Pebbles is having to go back to the vets again

She is seeming a lot like her old self - she has come downstairs twice (and used the tray and water bowl that is down there, despite there being 2 of each upstairs!!), and even sat at the door, so I put her on the extendable lead and let her have 2 mins outside - she was starting to get annoyed by the lead then, so I carried her in. Sometimes when I look at her walking, you wouldn't suspect anything, other times, you can see a limp and a slight turnout of that leg. It is 8 days since her op, and am glad that it is seeming so much better. She is still going upstairs funny, but she has always done that, so not that big an issue. Just so relieved, but don't want her having full outdoor access just yet. So it is looking like she wont have to go back to the vets this week, I am sure she will be incredibly pleased!!

For many positive reasons, have you considered converting Pebbles to an all indoor kitty?
It would be a much safer environment for her.
I am glad that she is doing better.

Not really an option, she has always had outdoor access (too much in the past apparently), and up until yesterday, I thought she would actually prefer to be indoors, but then she did want to go out. My other cat and both long term fosters all have outdoor access, so not fair to prevent her from going out (and my male won't tolerate being indoors only). Indoor/outdoor cats are very common in the area that I live in, I dont actually know any that are indoor only.

Why not try an out door enclosure of some sort. If you can't, do not want to build one there are so many options on the market - why not give it a look.

Glad your baby is ont he mend - plenty of huggs and kisses!!

I don't have a back door, never mind a garden, so an enclosure is out of the question.

Well, I am either talking to the locum vet, asking to see the locum vet tomorrow night, or arranging for her to have x-rays on Wed, as she has just wandered into the cat room and struggled cos it is bare floorboards, combined with still struggling with the stairs and bed seems to indicate that she still has a weakness in that back leg, and in which case she isn't any better off than before having the op, which is making me wonder if the pin was the only issue. Esp as the locum vet thought that it felt dislocated. Surely a pin can't do that.

I spoke to a vet at the practice who did the op (my locum vet didn't want to talk to me), and he said that she would prob always have a weakness in that leg, and put her breathing down to cat flu as a kitten. But, her leg has been buckling a bit today, so I am going to put her back on MEtacam, and ring both my vet and the vet who did the op (have already checked if he is in this weekend and he isn't) to see what we should do next. Hopefully it is just that I took her off the MEtacam too soon and she wont have to have more tests done. Health probs with her seem never ending - the vet I spoke to said I had adopted a cat with baggage, I think it is an understatement.

Poor Pebbles! I hope putting her back on Metacam helps.

Well, it is bothering me more than her (typical!!). She had some Metacam with her tea, and will give her some more tomorrow until I Can talk to both vets on Mon.

Originally Posted by booktigger

Well, it is bothering me more than her (typical!!). She had some Metacam with her tea, and will give her some more tomorrow until I Can talk to both vets on Mon.

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Does Pebbles drink tea?!? Or is that the English way of saying she got her meds with her snack?!?

I can almost picture Miss Pebbles sitting at a pretty little table, with her cuppa tea, sipping at it as she nibbles on a biscuit!

I wish she was making a better recovery. Get well soon, Pebbles!!!!

My cats get brekkie (7am), tea (5.30pm) and supper (9.00pm)
Thanks for the good wishes - she has been incredibly grumpy this morning, hopefully only cos I had a lie in so brekkie was late.

Oh, thanks for clearing that up! Keep us posted on how Pebbles is progressing, ok?

:-)
Spoke to the vet who did the op on Mon, who is confused about it seeming right and then having a setback, and thinks I did the right thing by putting her back on MEtacam. He wants me give her 5 days on it, which is Wed, and if there is no improvement to take her back to my vet - they didnt have any apps left for WEd (it is a half day, so not as many apps), so have made an app for Thurs just in case she isn't any better. He thinks they may want to re x-ray that leg just to check it out, and she might possibly have to be on Metacam for the rest of her life, and there is also a good chance that as that leg has been broken, she will get arthritis in it. The app is defo being kept, as she is more aggressive than normal, I feel really sorry for poor Tom at the moment. She wont eat her normal wet food either, but did this just after the op, so have had to put her on poorer quality wet food to get hte Metacam in her.
Also, where she had her op has scabbed over - is this normal with dissolvable stitches?

I'm not sure about the scab...I don't think that is normal. Maybe you should post a new thread asking about that?!? And check with the vet, of course. Poor Pebbles, it still does seem that something is wrong...I hope she heals up soon.

Cheers Becki - wont get chance to check any replies before tomorrows vet visit though, so will have to see what the vet says. She didn't seem her usual self this morning, but is seeming a bit brighter today, although (and I hope I am imagining things) it seems like her leg is a bit worse.

Poor baby.. I am sending vibes and prayers...

Took her to the vets, the vet watched her walk, and felt the leg, and said that there is a possibility there is a bone infection/inflammation, or it is something that will only be picked up on an x-ray. So we have put her on extremely strong antibiotics over the weekend, plus I am to keep her on 2 drops of Metacam and if there is no difference (and the vet isn't making any promises) then we will have another chat to see where we go - I will be pushing for x-rays next, I wont accept any more medications till they know what that bone looks like. The vet asked what she was like with medication and I laughed!! The vet then found out how difficult she is cos she couldnt get one down her, so she called the vet nurse in, but I took over (despite the vet telling me to wait) - by the time he had come in, the tablet was down her neck (although again, I had to get my fingers scarily close to her teeth for it to go down in one) - they can be opened and contents sprinkled, shall be trying that tomorrow.
The worrying part is that when the vet weighed her to get the right dosage, she guessed at 3.5 while holding her, and I said she couldn't be, she was 4.02 3 weeks ago - the scales said 3.63 - I dont understand how she has lost so much weight, even when she has had days of being off her wet food, I have given her enough to get the Metacam and then given her as much dry as she has wanted. It has also wiped out so many months of building her back up to over 4kg - but she has lost tiny amounts of weight the past 2/3 checkups, so she was being monitored to check it wasn't the start of yet another weight loss.
So, still no idea of what is wrong with that leg, or when it will ever get sorted - her op was 3 weeks on Sat, and it has just been one issue after another.

I am sorry you have no answer... Fingers are crossed that something is found..

Not an incredibly good weekend for either of us. Sometimes when I watch her walk my hopes go up cos she seems fine, then other times my heart sinks cos it is looking as bad/worse. So I will be ringing the vets tomorrow and demanding x-rays. She has also been really iffy with her food, she has been given 5 different kinds of wet food (all bar one she has eaten no probs before the antibiotics), but is eating dry as long as I put it on the floor/bed, wherever she is, rather than in the bowl - and at the moment I am willing to pander to her. I am going to get the vet to check her mouth cos of it - I attempted to look yesterday and couldn't see anything, but she hates her mouth being touched. She has a black patch on her gum that is looking like it is bigger, and she does occasionally hold the lip on that side oddly - am sure I mentioned it to the vets at some point last year though.

Perhaps she has an upset stomach because of the antibiotics?