A Dramatic Day for Dusty and the Family

Hi there everyone, Dusty here reporting on Dusty’s Drama Day, or it could called ‘the Christmas to Remember’! Mum posted our Christmas card on the Sunday Selfie and mentioned that I was unwell. Let me tell you what happened…..

DUSTY’S DRAMA DAY ONE – WHAT WAS THAT SOUND? 

Picture the scene, the Christmas Tree is decorated, the tree is so pretty, its little lights shining, the lovely decorations shimmer. Mum has carols on the radio and is humming along…. It’s Christmas Day, everyone is having a bite to eat, and I am given a tin of Fancy Feast as a treat.

Suddenly, I yeowled loudly, and Mum wonders what’s wrong. I look as though I have something caught in my mouth, but Dad can’t see anything and, when he checks my jaw, I don’t flinch – so they think, something caught in my tooth maybe, and relax.

Then I do the yeowling again, they check, find nothing and although I sound upset, I subside, and go quiet as though I am OK – but I don’t eat for the rest of the day.

DUSTY’S DRAMA DAY TWO – TO THE EMERGENCY VET

It’s Boxing Day. Mum gets up to find me with my left eye swollen and weepy – she is shaken.

I lay and look as though I am close to crossing the Bridge, tired, woebegone, and limp.  It gets worse over the next couple of hours, so Mum makes the call – regardless of any premium visiting charge to the After Hours Vet – we need to go – NOW. We ring the Wellington After Hours Vet to let them know we are on our way, and set off (TIP:- It’s always good to ring ahead to an emergency vet).

The moment I am in the cat carrier I perk up. Mum and dad are baffled. My eye looks terrible and I had to be lifted limp and unresponsive into the carrier but, now, I am alert and looking around. I like car rides! As Dad drives down State Highway 2, and Mum checks the exact location of the veterinary surgery on her iBone, I look around enjoying the trip.

Mum takes a breath. If I am responding to a car ride, then maybe there is hope, I am ready to fight! We arrive at the Emergency Vet at Ngauranga, in the northern suburbs of Wellington. Dad is tense, imagining us sitting in the vets for hours in an endless queue, with restive pets, all barking and yeowling…….. but, there is a just one grumpy bulldog being taken out for a toilet break, and two cats in cardboard boxes, brought in ‘not feeling well’.

We fill out a form, and wait.  Mum doesn’t even get a chance to chat to the other cat owners before we are called in……

DUSTY’S DRAMA DAY PART TWO – DIAGNOSIS

A nice vet, Dr Maloney, checks me over. He is calm, friendly and professional – we are in good hands.  I am quiet (as I usually am), then he opens my mouth ….. and what he finds makes Mum’s hair curl!  

I omitted to tell her and Dad I have an abscess near my jaw, this is what ruptured on Christmas Day. THIS is the cause of my sky-high temperature and swollen eye – which looks pretty dreadful by now. 

This is what the vet did. If something similar happens to you, this is the kind of process you might expect.

1. Dr Maloney gave me an initial once over, to check my general condition. I am thin and stringy at the best of times but he did not judge me as an out of time oldster – he was there to find out what was causing a specific problem – a real pro. 
2. He took my temperature * winces *
3. He then checked my eye, and looked inside my mouth – this is when he found and cleaned out the abscess cavity.
4. The vet asked if I had been drinking, and explained he could give fluids. Mum said yes to the fluids. I only drank the day before – this is not enough.
5. He hydrated me with two large syringes of slightly warmed fluid.
6. and I received an antibiotic shot and a painkilling injection.

Dr Maloney explained to us that the abscess, and its location, caused my eye to swell.  Treating the abscess would remove the pressure on the eye and it would return to normal. It was already looking better when we left the surgery. When we got out into the sunshine and into the car I was, once again, alert and perky – I wanted a car ride!

The medicine we have.

Mum and Dad have been given two mini syringes of painkillers (Bupredyne) to give me at 8 hour intervals, and a set of antibiotics called Noraclav. We had specific instructions to return if I was not eating. BUT I am eating – this is a good sign, and I look much better.

WHAT WE LEARNED THROUGH DUSTY’S DRAMA DAY

• Monitor any health situation that worries you. You know your pet, its moods and temperament better than anyone, so as soon as you feel unsure, and believe something might be wrong IT COULD BE so get to the VET. 
• Keep calm. You are no use to your pet, or the vet, if you arrive in pieces. Be concerned, yes, but you are your pet’s advocate here – be as clear and accurate as you can.

• Don’t panic if your pet seems weak and lacking in responsiveness. I looked in a poor way BUT when put in my carrier I became alert and responsive. Mum thought I was ready to check out – but she was wrong.
• So, remember – humans don’t look their best when ill, neither will your pet.
• Try to remember when your pet last ate and drank – a vet will ask – because it matters. Lack of food and water might bring a variety of issues into play.
• If you have difficulty pilling a cat (or dog) get help giving the medication. No matter how intimidating it might seem to give pills and stuff there are always ways to get it done.  If you really can’t manage  – go back to the vet and get help. It doesn’t matter how dumb you feel – the vet office will help.
• Make sure you give the full course of your pet’s prescribed medication.

As for me, I am on the road to recovery, each passing day sees me eating a bit more, drinking more, and moving back my familiar places. Each small move is a step towards recovery thanks to Dr Maloney and the staff at the after hours vets.  They made what could have been a Christmas pet catastrophe into a much happier event – a well Dusty Cat!

Dusty Cat, Adventurer
and Dusty’s Drama Day Reporter

 

 

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Graphic help from Masastarus.