At least I have some good news to share, after having to make fruitless run to the vet just a little while ago.
Tuxedo Mask is free!
His eyes got one last dose, and then we left the door to the sun room open so he could leave whenever he wanted. It took him a while to trust he really could go out!
Where he was immediately sniffed at by several cats. :-D
He slunk around for a while, and didn’t seem to sure about his freedom!
Today was a nice warm day – not as warm has had been forecast, but we still hit 0C/32F – and calm, so I was able to use the burn barrel. The barrel is not too far from the junk pile, so I got entertained by cats. They are really going to miss that mess, when we finally get it hauled away!
I found Potato Beetle quite funny, enjoying the sun from inside the old oven! :-D
He’s so sweet, when he’s not being mean to the other cats! :-D
Okay, so this has been a weird day, but I’ll get right into what just happened.
I had just settled at my computer and started a post when I heard a cat having issues behind me. I found Keith, who has been having an odd cough lately, horking like he was about to throw up. He didn’t actually throw up more than some spit, but then he flung himself to the floor and began using both front paws to pull at his face, as if trying to get something out of his mouth. When I tried to reach him, he ran off. When he headed up the stairs, I called on the girls to check on him.
Then I went to clean up the little bit of a mess on the floor.
Wipe, wipe… red?
Which is when one of my daughters came rushing in to tell me that Keith was throwing up blood.
I quickly went online to find the emergency number for the vet. Their website says they are open 24/7 for emergencies, but they also had extended clinic hours. They were still open! I tried calling, but no answer. Just a machine giving their new hours, and saying to call back later if calling during office hours.
My daughters, meanwhile, got Keith into the carrier. While we drove to town, my younger daughter kept trying to phone the vet.
No answer.
We finally get there, and they were closed! There was a quickly made sign on the door saying they were closed and, for emergencies, had the name and phone number for a veterinary hospital I’ve never heard of. I called while my daughter updated the family (I love technology!).
The emergency vet turned out to be in the city.
I asked if there was an emergency vet in our area, because there’s no way we were going to put Keith through such a long drive.
Turns out there are none. At least none in this town.
So much for 24/7 emergency vet care!
Keith seems to be stable, though still coughing, so we will take him to the vet when they open in the morning. Until then, he is isolated with me in my office/bedroom for the night.
It seems to weird to not have any emergency veterinary services in our area! I just finished doing a search, and found one in another larger town, but they are connected to the one we usually go to – in fact, I got directed to the same website.
As to the clinic we tried, they should have been open, but given the type of sign they had on the door, it seems like they had to close unexpectedly.
We plant to be there before they open in the morning.
We had some maintenance related issues that prevented me from posting an update as soon as we got home, so I figured I’d just cut to the chase with the title!
We were not able to catch Broccoli, though.
She and Caramel just did not want to leave the cat’s house, even when I started scraping ice and snow off the roof – a noise that usually sends them running.
She did eventually come out just as we were heading to the van with Tuxedo Mask (with a delay I will write about in my next post). We tried again to get her, but she just would not let it happen.
On the plus side, her eye looked much, much improved since this morning, so that’s encouraging.
Even with the delay, we got to the vet early, which gave me time to pop across the street to a hardware store. My daughter went in with Tuxedo Mask.
It’s basically a herpes infection. He was coughing a bit, too, which would also be from herpes. She prescribed eye drops for him. She legally could not prescribe extra for Broccoli, though. Anyhow, he is to get the eye drops twice a day for a week longer than when his eye clears up. Considering that his eye was looking dramatically better by the time we took him to the vet, that should not be too long. And if we happen to be able to catch Broccoli and be able to hold her, well, it’s up to us if we happen to give her eye drops, too!
Honestly, I don’t see that happening.
Once we got home and were let into the house – more on that later! – we set up a nest for Tuxedo Mask in the sun room, along with the extra ceramic heat bulb, similar to how we set things up for Ginger. He will stay in the sun room, where we can easily catch him to treat his eye, until it’s no longer needed, and then we can let him outside again. We were warned to watch out if the eye starts to get cloudy, though, and if it does, to bring him right back.
