Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been hit with a pair of devastating kitty health crises. On Friday night, we noticed a small lump on Fizzgigâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s upper abdomen, and brought her in to the vet on Saturday AM. The vet said it was most likely a mammary gland mass and scheduled her for a lumpectomy and spay surgery on Wednesday.
She had her surgery today; what should have been a half hour procedure took a hour and 45 minutes. The vet opened her to do the spay and found her to have a severe case of pyometra (infected uterus). When he removed the mammary mass, he described it as “huge†and it had tentacles extending outwards with large blood vessels. He described what he did as “an extremely radical mastectomyâ€. She will be sent home with an Elizabethan collar on it, and we were told that we must be extremely careful to make sure she doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t bite at her wound, because the skin is stretched so tightly that if she did, she could very easily puncture a lung. Her prognosis is guarded at best.
Merlin has had diarrhea for a little under 2 weeks, and weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been treating her with antibiotics, without results. Yesterday, she hid in the attic and didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t come down for breakfast or dinner. We brought her down later in the evening and gave her a full can of tuna, which she devoured. However, she was growling when we picked her up and seemed to be straining in the litterbox. We brought her in this AM when we dropped Fizzgig off at the vet.
She has either an intestinal infection or a parasite problem. They suspect Giardia, which is extremely contagious, and are running tests. If it is Giardia, the entire house of cats will need treatment. She was extremely dehydrated and they couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get an IV into her veins, so sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been getting sub-q fluid. She is going to need a special diet. Her prognosis is also guarded.
Our vet, bless his heart, is not charging us for a pyometra spay, just a “regular†spay, and is charging us for a lumpectomy rather than a radical mastectomy.
The most devastating part of this is that they are both only one year old.
We bottle-raised Fizzy from 3 days old and Merlin from 3 weeks old. Fizzy is "Daddy's Little Girl" and sleeps curled up under Tybalt's chin every night. Merlin is my little girl and sleeps next to me every night, and is the first one to greet me every evening when I return home from work.
Please send healing vibes for these girls, they need them!
She had her surgery today; what should have been a half hour procedure took a hour and 45 minutes. The vet opened her to do the spay and found her to have a severe case of pyometra (infected uterus). When he removed the mammary mass, he described it as “huge†and it had tentacles extending outwards with large blood vessels. He described what he did as “an extremely radical mastectomyâ€. She will be sent home with an Elizabethan collar on it, and we were told that we must be extremely careful to make sure she doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t bite at her wound, because the skin is stretched so tightly that if she did, she could very easily puncture a lung. Her prognosis is guarded at best.
Merlin has had diarrhea for a little under 2 weeks, and weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been treating her with antibiotics, without results. Yesterday, she hid in the attic and didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t come down for breakfast or dinner. We brought her down later in the evening and gave her a full can of tuna, which she devoured. However, she was growling when we picked her up and seemed to be straining in the litterbox. We brought her in this AM when we dropped Fizzgig off at the vet.
She has either an intestinal infection or a parasite problem. They suspect Giardia, which is extremely contagious, and are running tests. If it is Giardia, the entire house of cats will need treatment. She was extremely dehydrated and they couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get an IV into her veins, so sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been getting sub-q fluid. She is going to need a special diet. Her prognosis is also guarded.
Our vet, bless his heart, is not charging us for a pyometra spay, just a “regular†spay, and is charging us for a lumpectomy rather than a radical mastectomy.
The most devastating part of this is that they are both only one year old.
Please send healing vibes for these girls, they need them!