Prayers going up for your kitty…
Posted on 11/10/2004 10:33:18 AM PST by Miztiki
Yesterday I dropped my two cats off at the vet so they could have their teeth cleaned this morning. A couple of hours ago the vet called me. He said my cat Punkin had serious problems while under the anesthesia. He said his lungs had collapsed. They had him tubed and were breathing for him but said if they pulled the tube he would die.
I rushed over there to say my good-bye's. Surprisingly, by the time I got there he was doing some of the breathing on his own and the vet gave him a 20% chance. A little while later he removed the breathing tube with the understanding that he would most likely be unable to breathe and we would have to put him out of his misery.
Well, he woke up. He's unable to expel the air fully and there is air all over his body. The top of his head, under the skin, had air in it, and it was like that all over, but he was a heck of a lot better than anyone thought he would be.
A couple of hours ago he was definately going to die, then it was a 20% chance, and now his chances are a little better, but still he's very, very sick and has less than a 50% chance.
I'm afraid to get my hopes up but I do love the little bugger very much. If Arafat can live and die and live and die, then maybe my cat can too. He's younger, better looking and much more loveable!
If you're so inclined, please pray for my Punkin. Thanks.
You may want to look for a different breeder. Looks to me like they did something really wrong!
Just kidding. :-) What kind of cat is that? It's not a domestic breed is it? Gorgeous whatever it is.
McGavin,
I was pretty distraught while there but the vet suspects that there is a hole(s) or tear(s) in the lungs or esophagus somewhere. I asked if the insertion of the tube could have caused it and he said most likely not. Of course he would say that though, right?
He said my cat may have something like FIP or another thing he mentioned without anyone knowing it. However this turns out, I'll be asking alot of questions.
They had not begun working on my other cat, so I took him home. He'll just have to have dirty teeth. That was my first time, and last time, at that vet's office. They are upscale and I thought the extra money would be worth it. I know these things can happen but, like another FReeper here says: just damn.
Prayers for your Punkin, from me and my three furballs!
Please get Punkin to another vet quickly. If there is an internal tear, there could be ongoing blood loss or an infection could set in. And if there is a tear, it didn't get there by itself, so you should be able to hit up the vet who did it for costs of surgical repair, if that proves necessary. With that serious a reaction, I wouldn't advise just keeping Punkin home and hoping for the best.
Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, but that title is so funny!
Hope your cat pulls through. We love our two.
Dan
20% survival??? I could never understand how people in the medical field come up with any such number/statistic, esp. in this case. I'm not a vetinarian, but I do know something about pneumothoraces (collapsed lung) in human and it should apply to animals as well. The treatment for a pneumothorax is quick insertion of a chest tube to re-expand the lung. The thoracostomy tube is then hooked to suction deviced called a pleura-vac filled with a column of water. The presence of water bubbles seen through the pleura-vac indicates a persistent leak. Most pneumothoraces will not have a leak and most alveolar leaks are self-limitting. If a leak is persistent after a period of observation, then a VATS procedure is recommended (video assisted thoroscopy) to see where the leak is at so that the problem can be surgically taken care of. Pneumothoraces are life threatening because they can cause hypoxia/decrease in oxygenation and cardiovascular collapse, in cases of a tension pneumothorax. Tension pneumothorax develops when there is a "one-way valve" effect in which air from the lung gets trapped continuously inside the thoracic cavity. This continuous trapping of air will create tremendous pressure inside the chest and causes compression upon the vasculature as well as the heart itself resulting in cardiovascular collapse and death if not treated in a very timely manner by needle decompression of the chest or by insertion of a chest tube/thoracostomy. Pneumothoraces occur spontaneously or as a result of trauma (blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, or barotrauma from positive pressure mechanical ventilation). Pneumothorax is a very treatable problem if diagnosed early. As to the "20% chance", I don't know where the vet is pulling that number from.
Must get those Swiss and French Bank Account Numbers!
From my three: Silk, Maggie and PIB, and myself, here is wishing Punkin a quick recovery.
Silk, who is my senior citizen, had difficulties (not as severe) last time her teeth were cleaned. I have the complete blood workup done now because that can help predict problems. Here it costs about $45. It saved PIB's life once because he had an infection that was not obvious expect through the blood work.
I confess, I've not taken Silk back for another cleaning. We are trying to control dental problems with the right food and an occasional brushing.
Keep us posted.
Hope all goes well, any cat is better than Arafat.
Prayers on the way for Punkin and you, honey, and the Ferocious Feline Bebop Trio wants me to nudge you with my head on their behalf.
I'll say a prayer for your kitty. I don't know what I'd do without my cat, Montegut. They do seem to have 9 lives though, so here's hoping yours has a few to spare. Keep us posted!
Do you mind telling me which vet this was? (FReepmail is okay if you don't feel like being public with it.) I'm a devotee of my particular one - if you'd like the name and number, let me know. He's at Greenbriar and Richmond, near the Montrose. He's been my babies' vet since I got 'em.
Kitty prayer ping!
Kitty prayers up.
Me and my eight furry instruments of laziness are hoping Punkin pulls through.
Those are the biggest cat ears I've ever seen!
You bet! Prayers said. Please keep us updated.
I hope our cat pulls through. And if it's a choice between your cat and Arafat, I'm 100% for your cat.
This is very sad, but anesthesia is dangerous in small animals. Dry food. No table scraps with even a trace of sugar.
Some cats just have bad teeth, but I have two over 15 years old with good teeth, and never been to a vet for anything but shots.
Prayers going up for your kitty…
You're prayers are working so far!
I can't believe he's still alive. :-)
I brought him home this evening so that I can watch him all night, then will take him back in the morning. The vet is Matthew B. Filip, DVM @ Cat Veterinary Clinic on W. Alabama & Shephard).
He's really baffled the vet by how well he's doing. He's up and eating and walking around. He's alert and looks really good. The vet did remove the air from him while he was having all of those troubles. The first set of x-rays show both lungs collapsed but the second set taken this afternoon looks pretty normal. You can see the air all through his body though. He no longer thinks there were any tears or holes in his lungs/esophagus because that doesn't heal up in a matter of hours. He doesn't know what caused his lungs to collapse.
The next 48 hours will say alot. He's not out of the woods yet but he's alive and breathing!!! He really looks good.
The vet said he wouldn't charge me a penny for any of this. He felt really bad about the whole thing, even cancelled all of his appointments for the day. Any vets here someone could ping for me? Would be nice to know if this sounds like an unfortunate complication or whether the vet needs to be replaced.
Anyway, so far so good!!! Your prayers and well wishes meant an awful lot to me!
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