Considering he’s already recovering, I think that will not be a concern.
On top of all that, the cost of the visit and the prescription was way less than I feared. I keep wildly overestimating how much things will cost, but he didn’t need any Xrays or anything like that, so there weren’t any add on’s to his exam. Just the prescription. Such a relief!
Getting to and from the sun room to treat his eye might be a challenge over the next while, though, depending on how we manage things tonight.
When heading out this morning, I made extra effort to take a closer look at Tuxedo Mask’s red eye.
He even let me pet him, while he was in the kibble house!
The eye is still really gross and leaky, but looking a lot better than yesterday.
Then I saw Broccoli.
Who also has a red, leaking eye.
*sigh*
I was able to get some decent photos, though. Once back inside, I called up the vet, then later emailed them a couple of photos.
I got a response, and they have an opening for us this afternoon, if we could bring them in. My younger daughter and I went out and we were able to bring Tuxedo Mask into the sun room. He remains there now, with the cat carrier, food, water and litter.
No luck with Broccoli, though.
She was in the cats’ house, watching me through the window, but would NOT come out. Not even for treats. She was bundled up with two other cats.
One of which also had a leaky eye.
*sigh*
It turned out to be Caramel. Her eye wasn’t red, though, so at least there’s that. We have more chance of catching Broccoli than Caramel. We’re going to keep trying, but I really don’t expect we’ll be able to get her.
I have, however, let the vet know we can bring in at least one cat, though.
I suppose this is a good time to promote the donation button! If you would like to donate towards the care and feeding of the kitties, you can buy us a Kofi. All donations are for the cats only, and any amount is greatly appreciated.
I will update on how the vet visit went as soon as I can!
This is a picture of part of the lettering on our new sign that I noticed when I was switching the memory card on the trail cam. The paint on several letters is peeling away!
My guess is that the reflective paint on top of the white affected the ability for the blue paint to adhere properly.
I’ll find a way to tack it back on until we can spray the whole thing with a clear coat. Unfortunately, that won’t happen until spring, since it’s too cold for paint to cure.
When I got back to the house, I spotted something rather concerning. One of Tuxedo Mask’s eyes is blood red!
No, I did not get a picture, and if I did, I would not post it!
It looks really gross. It doesn’t seem to be bothering him a lot, but that doesn’t mean much. Ginger had a shattered joint and it barely slowed him down, even as he had to wait for the surgery. The main thing is that he does still seem to be able to see out of it.
My younger daughter and I did our city shopping trip, and when we got back, it didn’t look any better. We need to get him to a vet, but we just finished paying for our StarLink system, so the larder is bare. At least I thought it was until I read my email. I got word from the ranch we’d ordered our quarter beef from. The finished weight turned out to be less than expected (considering how terrible the drought was on cattle, that does not surprise me), so they actually owe me money. The cuts will be ready around the 20th or 21st.
That frees up part of our budget.
We should be able to take Tuxedo Mask to a vet.
If we can catch him! He does let us pet him once in a while, but that’s very different from trying to get him into a cat carrier!
We’ll figure it out. We can call the vet tomorrow morning and see if we can bring him in right away.
Poor little Tuxedo Mask! His eye looks just awful. :-(
Ginger had his trip to the vet to have the sutures removed. My daughter ended up holding him in her arms so the vet could do it, as he did NOT want to get out of the carrier!
He didn’t want to get out at home, either. :-D
It was not easy to get pictures of him!
The stitch removal went well, though the vet lamented that she’d tied them so tight, making it harder to take them out! :-D There was only one slightly raw spot that got a dab of Polysporin on it. Aside from that one spot, the redness that can be seen in the picture is from the stitch removal. He is recovering very well.
We brought him into the house, and into my bedroom/office/craft room.
It’s a big room, and has a door that closes, so we were able to move in his litter box, food and water bowls, and even his box nest, along with the warming pad.
The other cats were quite curious and milling about, so it was quite understandable that Ginger wanted to stay in the carrier! The cats were actually more curious about the other stuff brought in. Like the food bowl. You’d think they were starving and didn’t have food anywhere else in the house! They were circling the food bowl like hungry sharks, pushing each other aside to eat. Silly kitties!
