glass storm door for a few minutes but then went back to her low perch on the cat tree. Her little world got rocked. I suppose it's rather naïve to think she would come home and act 100% normal.

She has used the litter box a few times for urine and not one sign of throwing up . Little baby kitten steps I guess.

BTW congrats on your new family member.

donutte · Nov 24, 2015

It sounds like Kitten is doing very well right now with the tube! So glad she didn't seem to have any problems with it.

Edit: And yes - we do this all because we love them SO much. Beyond belief sometimes.

kittens mom · Nov 24, 2015

Donutte said:
It sounds like Kitten is doing very well right now with the tube! So glad she didn't seem to have any problems with it.

Edit: And yes - we do this all because we love them SO much. Beyond belief sometimes.

The 6AM is in along with the clavamox and water. She's weak and pretty quiet but what is going in is staying in. I know she was up while I catnapped because her blanket had walked along with her to the kitchen. She started purring while I tube fed her. I wonder if it feels good to them in some way. While she's getting a minimal amount now I have to think she's had enough if there was going to be vomit we would start to see it. She's back asleep and really considering what her body is going through I guess that's what she really needs. She slept for almost a solid week during and right after her URI. I am using good thoughts today and wishing the same to everyone else with a sick kitty today. It's one day at a time no matter what the outcome.

stephenq · Nov 24, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
BTW congrats on your new family member.

You're doing great and so is Kitten. Given where she was a day ago this is great news. Expect baby steps (or kitten steps) of improvement. You and your man are heros, and Kitten is so lucky to have you. I look forward to the day when all is back to normal, and you can breathe a sigh of relief. This issue is obviously much more serious than her becoming blind from a medical standpoint, but as a "two-fer" this is a lot to handle and you have my admiration. And thanks about noticing that we have Cricket, she adores Jenny and dotes on her like a young mom.

kittens mom · Nov 24, 2015

StephenQ said:
You're doing great and so is Kitten. Given where she was a day ago this is great news. Expect baby steps (or kitten steps) of improvement. You and your man are heros, and Kitten is so lucky to have you. I look forward to the day when all is back to normal, and you can breathe a sigh of relief. This issue is obviously much more serious than her becoming blind from a medical standpoint, but as a "two-fer" this is a lot to handle and you have my admiration. And thanks about noticing that we have Cricket, she adores Jenny and dotes on her like a young mom.

Right now I'm tickled that food going in is staying in. In a few days I can start fretting if what is going in is not coming out the correct end. You would do no less for your cats and many here have done even more. Kitten does seem to have a bit more strength this morning. Her tail was up and quite fluffy. One of her pet names is Fluffy Noodle. It was good to see that.

Jenny is click bait. Putting aside she is blind there is something so charming about her that has nothing to do with that. You can never see a picture of her without smiling.

stephenq · Nov 24, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
Right now I'm tickled that food going in is staying in. In a few days I can start fretting if what is going in is not coming out the correct end. You would do no less for your cats and many here have done even more. Kitten does seem to have a bit more strength this morning. Her tail was up and quite fluffy. One of her pet names is Fluffy Noodle. It was good to see that.

Jenny is click bait. Putting aside she is blind there is something so charming about her that has nothing to do with that. You can never see a picture of her without smiling.

Fluffy Noodle is about the cutest name ever! Kitten should start pooping soon. What goes in will come out

Thank you for the jenny comments. We couldn't agree more! I will try and find the picture i took at her at the shelter, the money shot that got my other half to come to the shelter to look at her.

kittens mom · Nov 24, 2015

So right now I'm questioning my decision to put this feeding tube in instead of letting her go in peace. It is NOT easy to have a pet this sick in your house. I'm not talking about taking care of her. It's the constant emotional roller coaster. And each time I'm convinced I'm a monster I see her look at me with her Kitten face on. She's in there. It does not help that the MAN thinks that since we can stuff food in her that she's going to get better. Selective hearing is a specialty with him when we have issues like this.

