Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => Pets without Feathers => Topic started by: John on November 11, 2020, 00:03
-
Our cat Rufus was supposed to be a feral barn cat when he came to us. Didn't take long before he was eating in the house with the other cats and then I awoke in the night to see him asleep at the foot of the bed. He lives in the house with the other cats, tolerates us humans but he's not a tame pet. In seven years I've stroked him less than a dozen times.
Anyway, some time back I noticed he had a sore eye. Unfortunately it didn't clear up and eventually looked really bad. Still took 3 weeks to capture him and that left my son-in-law bleeding profusely. So to the vet who sedated him, examined and prescribed. He's been kept in a dog crate in the bathroom for 3 weeks and hates prison - although the food is very good! (and dosed with 2 antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory). Twice a day we've applied an ointment to his eye which has been a nightmare battle. Never mind PPE, chainsaw gloves for starters!
Well the eye is not getting better. I'd decided the best thing we could do for him was to call it a day but the vet has persuaded me to have the eye removed. They're saying we can get away without needing to do anything much as aftercare and will keep him calm on a new drug. Since the only alternative is euthanasia, we're giving it a try but I reckon it's 50 / 50 whether it will be OK.
I just hope it goes well but..
I've said that if they hit unforeseen problems. best not to wake him after.
Funny how attached you get to a cat that doesn't even like you, although he admires my skill at opening a tin.
-
All the best with it John, losing pets is the the worst thing. Hope the the scrapper comes through ok.
-
Thing is, if I don't let them try I'll always wonder if I did the right thing and if it goes wrong... Arghh.
I felt so sorry for him today when I put him some food down and so I stroked him. BAT BAT BAT - I didn't bleed too much and he expressed his feelings :)
-
Fighting for as long as he can, little beggar :nowink: hope he gets to fight for a bit longer John!
-
Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Its a tricky decision to make and regardless of the decision you made, you'd be reducing his suffering and that's the important thing.
-
By his terms, toleration is a massive deal, so you should be grateful his royal sir lord tomcat sees fit to bestow you that human. C'mon you know your place ;)
I hope he lives to fight another day, even if it is your hand that suffers the consequences.
-
Last night I opened a tin of sardines in tomato sauce for him - wolfed them down :)
This morning I spent half an hour searching for the calming medicine I'd put ready and forgotten I'd put ready.. mixed it into a sardine and he wouldn't touch it.
Anyway, son-in-law came, we got him in the carrier and he's in the vet's hands now.
Been churning in my head since 4am.. son-in-law boiled it down for me, operate and he has a chance, otherwise he doesn't. Doing nothing is not an option.
Waiting to hear from the vet now...
-
Fingers crossed John.
-
What a lucky cat Rufus is to have you in his life.
Hope all goes well !
-
What a lucky cat Rufus is to have you in his life.
I don't think Rufus sees it quite like that :)
Best case he'll be out of the cage and with his pals in 5 days - that's what I'm fixing on. Waiting on the phone call now to see what's what.
-
Vet just rang. They've a specialist ophthalmologist at the practice who reckoned it was actually a viral herpes infection so the antibiotics did nothing but prevent a secondary infection. It is treatable but would involve more treatment than he would tolerate and since he's blind in the eye they went ahead with removal.
She reckoned (touch wood) he'd be fine and able to return to normal in a matter of 2 or 3 days.
Hope she's right and he forgives me.
They're always cautious, but I got the impression she was very pleased and that we'd done the right thing. We'll have to change his name to Winky :)
-
Good new, John.
I’m sure he’ll be much happier being out of pain. If he was blind in that eye already, he won’t realise it’s gone. Just cover up the mirrors so he doesn’t notice.
-
Well he's home and actually seemed happy to see me at the vets. At least he didn't bite me! All being well, he'll be out with the others next week. I'll pop a photo up when he's feeling a bit better. Tonight is quiet time to let him just recover.
Think I'll sleep better tonight!
-
Good news John. Hope he recovers nicely and is back savaging you in no time.
-
Have only just caught up with this thread and so pleased to read the happy ending :D
-
He’s a tough cat. :D
-
Have only just caught up with this thread and so pleased to read the happy ending :D
It's looking promising but we're not quite there yet. Just got to hope he doesn't start messing with the wound. Usually they put a lampshade (buster collar) on them but we don't think he'd tolerate it. The vet thought his mood would improve though as he's not in constant pain with it.