After a while, we shooed them out of the room, leaving Ginger with my younger daughter to watch over him for a while. We’ve since allowed the other cats in. Ginger found the laundry basket converted to a cat bed I have in my closet, and that’s where he’s hanging out.
We’ll shut the other cats out again for the night and give him more time to get used to his new surroundings, a little at a time. We’ll keep food and water for him in here for a while. For the other cats, that’s all set up in the basement, but I think it will be a while before Ginger can navigate stairs!
So far, none have been aggressive towards him. The only hissing has been from cats that sometimes hiss at other cats, too, so it’s not a new thing.
It should be interesting to see how he adapts to his new surroundings, and his extended feline family! Cabbages is his litter mate, brought in before she could go into heat and get pregnant, while Nicco is his big sister and only survivor from Butterscotch’s litter born indoors, earlier that year.
After a very frustrating morning (which I will write about later) I was cheered by the wonderful and kind gift for Ginger that arrived in the mail today, from a very awesome friend.
It was a Ginger warmer!
It’s “Great for you provides safe warming comfort zone!”
Love it!
And it’s cover is soooo soft!
Of course, we had to bring it to Ginger, right away!
He was in what seems to be his favorite spot, draped over a bar under the heater bulb.
He had zero interest in moving out of that spot! Not even for scritches. He just lolled about, luxuriating over that bar under the blanket. It’s part of the greenhouse frame we’re using to hold the ceramic heat bulb in place.
I wonder if the bar provides some sort of relief? I recall one of the things my husband was put on during physiotherapy was a long padded bar he was supposed to keep lined up with his spine while lying on it. It did help. Considering how often we find him (meaning Ginger, not my husband) draped over it like this, I suspect it does provide some sort of comfort.
The new heat pad was set to its second lowest heat setting, for 90 minutes. We’ll keep an eye through the bathroom window to see how he responds to it. The good thing is, since the cat’s house outside is not plugged in through the sun room, we have a spare plug, and can use both this and the bulb heater at the same time.
A thought occurred to me as I was looking at his wound and, in particular, at the discoloration. It might not be a discoloration at all. His fur is starting to grow back. It’s more likely a stripe of darker orange fur!
He’s such a sweet boy. I’m so thankful that he’s doing so well.
I visited Ginger this morning, while starting my morning rounds and before my daughter came over with his medications and the new surgical shirt.
He enjoyed the visiting part, at least! I even managed to get several usable pictures.
Doesn’t he look completely malevolent? :-D He’s actually really enjoying the scritches.
Then he started rolling around, and managed to give me a good view of both surgical sites.
I really wasn’t that interested in the one at his nethers, to be honest, but hey; it needs to be checked, too!
Is it time to groom, or time to eat? He tried to do both at the same time. :-D
When my daughter came in with the meds, I picked him up to hold him. He knew exactly what was coming, and tried hiding his face in my arm! He’s actually really good about taking them, even if he fights us off and sometimes projectile spits a pill halfway across the room. We managed to get him medicated. He seemed very offended by the whole process when we put him down.
He was even more offended when we got the surgical shirt on him.
After we finished tying it off, he scuttled over to this spot and flumped down like a sausage. Then stayed there. He was not at all happy with us!!
My daughter stayed with him while I finished my rounds, and when she left, he’d found a different spot to flump down like a sausage.
The shirt came with what looks like a feminine hygiene product to stick to the inside over the surgical site. We used it, though about half of the incision is actually higher than the neck line on the shirt. That’s not the part we’re concerned about, since it’s the lower part that gets the brunt of it when he starts rolling. The very end of the incision has a bit of a space after the sutures end, and it looked like there was the tiniest bit of blood near the wound. It was dry, but I’m more comfortable with having it covered now. Even if he isn’t!
He would probably be just fine without it, but I hope we can leave it on him for at least a few days.
Poor baby is torn between excited to see us and craving attention, and ticked off at us for making him take medications and wear clothing! :-D
He seemed very happy to be out of the carrier and in familiar territory. He is quite active – a little too active! and moving around better, now that he doesn’t have that leg dangling off his shoulder.