The ICU vet wanted me to take Kitten to the vet today to check the incision. It looks fine. They forget that for her it's a hundred mile round trip lots of it on bumpy roads. She'll need another blood test in two weeks. I hope we make it that far. It's a very important milestone in this disease. She's survived the first critical days. Now we fix our eyes on the next goal and evaluate from there. It's easy in a conference room to make these decisions. Real life and pet your love makes it painful. It's good to understand the protocol for this treatment. It's what keeps me a little bit sane tonight. Off to feed.

donutte · Nov 24, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
So right now I'm questioning my decision to put this feeding tube in instead of letting her go in peace. It is NOT easy to have a pet this sick in your house. I'm not talking about taking care of her. It's the constant emotional roller coaster. And each time I'm convinced I'm a monster I see her look at me with her Kitten face on. She's in there. It does not help that the MAN thinks that since we can stuff food in her that she's going to get better. Selective hearing is a specialty with him when we have issues like this.

The ICU vet wanted me to take Kitten to the vet today to check the incision. It looks fine. They forget that for her it's a hundred mile round trip lots of it on bumpy roads. She'll need another blood test in two weeks. I hope we make it that far. It's a very important milestone in this disease. She's survived the first critical days. Now we fix our eyes on the next goal and evaluate from there. It's easy in a conference room to make these decisions. Real life and pet your love makes it painful. It's good to understand the protocol for this treatment. It's what keeps me a little bit sane tonight. Off to feed.

Just take it one day at a time. My roller coaster ride was a different kinda trip, and only lasted 16 days, but I do understand.

And, be good to yourself during this time too.

kittens mom · Nov 24, 2015

Elation. A small rather small bowel movement. I noticed her bottom wasn't tidy when I picked her up and rooted through the litter box with my bare fingers. The men in the white coats and nets are on the way. And yes I washed and sanitized my fingers before touching either her feeding tubes or this computer.

I bought one of the cheap bullet blenders today to puree her cat food and picked up assorted bandaging sundries and extra feeding tubes. Done up 2 cans of the A/D. She was supposed to get 30mil tonight but at 25 she got squirmy. I waited a few and flushed the tube and cleaned her up. Better a bit less than it all on the floor.

lazer · Nov 24, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
Elation. A small rather small bowel movement. I noticed her bottom wasn't tidy when I picked her up and rooted through the litter box with my bare fingers. The men in the white coats and nets are on the way. And yes I washed and sanitized my fingers before touching either her feeding tubes or this computer.

I bought one of the cheap bullet blenders today to puree her cat food and picked up assorted bandaging sundries and extra feeding tubes. Done up 2 cans of the A/D. She was supposed to get 30mil tonight but at 25 she got squirmy. I waited a few and flushed the tube and cleaned her up. Better a bit less than it all on the floor.

Yay on bowel movement! I totally know the feeling of both the emotional exhaustion and going full crazy and digging around the litter box with your fingers. When Rigel magic-peed on what would have been his PTS day I took pictures of and collected that first pee clump and each pee clump since for the next 1-2 weeks. Each time we had to go to the vet I would drag the pee clumps around like a crazy person, _just in case_ they were relevant. At that point I hadn't been sleeping for a week watching Rigel and was getting really loopy. It's been a few months and we still keep 24 hours worth of clumps from him each day to keep an eye on pee volume. But I would like to think that's just logical...

Anyway, it sounds like you are doing well!

kittens mom · Nov 24, 2015

lazer said:
Yay on bowel movement! I totally know the feeling of both the emotional exhaustion and going full crazy and digging around the litter box with your fingers. When Rigel magic-peed on what would have been his PTS day I took pictures of and collected that first pee clump and each pee clump since for the next 1-2 weeks. Each time we had to go to the vet I would drag the pee clumps around like a crazy person, _just in case_ they were relevant. At that point I hadn't been sleeping for a week watching Rigel and was getting really loopy. It's been a few months and we still keep 24 hours worth of clumps from him each day to keep an eye on pee volume. But I would like to think that's just logical...

