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Post by tonib on Jul 13, 2023 19:53:26 GMT
I was out this afternoon, when I got back around 5 pm I knew that Stevie was out & Shady was close to home but he didn't come to see me so I assumed he was in the garden. I eventually went upstairs I found him in their room & someone had had a hairball with grass as the hair was black I thought it was probably Stevie & cleared it up. However Shady was sat on the bed & wasn't quite himself so wasn't sure. I went back downstairs & not long after Shady came down & realised he was limping This was now after 6pm when the vets surgeries have closed although they do 24hr from their hospital. From the start of June, due to vet shortages, they have now changed so that after 9pm they are covered by another vets about 30 mins away from me. I tried to check Shady's leg but he wasn't happy, growling etc. His right leg is definitely swollen & no obvious cat fight abscess. He seems sensitive at the shoulder as well although the worst seems further down the leg. I rang the vets 6:30pm but for some reason they are saying contact the covering vets after first using the Vidivet app (which my vets pay for) to ask their vets for advice, I managed to get a (poor) video of Shady walking, only by means of leaving a treat trail! Contacted them & also sent them the video. They reviewed it & he seems to be putting weight on the leg, the swelling doesn't look too bad & he was eating. Advise was contact my vets to see if could get an out of hours appointment, or monitor & keep Vidivet updated, or just monitor & see my vet in the morning. I contacted the cover vets to see if they knew why I was being diverted to them but the person I spoke to didn't know much about that but they are definitely 24hr so if I go to them before 11pm its ยฃ99 or after its ยฃ110. They listened to the Vidivet advice & suggested I wait for the morning but if necessary I can ring them & make an appointment. So that's what I'm doing & will ring my vets for an appointment 1st thing tomorrow. It's the growling that worries me but then I could be so used to Roman who always let me look an any injuries & only if it was bad did he object. Stevie came back OK so they are all shut in for the night now. But whatever it is Shady will need to be kept in but I think this time I'll be able to use my "hospital" ward to allow the others the freedom to come & go as Shady's much more of a home boy. If its anything worse then I've still got the crate we got for Roman. I know I'm worrying, probably unnecessarily, but if its an abscess its come up quickly & I can't see any obvious signs of fur disturbance so it reminds me of when Roman did something more serious (his cruciate) but as its Shady's front leg it wouldn't be that injury.
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Post by cazypops on Jul 13, 2023 20:19:35 GMT
Poor Shady, and poor you. If it's not one it's the other.
Is there any chance he could had been hit by a car? I hope not. Keep us updated on him. {{HUGS}}
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Post by tonib on Jul 14, 2023 1:22:21 GMT
Don't think so cazypops, but its always possible but more likely he's had a fight with the all black cat from down the road who likes our garden! & can lie in wait for another cat & the shoulder reaction is just a tenderness. So far so good tonight it hasn't got worse. Another option is he could have been stung, he does have a tendency to investigate things. Around 12:30 this lunchtime I saw him sat in the garden appearing to luck at something on the ground but I couldn't see anything. He did walk across the grass after that , keeping a wary eye on the cat hidden under a bush but came in & seemed to be walking OK, albeit doing the slow cat avoidance walk so I might not have noticed anything as the grass needs a cut but is still wet. Also he's jumped on to the worktop 3 times tonight after food, even though I lifted him down each time! He was upstairs when I went to do the cat food came back into the kitchen from the utility & found him up on the worktop waiting by the door. Lifted him down, went back to the utility to bring in the food, he was back up again, so had to put the bowls safe (the oven does come in useful), before lifting him down. As I picked up the bowls again he had jumped up again so had to put them back, lift him down & shoo him out, & grab the bowls. He will be disappointed he's only had a very little chicken just in case he needs an anaesthetic even if just for sedation if he's difficult to examine.
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Post by scallywag on Jul 14, 2023 10:35:53 GMT
How is Shady today tonib x
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Post by chantel on Jul 14, 2023 10:48:39 GMT
They all keep you on your toes tonib ๐hope shady is ok today .
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Post by cazypops on Jul 14, 2023 20:18:47 GMT
tonib, did the vet visit go ok today?
