Ellie's brush with death

Poor Ellie - and it was all my fault. Yesterday she was attacked by three dogs because I didn't fasten the carrier properly - it was a new one and I didn't realise you had to do the bottom clips too. The upshot was that during a visit to my friend's house where the vet met us to do all the cats' blood tests, Ellie escaped from the carrier and was mauled by three dogs. Fortunately we got to her in time and pulled the dogs off, and having a vet on hand meant that he could check her over immediately. She is in total shock but otherwise seems uninjured, thank goodness. One of the dogs, a terrier, had her by the face, and she has a mark across her nose, but he was bleeding from the encounter, not her. I kept her quiet and separated last night - she just curled up in a corner of my room and didn't want anything. Today she has not eaten or drunk anything by herself, but I have been getting milk and water into her by syringe, and an egg yolk. Last night she used the litter box, a little bit liquid but I guess that could have been shock. She has begun slowly to clean herself, but squeaks when touched on the tummy or sides, so I think she is bruised. And her mouth may hurt from the dog holding her. Other than that, she just sits on her tummy - last night she could not lie on her side comfortably. Does anyone have any experience with dealing with a cat in shock? Apart from keeping her hydrated and calm I am not sure what else to do or how long this may take to wear off.

thats horrible, Ellie is lucky to have survived

Oh my gosh Jenny! How scary!!! Don't have any advice, but I'm definitely sending lots of soothing energy to poor Miss Ellie.

Oh Jenny thats one of my fears when i take mine to the vets Even after the vets had the top off the carrier when she gets them out i still check it myself after she's put it back on.

Poor Ellie, i hope she calms down soon don't blame yourself though

I am so sorry..how awful for her and for you. I don't have experience with this, but in general with shock, I'd try to keep her warm...if you can put out a low heat heating pad covered with a towel - and encourage her to lie on this, it may help and feel good on her bruised tummy.
Also...ask your vet if you can use a homeopathic med I've used post-op for muscle soreness and pain in my cats post spay or c/section - arnica montana (I would give a single tiny sublingual tab to my guys every 4 hours or so).

Please keep us posted,

Poor Ellie - she must have been terrified! I'm always leery of the carriers, too. Other than keeping her warm, the only thing that comes to mind is Bach's Rescue Remedy.

Oh, how horrible, Jenny, poor little Ellie! This must have been so incredibly scary for her, and for you! Sure hope the above suggestions are helpful. I'm most familiar with the Bach's Resue Remedy, have used it both for Sierra and myself, and find it to be quite effective. Please give darling Ellie snuggles from us and tell her what a brave little girl she is!

Thanks - I will go to the pharmacy tomorrow and see what I can get - I am not sure if either will be available here. But Ellie is definitely better tonight, she is purring and currently lying in front of my keyboard sucking like mad on my arm. The wild scared look in her eyes has gone too. She came downstairs and let Persil groom her a bit, though not on the shoulder or tummy, where I think she feels most sore. She still won't eat on her own - I made some catfood soup and got 100 ml down her this afternoon and evening, as well as some water and milk mix. ANother day or two of rest and I think she will be herself again. The others are mostly leaving her alone, even when she is downstairs - they seem to know she wants to be left in peace.

poor ellie!

my rabbit was savaged by a terrier and went into shock.

we were told to keep him in a warm, quiet, dark room and leave him to sleep for as much as possible.

Another thing that happens when kitties get uber-stressed that way is that this whole HUGE amount of glycogen (think: "sugar") gets dumped into their bloodstream ... this happens so that the muscles can uptake it for a quick burst of energy in the instance they will need it to fight or to run. And it takes a while for the kidneys to process all that stuff out of the blood and for the muscles to recover from their part in all of this. She is probably sore, headachey and going to be on what I call a "Sugar Bitc*" for a day or two - real cranky. She will probably urinate and drink more than normal. Make sure her eletrolites (potassium and sodium in particular) stay in balance with a little unflavored pedialyte.

Hope she is feeling back to normal very soon,

~gf~

Thanks Gayef. At present she is not drinking or eating at all, but I have been giving her fluid (water/goats milk) every hour or so in a syringe which she takes easily, and even licks her lips and grooms herself a little afterwards. It makes me think her mouth is sore. But I will try the pedialyte.

Oh poor Ellie. Keeping her in my thoughts!

If arnica is available at your pharmacy, you might want to get some. Give her one small tablet a day, just pop it in her mouth and keep her mouth closed for a second- it dissolves quickly.

Also make her a nice cave to lie in- a cardboard box turned on its side piled with warm bedding and draped with a towel, where she can just go in and sleep and regenerate. Let her have a nice dark quiet room to sleep in, but don't shut the door, give her the option of coming out if she wants. I I would also seriously think about throwing out that new carrier and getting another kind, it is doubtful she will go in it again because of what happened,

Oh, Ellie. Poor baby girl, those mean dogs hurting you. Lots of healing and comforting vibes heading your way, Jenny.

Oh poor Ellie! Sending her lots of "feel better soon vibes"!

I'm glad to say Ellie is much better today and is even eating a little on her own, though not as much as normal. At least she went to her bowl this morning and was interested, then took a few mouthfuls. She drank a little too. Her walking is better too, though still a bit stiff, and her coat is nearly clear of mud and dog saliva. I didn't want to clean it myself as any touch really hurt her. But Persil has been helping her clean up. I am still giving her fluids by syringe and am off this afternoon to look for arnica and other things!
Thanks for all your advice. Vet Haris phoned me to see how she was and was happy with progress.

Oh Jennie, sorry to hear about Ellie. So happy that she is feeling better and sweet Persil is helping her clean up.

Hugs to you and the babes.

Ellie is back to her old self this morning, ate breakfast, went out for half an hour, came back and ate a second breakfast (finishing what was left in the others' bowls!). But this morning around 6.30 there was a dog barking outside - I have never seen a cat move so fast - she leapt off the bed and rushed to the window to see what it was. The others hardly stirred. She will be very wary of dogs, I think, from now on, a good thing.

I got the arnica yesterday but have not used it as there was no need. It is good to have it in the medical box, though. I didn't know you could use it on cats. Thanks, everyone.

Awwww bless Persil for washing Ellie, thats so sweet!

And thats lovely that your vet phoned to check on her Jenny!

good to hear she's feeling better.