Any Veterinarians Out There? I Need Help.
NOT FOR U IF YOU GET SQUEEMISH!
Ok I need some advice....
Yesterday I found a kitten. I stopped my car thinking she was dead, gonna move her out of the road. She kicked her legs and popped her head up. She hadn't been hit! But I knew there was something severely wrong with her. I picked her up and brought her home with me. First, she had a collar that was way too tight so I removed it, it had been clawed at and frayed to peices anyway. I noticed a hole in her neck, looked closely and realized there were maggots in it. I shaved it and removed the maggots and there was also a HUGE one in there (think it was a "warble") and my husband and I removed it as well. We rinsed the hole with peroxide and have been keeping a check every 2 hrs for anymore maggots to surface - there have been none. I've also put neosporin on it twice. I gave her a flea bath and then later last night, I noticed another 2 holes. One in her leg and one in the fold between her leg and abdomen area. I had to manually remove maggots from them as well, rinsed with peroxide, then put neosporin. Those two holes are closed today. The one is her neck was pretty big, but it is healing quite well evenhough it isn't closed yet. I've tried looking her over for more holes, but haven't found any. She doesn't want me to lift her tail though. She growls and twitches when I do it. It stays very wet around her vaginal/anal area. There were 2 maggots under her tail I can't find any wounds. I did pour peroxide and it bubbles like crazy all over under there.
She maybe weighs a pound soaking wet. She has no muscles and her head is fixed in a sideways position, probably due to the warble/maggots. Her balance is off and she is very weak. She has fallen in her food bowl trying to eat. She looks terrible. I have no doubt in my mind that when she laid down before I found her, she would've never gotten back up.
Since she hasn't wanted to drink anything at all, I got a kitten bottle and some kitten formula and have been bottle feeding her. This should keep her hydrated along with giving her some much needed nutrients.
I know all of this sounds really REALLY bad, but I don't want to give up on her. If there is a vet or a vet tech that can give me some advice, I would more than appreciate it. I've recently spent a ton of money on vet bills with another cat. I absolutely cannot afford anymore vet bills. My local shelter will just put her down. I don't have the heart to do that.
Bright side:
She has been eating like crazy today. Yesterday she wouldn't do it. She has also walked around (just a little bitty bit). And, she PURRRED today! I was holding her and bottle feeding her and she kept purring in between swallows. It made me feel great. At least if she dies, she won't die alone. She knows she has someone there that cares and wants to help her make it :) Though it makes me cry to think about her not making it. I'm already attached. Sounds kinda pathetic, but I am such a weenie. I fall in love with animals, and it would break my heart if she didn't pull through.
What I need help with:
1) will the holes heal or close if there are maggots in there? I can't imagine the holes closing on top of them, so hopefully they are gone. I am almost certain that I got them all out, but I can't ever know for sure. I don't want to re-open the holes to check. And if there are some still in there, what harm could they do? They are supposed to vacate the body when they are finished feeding. Some websites say it takes up to 72 hrs.
2) Her paws and ears are cold. I am keeping her wrapped up with "HotHands". Not directly on her skin, of course, but i have them placed around her blanket. Does this mean her temp is below normal or is this a big issue for her to be so cold? She does shiver, but she may be nervous. I have 3 cats. They aren't bothering her but I can tell she is uneasy around them. This may be why she shivers. Or because she doesn't know me very well.
3) Is there anything else that I can be doing for her (that I can afford)? Please don't ridicule me about not being able to take her to a vet. I'm still on my payment plan from my cat with asthma.
4) I have an antibiotic (amoxicillan) that the vet perscribed me for one of my cats when he had a sinus infection. It is not expired. Will this help her fight off any infection? The dropper for my full grown cat was 1.0 so what dosage, if any, should I give the warble kitty? Keep in mind she is weak, small, and young.
If you all can help me, I will forever be in debt to u! I really want to save this kitty.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Stanley on -
Oh, and love this thread btw! I'm so happy that Maggie is doing so well given her circumstances. You're truly the best thing that has ever happened to that kitty!
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Permalink Reply by Maske on -
This story has completely made my day.
I got my kitteh about a month ago, also a rescue. I didn't know I was a cat person, but she brings me such joy. She is blind in one eye, and had infections in both when we found her. The plan was to take her to the SPCA about 70km from where we were, but it's a long car trip, and she did that thing on the way where she made me think she liked me.
She is now the queen of the household. She was named Firestar (from the Warrior Cats books), which she remains when she's stalking leaves in the garden, and when she goes to the vet. Sometimes she's Nermal (from Garfield), when she's looking for attention. And other times she is Lenaya, after the character described as "Destroyer of Worlds" in Stargate SG-1. This she gets called when she finds computer cables or toes.
When I brought her home she ate and ate and ate and ate like she would never get food again. I think when she realised it was a recurring event she slowed down a bit. She didn't know how to play then, but has since discovered that a tennis ball is the best friend a kitteh could have. The manager of the hotel that we found her at had been trying to chase her since she was born about 5 months prior. He said she was a wild cat and they'd been trying to catch her to get rid of her, but she hissed and spat whenever they tried to come near. This he said to my face as she was sleeping in my arms. I think she had spent 5 months eating out of hotel bins and being chased from one side of the enclosed courtyard to another by guests/staff.