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Post by tonib on Jul 15, 2023 1:48:29 GMT
Saw the same vet I saw with Stevie, first thing she did was ask how he was Shady was very good which of course meant he didn't complain wen being examined. I felt like a fraud . Then she found the right spot & swelling & there was a mild reaction which at least proved I'd not been imaging his unhappiness. I showed her the very poor video & she wanted to see him walk. I'd forgotten to pick up his treats I'd planned in taking for just this eventuality but no problem there were Dreamies available in the consulting room Shady was put on the floor Dreamies were provided & he moved to get them but walking close to the floor, he wasn't confident. Then he jumped up on to the windowsill & was happily looking out, she had closed the top window as soon as she saw Shady so no danger of escape. She continued to examine while he sat there & did find a small scab. Started to shave his leg to get a better look, but he wasn't too keen, so back to the table with me gently holding him while she finished the small shave & there was the cat bite. Result antibiotic & anti-inflammatory injections with anti-b tablets (twice a day) & Loxicom (once a day) to go away with to start the next day. First time of giving either of the newbies tablets so Saturday could be interesting.. Loxicom is with food & that will be no problem. Keep him in for a week, also clean the small wound with Hbiscrub (already have this) once or twice a day (she did it in the vets) She said I had a lovely pair of cats as they were so good in the consulting room, its odd all of the cats I've had have been good on the table but not necessarily elsewhere the journey to & fro the vets was quiet, not a peep from Shady who hid himself under the carrier's blanket & mat, whereas Stevie was quite vocal but didn't hide! Stevie wanted out so I managed to sort my "hospital ward" then allowed Stevie access to the catflap he stuck his head out & hen retracted it, but eventually braved the rai, briefly for grass. So the weather resolved the issue of keeping them all in or isolating Shady. At least for one day. I'll see what the next day brings shady's still wary of his leg being touched but seems much better,
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Post by cazypops on Jul 15, 2023 18:52:43 GMT
Glad your instincts were correct, and that he's now on the mend.
I wish I could put Loxicom in Jaspers food, but there is no chance. I have to wait until he's eaten the syringe it down his throat.
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Post by lotsofcats on Jul 15, 2023 21:51:13 GMT
They certainly keep you on your toes tonib. Glad that Shady is showing signs of improving.
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Post by tonib on Jul 16, 2023 1:00:13 GMT
All the cats have we've had have happily taken Loxicom/Metacam either direct from the syringe (Roman- he loved it) or in their food & this includes Shady , what a shame Jasper's not the same cazypops. Tablets are a different matter. Roman took them well, Lexie if I could get them in the capsule she has a powder supplement (Nutramed) in - she only gets 1/2 a capusle a day so I decant into an empty capsule so there's always some room - she'll take that, the capsule also disguised taste. Osiris was a different matter we had to get a long lasting antibiotic injection even if it wasn't really the best antibiotic for some things. Penny we couldn't fool for long! Not sure what Stevie will be like. I managed to the whole tablet in Shady this morning but after that opening his mouth was proving difficult. So I tried coating the remaining 1/2 in the magic freeze dried chicken powder & he got the 1/2 without realising. this evening I managed to get the 1/2 into him direct into his mouth (was meant to be both the whole & the 1/2 but didn't quite got to plan so this time he was now wary of the the larger tablet in the powder, so I added some treats & that did the trick! Only another 4 days, so 8 more dosages, to go! Had to go out grass cutting (twice) for Stevie as he didn't want to go out initially due to the weather so I kept them all i & he obviously wanted out later this afternoon but with the weather I din't really fancy having to go out looking for him as he would only have been out for a shorter than normal period & he might not realise the time for coming back for food. But having a bowl of grass helped. I must sort out growing some cat grass, although depending how long it takes Shady may well be out of confinement before them _ also has some of the grass.
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Post by lotsofcats on Jul 17, 2023 11:27:23 GMT
How is Shady today tonib?
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Post by tonib on Jul 22, 2023 2:46:13 GMT
lotsofcats, Shady's fine, was signed off Thursday (20th) by the vet. He finished his meds Wednesday, but I didn't quite get his magic dust & treats right that morning as he found & ignored the tablets but with an extra sprinkle & making sure some extra treats were over that he happily finished them He was allowed out once he got home. However, as I was mowing the back lawn early that evening, he did bring home a pigeon, luckily not through the catflap. Instead I had to go climbing through rose bushes & over low tree branches in the garden to get it from him, he was plucking it! This is his 3rd one that I'm aware of. Oh & earlier there was definitely a discussion between him & the black cat but I don't think it came to fisticuffs! He's been a good boy today.
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Post by chantel on Jul 22, 2023 9:25:23 GMT
Well he certainly is a hunter tonib - when I was living at home with my mum and dad we had a black and white cat called jamison he was a nightmare he used to go hunting late at night and every morning when we opened the front door there was a gift for us on the door step ๐I used to dread opening the door lol ๐ sometimes more than 1 ๐ชถ๐ฆโโฌhe used to sit there waiting for us to open the door so proud ๐ Glad shady seems to be improving ๐ป
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