We've had a difficult few days with Wentworth (Black) and Gawber (Tabby) the cats. About 10 days ago Wentworth came home from his daily wanderings and was obviously sore on his tail and whimpered whenever we went near him. This is a sure sign he had been in a fight with another cat during his nightly adventures. This isn't the first time he has had such problems and we are very used to the process of bite, abscess formation, localised hair loss, abscess bursting, cleaning, scab formation and healing. This time it was a bit different.
After three days the abscess grew and grew, hair loss was significant in and around the bite/s and Wentworth became subdued and generally unwell. It was clear from the amount of scratches on his body and from closer inspection of his tail, that this time it had been a significant fight and he was suffering much more than usual; a trip to the vets was indicated. On examination he had three puncture wounds on his tail and three abscesses. He was given antibiotic cover and a pain killer before having them drained and flushed out with hydrogen peroxide. With instructions to remove the scabs as they formed and continue to drain any puss formation we took him home, grounded him and continued with the treatment regime. Poor little thing (he is only very slight for a male cat), he was very sore and hated our interference with his very inflamed tail. With regular anti-inflammatory medication and wound cleansing his tail began to heal.
We became concerned that despite healing well, he was sleeping for much more than usual and he had developed very watery eyes, sneezing and a build up of mucus in his upper respiratory tract. Apart from the odd bit of yogurt and water, he wasn't eating. We did some research and talked to the vet and concluded that it could be a viral infection passed on from the cat which he had fought with. The antibiotics would give him cover for any subsequent bacterial infections so it was just case of tender loving care and wait and see. Unfortunately we suspected that if it was viral, Gawber, his brother, was also at risk. Sure enough two days later Gawber started becoming unwell.
At first he just seemed to have a bit of a cough and would sit with his neck slumped and his mouth open. He went off his food and wouldn't drink. It was weekend and by the Sunday we were really concerned for his prognosis without intervention, so the emergency vet was called. On examination Gawber was found to have an extremely inflamed pharynx resulting in difficulty swallowing, a lot of pain and respiratory difficulties. Injections of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications were given. With instructions to contact the vet if he should deteriorate, we set about trying to keep him hydrated and comfortable along with his brother Wentworth. When ill, cats can deteriorate very quickly.
Gawber's condition deteriorated rapidly and on Monday we took him back to the vets where a decision was made to give him a stat dose of steroids by injection. It was a worrying 24 hours and distressing to see him gasping, vomiting and extremely subdued. Thankfully he began to show signs of improvement by Wednesday and began to voluntarily drink water. He is now back eating soft food and beginning to recover well as is Wentworth. They both now have runny noses, weepy eyes and frequent sneezing but are doing well. We've been back to the vets today and she is pleased with Gawber's progress. With a couple more weeks of TLC, good food and a few extra vitamins there is no reason why they shouldn't make a full recovery.
They're only cats... This has been said in one of several forms a few times over the years by a few people who really should know better. To set the record straight, the cats are not children substitutes, they are not pampered or spoilt, they are not treat better than humans neither are we wasting money on good quality food, shelter or care. We took the decision to take on the responsibility for the guardianship of two independent, domesticated animals. To us they are not pets, playthings or trophies, they are fascinating, intelligent, graceful and endearing creatures who require us to act as their advocates when it is required. We owe them the best care and treatment we can provide and we will continue to love and respect them as unique and intelligent animals. In our opinion, if you are not prepared to work in this way with another animal, you really should stick to a life without one.
On a final note, whoever developed these multivitamin tablets for cats has obviously never product tested adminstration....
After three days the abscess grew and grew, hair loss was significant in and around the bite/s and Wentworth became subdued and generally unwell. It was clear from the amount of scratches on his body and from closer inspection of his tail, that this time it had been a significant fight and he was suffering much more than usual; a trip to the vets was indicated. On examination he had three puncture wounds on his tail and three abscesses. He was given antibiotic cover and a pain killer before having them drained and flushed out with hydrogen peroxide. With instructions to remove the scabs as they formed and continue to drain any puss formation we took him home, grounded him and continued with the treatment regime. Poor little thing (he is only very slight for a male cat), he was very sore and hated our interference with his very inflamed tail. With regular anti-inflammatory medication and wound cleansing his tail began to heal.
We became concerned that despite healing well, he was sleeping for much more than usual and he had developed very watery eyes, sneezing and a build up of mucus in his upper respiratory tract. Apart from the odd bit of yogurt and water, he wasn't eating. We did some research and talked to the vet and concluded that it could be a viral infection passed on from the cat which he had fought with. The antibiotics would give him cover for any subsequent bacterial infections so it was just case of tender loving care and wait and see. Unfortunately we suspected that if it was viral, Gawber, his brother, was also at risk. Sure enough two days later Gawber started becoming unwell.
