At 2:00 a.m. her temp climbed to 105.4! I did something I have never done before but I was desperate, I gave her an alcohol bath and then cuddled her in warming towels until she stopped shivering. She is however trembling now all the time. She is now with MY vet and I am awaiting their verdict. I told them if it seems that she is suffering beyond measure to please just let her go- but if they can find an answer and offer her some hope then please do all they can to keep her here.
It breaks my heart because when the pain hits her- she immediately will crouch down as if she is being attacked. Her ears go flat, she starts to growl and if I try to pick her up, she will snarl and strike. When the pain goes away, she wants to be held- she head-bumps really hard and purrs and trembles and just wants love. Last night when I was doing the saline treatment on her infected incision, a white milky substance started draining out of her. It wasn’t puss, it almost looked like milk? I left her at my vet’s at 8:00 this morning and am waiting to hear what they find.
Dr. Steve just called. He did a cytology of the incision and found red and white blood cells that he doesn’t like seeing. He is not happy with her constant fever (105.2 about 10 minutes ago). He wants to put her on a strong antibiotic- a pain killer and an anti inflammatory. If these don’t help her then he said his last option will be to open her up, clean out all the dead tissue, try to get the other tissue pink and happy and close her back up. He is hesitant to do this right now, based on what he saw under the microscope. He wants her on either clindymycin or Baytril but he wants her home because he says she goes nuts in the cage there.
My concern is night time when it seems to escalate the pain she is in- I asked him if he just wanted to cut to the chase and open her up and get rid of all the mess inside, but he said this is a bit premature. I am on my way to go and get her right now- but would appreciate your prayers as we try and get through this latest crisis.
4:41- She is home and I just took her temp- 101.8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cautious Happy Dance! My vet says and I agree, her belly looks like someone hit her with a baseball bat. 🙁
Praying for brambles. Poor baby.
Thank you for your prayers, all our volunteers are deeply in prayer as well. We are going to put our heads together later today and figure out how to cover all this new added expense. She may just be a stray kitten, but she is worth fighting for. The other three are quiet but their temps are staying in the 102.9 range. Anything over that will concern me- but right now my concern is with brambles. She was alert and loving when I left her at the vets but you could also tell she was totally miserable.
All I can think is… What did that place do to her?? So glad to hear she made it through the night. I know you’re doing your best, and now your vet will too. Bless.
How many kitties are suffering after being operated on? Have you contacted them to let them know what is happening?
Poor baby! It’s so upsetting that the vet couldn’t diagnose what is going on with her. I’m sending her lots of purrs.
Yes, I have and when I went to pick up the two girls yesterday, they gave me the option of leaving them there and let them continue to search for answers or if they got worse, I could bring them back or take them to my vet. The head guy over there said that if Brambles got worse they would probably go in and lance her incision and try to figure out why she was doing so poorly. I opted to take her to my vet as well as be in almost constant communication with our feline specialist (she thinks this is salmonella) but the facility didn’t test for that. it is my decision to keep them local now based on how stressed they are now in confinement- they try to chew their way through the steel carrier door! The facility also wants to do the last two spays and all the neuters of the kittens here which I will politely decline. I don’t know if they did this, or if the kittens were carrying something viral and the stress of everything set off this unfortunate series of illness – the other girls here are doing so much better- although not eating that much. Their temps are staying in the 102.9 ranges which as I said before, I can live with- it’s just Brambles for whatever reason slipped downhill quickly. Honestly, this morning, I half expected her not to be with us at all when I went into the room. She is a fighter but after all, she is a mackerel tabby. I found it strange when the head vet (before the girls came home) came in and was palpating her tummy and saying “Well she doesn’t act painful!” She’s a cat and a stray one at that. They know if they show any form of weakness they are so low on the food chain they will end up on someone’s lunch plate! Of course she isn’t responding to the pain except for trembling/shivering which he thought was her purring. 🙁
You are right about her being worth fighting for. It’s what cat-rescuers do, after all, right? Fight for the ones people generally don’t? I wish I could send you something to help but I am in the middle of selling my house and facing a possible lay-off. Please keep us apprised.
A lower temperature is a small victory; that’s how lives are saved, through small victories.
A friend of mine used to volunteer at a no kill shelter that allowed vet students to speuter. She stated it was quite common for the dogs and cats to go through heck and to suffer terribly. She quit because she could not take it any more,
great to see temp down, Way to go Brambles. Keep fighting little one, prayers are being heard!
The girls that have been done in what Mike is now calling The bargain basement of spays are just so listless right now. I am so used to them tearing around the room and messing the place up. I used to playfully scold them for being so messy. I would give ANYTHING if that is what they were doing right now. But they are just laying around, not eating much, not wanting interaction and with the exception of one kitten Briar, ALL their incisions look like hell. 🙁 Brambles temp is still down, she is a bit growly but then gets lovey then growly again. She still is not eating and I have tried all the different canned food flavors here right now- she will go to the food bowls and look like she wants to eat- but can’t? I am spoon feeding her- if I force feed her she bites me.
Sad to hear the consequences of free surgeries for vet students. I pray all fur babies recover soon.