Sasha got mauled--head trauma

[turtlecat]

good point, but I think I agree that it was mostly a "Mommy no!!! I don't want to to be hurt.. look at what it did to me!"

poor little button, but at least he was protecting his mommy!darn tootin.

I'm glad though that you caught his reaction so well, and also that he is able to function enough to tell you what's wrong! he'll eat better, soonBy the way, if he seems overly antsy and stressed I do suggest the feliway stuff to make him feel more reassured.

 

[blondiecat]

Awwwwww poor Sasha

Bless his little heart he wanted Momma to be safe. I think he was remembering what happened to him out there and when he saw you knealing down working he was trying to warn you that it might happen to you too.

Sasha you are such a brave and good soul to warn Momma about that. It's really good that you say his reaction and calmed him down. Please give him a loving rub from me.

 

[sashacat421]

Well! Eric is fishing in Canada the last couple of days and not home...he is the master kitty-feeder a la syringe, so since Sasha has shown a lot of interest in his regular food (thanks to Pat's wild salmon treats) I brought some home that was firm and not too hard, not too soft, just the right consistency for him to get it into his mouth and hopefully manipulate it into his tummy, somehow. Well! Sasha rushed over and tried....and...tenacity! Perseverence! ......The kitchen floor was soon covered, cat food going everywhere - in the water, around the bowl - a masterpiece! What art! what patterns of detail and texture! Therein lies Sasha's talent: Food Art.
But he did it!

HA! I'd say he got 40-50% of the little can, but he did do it. My gut is that his tongue will not ever be the same, that there was sufficient nerve damage that it has indeed severed feeling and it probably won't come back. My own two left toes are still numb after my snow accident this winter and it's been 5 months....but the coyote clubber is workin' it, and we're gonna to do a little Food Art every day now!

 

[turtlecat]

YAY sashie! I'm glad he's having food art! it's better then food spit, and it's probably helpful to his confidence that he can eat by himself (if messily)!

 

[sbbeatnik]

Excellent news!!!

So glad to hear Sasha is such a persistant little kitty. I am SO happy to hear this

Susan
Dylan's Mommy

 

[dawnofsierra]

Way to go, Sasha!

The world famous, food artist!

You'll be rich!

 

[hissy]

Elizabeth,

Try putting the mixture on a cookie sheet. Once he gets to the lip of the cookie sheet, it is likely he can use that to his advantage and get more in his mouth. Or, use a brand new litter pan, the sides are steeper and he would have more leverage.

Give this courageous kitty a gentle hug. I would still explore accupuncture for his nerve and tongue damage.

 

[momofmany]

When my Shep had severe oral problems, she used to eat by pushing the food against the edge of the bowl and used her lower jaw to push it up into her mouth. We found a shallow bowl (about 1 inch high) with a 90 degree angle upward that helped her tremendously. Since we fed her on the counter, we pushed the bowl up against the backsplash and if food hit the backsplash, it would roll back into the bowl. Gratefully, this is behind us.

 

[sashacat421]

Cookie sheet - as in a large 9x13? I put the food in a larger square bowl with higher sides so he can maneuver the food "up" the walls... even put some on the carpet so it sits in one place and doesn't slide around, better chance of him being able to pick it up, but then I don't care for any fibers getting into him, either, but I put a big chunk down.

so his tongue wouldn't touch the carpet. He did better on the carpet than the bowls, and then second attempt was better in the bowl than carpet, although we have now remodeled our kitchen with food art.

I wrote to some professors at WSU School of Veterinary Meduicine, they're nationally known. Sasha's French-Canadian vet from Halifax, N.S. went to school here because she had heard it was the best...so I wrote this long letter, hopefully it didn't bore them, but asked specifically about feline tongue neurology and case histories they knew of, also an acupuncture recommendation, and their thoughts. I offered to pay for their research associate's time, the DVM candidates that have to research topics for final papers or whatnot. I hope to hear from them. Maybe a poor-starving grad student might take an interest! I'm sure they get a lot of mail. We'll see. I have a msg into Dr. B for the same now that his improvement seems to be stalling. Thanx for all the winderful support and ideas!!

 

[jcat]

I'm glad to hear Sasha is doing so well, and hope you can overcome the "food art" problem. Have you tried feeding him from a spoon or the tip of a blunt knife, BTW? When our last cat had major oral surgery (cyst) and had trouble eating while recovering, I used to put a little bit of cat food on the tip of a knife and place it in his mouth (he bit fingers). It was slow going, but worked.