At first he just seemed to have a bit of a cough and would sit with his neck slumped and his mouth open. He went off his food and wouldn't drink. It was weekend and by the Sunday we were really concerned for his prognosis without intervention, so the emergency vet was called. On examination Gawber was found to have an extremely inflamed pharynx resulting in difficulty swallowing, a lot of pain and respiratory difficulties. Injections of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications were given. With instructions to contact the vet if he should deteriorate, we set about trying to keep him hydrated and comfortable along with his brother Wentworth. When ill, cats can deteriorate very quickly.
Gawber's condition deteriorated rapidly and on Monday we took him back to the vets where a decision was made to give him a stat dose of steroids by injection. It was a worrying 24 hours and distressing to see him gasping, vomiting and extremely subdued. Thankfully he began to show signs of improvement by Wednesday and began to voluntarily drink water. He is now back eating soft food and beginning to recover well as is Wentworth. They both now have runny noses, weepy eyes and frequent sneezing but are doing well. We've been back to the vets today and she is pleased with Gawber's progress. With a couple more weeks of TLC, good food and a few extra vitamins there is no reason why they shouldn't make a full recovery.
They're only cats... This has been said in one of several forms a few times over the years by a few people who really should know better. To set the record straight, the cats are not children substitutes, they are not pampered or spoilt, they are not treat better than humans neither are we wasting money on good quality food, shelter or care. We took the decision to take on the responsibility for the guardianship of two independent, domesticated animals. To us they are not pets, playthings or trophies, they are fascinating, intelligent, graceful and endearing creatures who require us to act as their advocates when it is required. We owe them the best care and treatment we can provide and we will continue to love and respect them as unique and intelligent animals. In our opinion, if you are not prepared to work in this way with another animal, you really should stick to a life without one.
On a final note, whoever developed these multivitamin tablets for cats has obviously never product tested adminstration....
I'm so pleased to hear they are improving. I hadn't realised it was as serious as this. Guess you'll have to break the pills in half, or maybe quarters..... but that means two or four times trying to get it down their throats! Don't suppose you can crush it and put it in food? I've never had any luck that way. Best wishes to them and tell them I can sympathise regarding the abscesses. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe tablet is as an added defense to boost their immune system, especially Gawber due to the steroids. Thankfully they took it mixed in wet food but were slightly suspicious.....
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ReplyDeletealways found tinned sardines - the kind in tomato sauce was the best for hiding tablets in - sounds unlikely but worked for all our cats over the years.
ReplyDeleteGlad they are improving, I would do just the same as you regarding their care.
For some reason ours won't eat anything that is oily and having tried sardines in the past, I doubt it would work but up to now managing by crushing and mixing well in wet food.
DeletePoor boys, thankfully they have people like you to care for them, we do hope they get back to their normal beautiful selves. We have never found an easy way to give tables, as colouritgreen says, sardines in tomato is normally something cats cant resist, Simon also seems to think we found pilchards in tomato sauce, he thinks in Carrefour.
ReplyDeleteSardines are not something they like, I think it is th oil/sauce they come in but they do like prawns so if they cotton on to the crushed and mixed with wet food ruse, we'll try the prawns I think.
DeleteSorry to hear they´ve been poorly. Hope they get back to their magnificent selves soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Coco, they have turned a corner and recovering well.
DeleteThey're cats, yes, but that's no excuse not to give them the best of care. I'm very pleased to hear they are on the mend. Anything that affects a cat's ability to smell can become very serious very quickly.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help laugh at your vitamin tablets, having been there myself :) Dogs are so much easier in that respect! You might want to investigate a product called AnimaStrath which is a tonic for all sorts of animals but comes in a slightly easier to administer liquid format.
Thanks Andrea, I will look out for AnimaStrath. They were both a sorry sight but fortunately on the road to recovery.
DeleteThey are only cats, and we are only humans. I completely agree with your sense of responsibility regarding your cats. Animals that share our lives are dependent upon us for some things, as we are dependent upon them for some things. You are so right about being willing and able to take proper care of animals before we adopt them. I'm very happy to hear that yours are both recovering!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jacqueline, they are doing well.
DeleteBest Wishes and a speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteThey deteriorate very quickly indeed, usually after the one or two costly visits to the vet.
Ah well, what else can you do?
Anyway, hope they didn't catch feline aids or similar, had a few cats which kept going for a while with daily doses of interferon.
Now to the good bit, can you buy Gimpet Multi-Vitamin paste, even if they don't like it yet, you can squeeze it into their mouth.
Cheers
Josey
Thanks Josey. They seem to be improving well and taking the vitamins disguised in their food so fingers crossed. I will look out for the Gimpet paste.
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