He's eaten tonight which is always a good sign.
I was thinking whilst waiting for him in the vets, the dogs must think it's weird that all the humans have been muzzled! :D
-
Quick update. He's looking OK. I can't say happy, cat's aren't meant to be kept in a cage, but comfortable. He's eating well - ate all his breakfast and demanded more so some extra was delivered. Little worried that we won't be able to get him out of there if he keeps eating at this rate!
The surgery looks very good - when our cat Niblet lost an eye it wasn't as neat but she was injured so they were sorting out a mess rather than from the ideal starting point.
I didn't get a photo yet but I will. I'll spare you a close up - you may be as squeamish as I am!
-
Give him a hug from us ! :lol: :lol: :lol:
-
Give him a hug from us ! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Are you wishing harm upon John?
-
Give him a hug from us ! :lol: :lol: :lol:
It's hard to type with bleeding stumps at the end of my arms :)
Some photos - first is how his eye looked despite everything pre-op and a couple from today. He needs some dental work but the vet felt it would increase the risk of a wound infection in the eye so that joy is being saved for another day.
They've done a fantastic job. Remember the fur around the eye has been shaved so not as bad as it looks.
He's showing all the signs of feeling better than he has for weeks - definitely wants out now.
-
Looks good. Tell him to look after the other one :nowink:
-
He seems to be just as capable of a withering ‘How dare you’ look even with the one eye. Heaven help you when he gets out of that cage :lol:
-
He actually allowed me to stroke him when he ate tonight! I think his mood is much improved by not being tortured by us putting the ointment into his eye and not having the nagging pain that really sore infection. One of the vets said 'he loves you really' - hahaha - he tolerates us and any love is cupboard love. But we love him. I strongly believe that if you take on a pet or any animal, you must do your best by it. Even if the bill puts your retirement back by a month!! :D
I'm really glad we had the operation done, despite my doubts we'd be able to provide the aftercare. Happily all we have to do is dose his food with Metacam and a tranquilliser that's got him pretty chilled out. I really was a wreck the morning of the operation.
-
My good friend in the US of A once said of his spoiled and indulged cats "The world is a pretty terrible place, but for you, I will make it heaven". Slightly censored to remove his cussin' but it always stuck with me. You can't really change much in the grand scheme of things in this world but you can make your pets have the happiest possible life and I always think that is the mark of a good person.
-
Nuffin’ wrong in making a pet’s life wonderful :)
Cats expect that as standard and complain loudly at anything less.
He actually allowed me to stroke him when he ate tonight!
Now he is not in pain and thinking straight, he’s clocking all this up as reasons you owe him big time ;)
-
all we have to do is dose his food with Metacam and a tranquilliser that's got him pretty chilled out.
Perhaps you need a few doses yourself after coping with it all for the last few days :lol:
-
Well it's been pretty stressful for him but I think next week will be a lot easier when he's back out with his friends. For me, the stress scale is pretty low now I know I made the right choice.
They're incredible creatures, so totally stoic.
-
Just a quick update. After speaking with the vets and sending photos of the operation site, we've let him back out. He's wandered around the house sniffing everything, been outside and come back in and all seems to be well. Obviously we need to keep a close watch in case things go wrong but, fingers crossed! :)
I was talking to him last night and found myself saying "We'll have to keep an eye on you. Oh, sorry! No offence" Maybe this social isolation thing has finally got me :wacko:
-
At least he came back, so having him treated didn't make him decide to avoid you all together, you must have been forgiven :lol:
-
It's lovely to have him about again :)
-
I bet he’s happy to not be in pain or discomfort.
-
He's a happy chappie to be out of lockup! He settled down in the lounge and I managed a quick photo - sorry about the quality but I disabled the flash to avoid disturbing him
What's frustrating is that you know he'd be a real sloppy lap cat if he'd been caught just a couple of weeks earlier.
-
Just caught up with this, yes, a bit behind the times, but I'm so happy there is a happy ending. I'm not a 'cat' person, prefer dogs and horses. Good for you John.
-
Glad everything went well. My sister's cat will attack you for no reason, it has been put down to sapying at the wrong time of the month :lol:
My neighbour has bought a pen for their cat, rehome from daughter, and she likes to be near them but pines if they are outside