Did I mention he’s being too active?
He’s already been caught on the shelf in front of one of the windows, about 4 ft off the ground. The girls tried moving my husband’s walker, because he was using it to climb up there. Not down, though. He was jumping straight down from the shelf.
When he was caught up there again, even after the walker was moved, the girls made it safer for him to get up and down, rather than try to stop him. The walker is back and open, with it’s nice, padded seat, and the carrier in front as a “step”.
And to think I was worried about that extension cord being in his way. That cord is for the ceramic terrarium heat bulb in the cat house outside. It should be warm enough now, that it isn’t needed, so I put the cords away. I did, however, bring the frame of the mini-greenhouse back into the sun room, and it is now holding the spare heat bulb safely above the space in front of his box nest.
Right now, he is on limited food and water, as we monitor if he starts getting sick. Tomorrow, food and water goes back to normal. He is to get the medication he was on already, once every evening, and has two other medications that he is to take twice a day, starting tonight.
Tomorrow, I’m going to go back and pick up one of those surgical shirts. We were going to make him one, but realized that the materials we have would likely get snagged on the sutures.
Speaking of which…
He is to return to the vet in 2 weeks for a follow up examination and removal of the sutures.
Until then, we keep him in the sun room, monitor him, and pamper him like crazy.
These are the bills, with a grand total of $1,316.48 Today’s bill is the two page one. Interesting to see how much the neuter cost, without anesthetic charge. The list of drugs is also interesting to see. I know people on several of them! :-D
The bill on the far right is his examination, x-rays and medications from a few days ago.
Seeing how Ginger is acting right now, I think he’s going to do really well. I think, in the time it took to get him to surgery, he already got used to using only three legs, and this amputation is just making it easier on him.
The girls have been to check on him several times already, arranged things a bit as they felt he needed, and plugged in the heater bulb. It’s not particularly cold in there yet, but the surgical site and shaved areas would still get colder, faster.
This post falls into the full disclosure and transparency zone.
I just got a call from the vet clinic, this time about the bill.
They were able to give us two estimates, depending on how long the surgery took and how complicated it might get. Those estimates included the examination and x-rays we’d brought him in for, which we had to pay before bringing him home (just over $230). What neither estimate included was the cost of having him neutered at the same time, since we requested that later.
So we were hoping for things to be at the low end, plus the cost of neuter. Thanks to the generosity of those who donated through the Ko-fi page, and through direct donations, we had that covered. The transfers are still incomplete, and one of the donations is still on hold, but we could use the funds from my tax return, set aside for garden soil and chainsaw purchase/repair, as a buffer until they came through. If it was on the high end, it would have been a bit harder to come up with the total, but we would have found a way.
Well, it turned out to be on the low end of the estimate – and that was even with the neuter! Which, of course, would not have cost as much as usual, since he was already there for surgery. The total bill for the amputation and neuter will be a little over $1000.
At that amount, we’ll only need to use the chainsaw purchase/repair money as a buffer, and not touch the garden soil money, until the transfers are complete.
One of the things that was brought up during the call is that he might want to scratch at the wound. There are medical “sweaters” available for sale. We will look at some, but we could also just make him one. My daughter and I both crochet, and we could whip some something like that in very short time. If nothing else, it’ll keep the shaved area and wound warm and dry.
With this good news, I’ve made some changes to the Ko-fi page. To start, the fundraiser goal graph is removed, now that the surgery is complete.
For quite some time, I have had people suggest I include a donation button, and some have even offered to make donations, to help with the kitties. I resisted, because I have a really hard time asking people for money! I know how tight times are, but for Ginger’s injury, we had no choice, and the kindness and assistance offered has been humbling and generous. We will leave the donation buttons up and the donation page active. If anyone wishes to help with the kitties, these donations will be used to help buy cat food and litter, pay for spaying and neutering, and any other vet bills that come up. Nothing else.
I will be sure to post photos and more updates when we bring Ginger home, and during his recovery.
The Re-Farmer 