To cut this tl;dr very short - I understand now what it feels like to be responsible for something which you can't give up on, and which somehow you love so much. It took me by surprise. And in that spirit, get your paypal set up. Next Friday is payday, and I (along with the rest of TA members in this forum I think) would be happy to help Maggie have a fighting chance.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Hess on -
***** UPDATE*****
I have made a page on my site with a donate button that will go right to Becky. Here is the link: http://andrewjhess.com/maggie/
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Permalink Reply by Jen Henderson on -
Just curious how the donation is set up to go to Becky since it's through your site. Want to ease everyone's mind (I've already made a donation).
Thanks,
Jen
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Hess on
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With PayPal, you can set up a button to go to anyone's site as long as you are not logged in. Check it out here: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=_donate-intro-outside
With all the coding and recoding, I accidentally got logged back into PayPal and received two donations (one from you and one from Thomas). I have forwarded those funds to Becky and corrected the issue on the site. I used the site to donate the ill-routed donations.
I'm sure Becky will be updating everyone and can attest to what I've said.
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Permalink Reply by Philip Jarrett on -
http://www.askavetquestion.com/
http://www.justanswer.com/new-question/select-your-price.aspx?tqid=...
Here's a couple of links. One you have to pay 18 dollars for, but that beats a visit to the vet.
Hope this helps
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Permalink Reply by scLovely on -
Hey guys! I didn't know how to set anything up. I wasn't even going to but Andrew Hess set a page up and asked me for my paypal email address. I gave it to him and I have had 4 donations so far! It is a little embarrassing to take it, but I know you guys are doing this for her, not for me.
Her appointment with the vet monday was for a FeLV test only. He was charging $35 to do it. He wanted to do more but I could only afford to do one thing at a time. My paypal account now has $28.22 in it, which is almost enough to cover the FeLV test, so I will go ahead and do the stool sample he said he wanted to do. If any more is donated, I will make sure 100% of it goes to her recovery, and whatever else the vet feels necessary that she has done. Words can't express our (mine, my husband's, and Maggie's) grattitude. Thank you all so much for being so loving and caring. I will keep you all updated and show you all how much the bills are and how much you have covered in expenses. This helps out more than you will ever know. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts :*)
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Permalink Reply by scLovely on
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Since I have to wait til Monday for the vet to see her, I need a little more advice.
New questions:
So her hole in her neck has a really big scab on one side of it. It is green and smells terrible. The scab seems to be getting larger as the other side of the hole heals. I have rinsed once per day with Peroxide, and it still bubles daily, but am I not doing enough? Should I clean it some other way? I wouldn't be so worried, but the smell is something serious. Is alcohol a better alternative - NOT ON THE OPEN PART - but maybe swabbing it around the scab itself? I don't want it to have an infection.
Also, since she has been walking more, she is constantly walking in circles. Sometimes she is walking rather quickly. I'd be so dizzy if I did that. Why is she doing this? Since she is blind (I'm certain she is), is she searching for something? She did walk straight before, what little bit she did walk, but now she doesn't. Is it a sign of her getting worse? Her strength seems to be improving daily, and so does her appetite.
Thanks again for taking time to read into all of this. You guys are amazing!
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Permalink Reply by scLovely on
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For more pics of Maggie and my other kit kats, here is a link to my FB album. I don't want to flood everyones inbox because of this forum. I'll add new pics of her on TA as she gets better.
Oh and feel free to add me as a friend on there as well! I mostly have RL friends on there, but I could always use more like-minded individuals to like my secular statuses (that somehow always offend my Christian friends -- even if I don't say anything wrong). It could be a quote or a quiz I take and they get all bent out of shape. I've given up on expressing my opinion on there lately. Too much fussing.
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Permalink Reply by M on -
If it smells bad, it's an infection. I just posted this a bit back, but peroxide isn't the best of choices for cleaning wounds. It's bad for the tissue, and it sustains rather than kills aerobic bacteria (bacteria that requires oxygen to survive). It's really only good for anaerobic bacteria and softening earwax. I'd recommend Betadine, which must be allowed to dry once applied to work properly. Unfortunately, there is probably infected tissue underneath the scab. A vet might just prescribe antibiotics, or they might debride the tissue. This would involve removing the scab and cleaning and caring for the tissue beneath the scab. The wound would be flushed (probably) with saline once a day and then covered with a sterile bandage. Sometimes a antimicrobial ointment is applied, and sometimes the wound is allowed to heal without. Debridement must be done in the most sterile manner possible in order to rid the wound of baddie bacteria.
The major point here is that infection must be addressed because it can spread to the blood and the kitten can go into septic shock and die. This would terrible after all she (and you and your husband) have been through together.
I'm not a vet, I'm an RN, but some things apply across the board. Best of luck to you!
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