Anyway, it sounds like you are doing well!

So, you'll be in the padded cell next to me ???

stephenq · Nov 24, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
So, you'll be in the padded cell next to me ???

Just.Hang.In.There.

One day at a time, one step at a time. She deserves this chance. And for you, i highly recommend Ativan 0.5mg or similar. Seriously, in times of great stress, an anxiety med can be of great help. I've been there.

kittens mom · Nov 24, 2015

StephenQ said:
Just.Hang.In.There.

One day at a time, one step at a time. She deserves this chance. And for you, i highly recommend Ativan 0.5mg or similar. Seriously, in times of great stress, an anxiety med can be of great help. I've been there.

Right before this hammer dropped I think both of us realized we are going to have to sue the vet that overdosed her on Baytril . I sent a second demand letter to the lawyer with all of the paperwork as well as some photos and haven't heard a peep. I did fail to include a respond by date. So Monday I need to send a very formal letter , contact the SVB and ask if I am entitled to a copy of her response. She was able to see mine , seems fair. But I will despite my balking take Kitten to the regular vet to have her incision and tube inspected. I have made 5 round trip drives to the city now in 3 days on minimal sleep. The man attempted a feeding. It was like watching a Bumble thread a silk needle. He managed to soil her neck wrap even with protective covering. I had to bite my tongue and then gently fired him from participating unless I happen to fall over dead. Don't feel bad for him. He almost cried in relief. I curled up and went to bed and slept for 3 solid hours. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm just scared to death of losing my little baby way before her time.

lazer · Nov 25, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
Right before this hammer dropped I think both of us realized we are going to have to sue the vet that overdosed her on Baytril . I sent a second demand letter to the lawyer with all of the paperwork as well as some photos and haven't heard a peep. I did fail to include a respond by date. So Monday I need to send a very formal letter , contact the SVB and ask if I am entitled to a copy of her response. She was able to see mine , seems fair. But I will despite my balking take Kitten to the regular vet to have her incision and tube inspected. I have made 5 round trip drives to the city now in 3 days on minimal sleep. The man attempted a feeding. It was like watching a Bumble thread a silk needle. He managed to soil her neck wrap even with protective covering. I had to bite my tongue and then gently fired him from participating unless I happen to fall over dead. Don't feel bad for him. He almost cried in relief. I curled up and went to bed and slept for 3 solid hours. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm just scared to death of losing my little baby way before her time.

It's great that "the man" is so supportive of everything you're doing for Kitten, even if a little less competent at the practical things. I imagine this would be a much more stressful and difficult situation if you had to fight Kitten's illness on one front and your partner on the other. I've been there and it was such a huge relief when my partner (who was not a cat lover when we got the cats) never even brought up the idea of not continuing to fight for our kitten's life. He too is great with the basics of our cat's treatment but isn't really as involved in the more fiddly practical details. It can get frustrating when it seems like they don't know what they're doing, but just the fact that they're trying and putting their support behind the whole endeavour is a big passive help, I think.

stephenq · Nov 25, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
. Don't feel bad for him. He almost cried in relief. I curled up and went to bed and slept for 3 solid hours. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm just scared to death of losing my little baby way before her time.

Perhaps the man can be taught? You;re doing great. Small claims court is fairly straight forward, i think you should consider just filing and moving forward.

Cat blinded by Baytril

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

Thread starter

TCS Member

Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

Thread starter

Professional cat sitter extraordinaire!

Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

Thread starter

TCS Member

Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

Thread starter

TCS Member

Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

Thread starter

Professional cat sitter extraordinaire!

Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

Thread starter

TCS Member

Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

Thread starter

TCS Member

Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member