 

[sashacat421]

We did! ~~ thanks so much for that idea!! Eric has become the household pro in placing the syringe right onto Sasha's tongue in perfect placement so he gets the most food. We are still being creative, trying other tricks from the bag for him, but we need to make sure his caloric intake is up to par too!

 

[pat]

Originally Posted by sashacat421

Well! Sasha rushed over and tried....and...tenacity! Perseverence! ......The kitchen floor was soon covered, cat food going everywhere - in the water, around the bowl - a masterpiece! What art! what patterns of detail and texture! Therein lies Sasha's talent: Food Art.
But he did it!

Yay! Here's to perserverence and the power of loving care

 

[gailc]

Sorry to read about the attack, but I have no experience with that type of damage. My senior tom was attacked last July by some type of animal, didn't realize it until who knows when the attack occured. He ended up with abcesses under his jaw and 2 on his neck-but that was the extent. Having recently gone through trauma with one of my cats three weeks ago today-I know how you are feeling. Sasha's sound like he is in good care and as I've discovered cats are VERY VERY resilient!!. Send you good vibes!!

 

[bossinova]

I have been away from the site for a bit, and am sooo glad to hear this news! What a fabulous step forward. Elizabeth, your little man is refusing to give up! What an amazing boy. I am thrilled to read of his continuous steps forward, and want to thank you for taking the time to give us all updates. Please continue to do so, and give him some gentle loving from me and my Stinky cat. Where there's a will, there's a way!

 

[sashacat421]

Tonight Sasha is eating all by himself. He got cooked halibut and the firmness and consistency is just perfect. He did really well, and the food art was kept to a minimum on the floor, in fact, the big guy kept most of it in his mouth and in the bowl.

.....BUT...there is a clicking sound eminating from his mouth when he lowers his head to manipulate the fish into his mouth. Once he has the fish and chews or eats it, the sound goes away. At first I thought it might be his teeth hitting the side of the bowl as he turns his head sideways to eat and work with his sideways tongue, but when I stooped down real low to watch, no teeth were hitting the bowl. Its pretty loud, you can hear it from across the room!! He doesn't even seem to notice and appears to be in no pain whatsoever. If his jaw has moved since the mauling, wouldn't he be tender and refrain from eating? Wouldn't they have seen it on the xray- or can jaw bones move later? He eats with good gusto! So do kitties get TMJ?? I left a message for Dr. B overnight, but has anyone heard of clicking jaw in a cat? it sounds like a pair of wooden castinets on a spanish dancer - very rapid and then stop.

 

[bossinova]

Unfortunately, I haven't an answer for your questions regarding the clicking noise (jaw? teeth? dance?

). I'm sorry! There are tons of very knowledgable people who will soon see this posting and hopefully can offer some ideas with more substance than I....
I'm am so happy to hear of this, though! Look at him go! Amazing. Simply amazing. He's so determined. Very admirable.

I love reading stuff like this!

I am so happy for you all. Keep it up, Sasha!

He's a miracle boy, I tell ya!

 

[kumbulu]

I wouldn't be surprised if it is a problem with the TMJ, though it may just be some of his teeth coming together further back in his mouth. Now that I think about it, it may be him grinding his teeth back there, that would account for the rapid 'castinet-like' sound you're hearing. Perhaps offer him some of the fish while he's sitting on your knee so yu can watch what he's doing with his mouth and listen better. Other than that, Dr. B will most likely be able to tell you what's going on.

Woo hoo Sasha for eating on your own! What a good boy!

 

[hissy]

Certainly considering what he endured his jaw could be out of alignment. TMJ does occur through genetics and as a result of trauma. If he tolerates it, a warm cloth to the side of his jaw might relieve some of the discomfort if you see that he is in pain from it.

I am glad this cat has moved on so quickly. And even though you think he is taking small steps, he isn't!

 

[sashacat421]

No, I agree, I agree. I watch his every move, every new bit of development. It seems like small steps because the changes are often so subtle, but Eric was fishing in Canada for 4 days....and when he came home last night it was so evident looking back how much Sashie had done in four days he didn't have a chance to see! I know these are huge steps for Sasha inside himself. He's a quiet, stoic kitty - he's not always easy to read. But his positive attitude has been unmistakable and so inspiring to me.

So very inspiring for my own hurdles in life!

 

[dawnofsierra]

Sierra and I are so proud of you, Sasha!

More and more progress every day!

Stephanie