Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: JackSpratt on January 02, 2007, 16:58:48 PM
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Just to clarify, I don't have a problem with clingy cats in general! Basically, one of my old girls went for an operation which turned out to be more serious than expected. She had to stay at the vets overnight and then go back for a check up and removal of stitches. Since then, she has got very clingy and has lost a little weight. Could this be due to stress?(The weight loss, not the clingness. I'm assuming that's due to thinking we're going to leave her at a vets again!)
Also, the operation was because of her problem with her ear. She kept shaking her head an awful lot, which brought the problem to our attention in the first place. But even after the op, she's still shaking her head, although it is less often. Can cats develop psychosomatic reactions?
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What was wrong with her ear? Is she eating and drinking normally and how old is she?
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She had a polyp. (I wasn't told about the polyp when I took her in June, I was told it was ear mites.) Unfortunately, matter had built up inside her ear canal to a large degree, so they had to cut that away to get to the polyp and kind of re-route the ear canal. She's now deaf in that ear.
I've been told by the person who found her when she was five weeks old(in a carrier bag, poor thing) that she's fifteen years old now. I've had her living wih me for around seven. She is an utter star and it makes me sad to see her so listless compared to her usual self, which is basically acting like a mischevious kitten!
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Ahhhh poor Parsley is she still feeling a bit under the weather! Do you think she might be shaking her head because she is now deaf on that side and is trying to "clear her ear"?
With regards to the weight loss have your tried her on kitten food for a while ... this is always good for helping skinny cats put on weight.
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I would be tempted to have a chat with the vet again first, just to be on the safe side.
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Did they tell you that she would be deaf after the op ..........sorry just interested cos I have a neary deaf cat here and the vet said when he went in for other treatment they would look further down the ear canal.
I agree with Desley and think that you should have a word with the vets. Were blood tests done before the op? If not that maybe the next stage.
I think she is probably shaking head cos that side feels strange and also she cant hear so will feel very strange.
If she was eating and drinking OK before then something must be up, she maybe in terrible pain in that ear and I would definately get her back to the vets.
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She still appears to be eating and drinking OK. I might try give her kitten food, though. Yes, they did mention that there might be a little more involved than polyp removal due to pressure being put on the ear canal. TBH, her going in for the op seemed the lesser of two evils at the time.(She was regularly scratching her ear so viciously it made her cry out and we often had to clean up blood spray off walls due to broken blood vessels.)
She hasn't been to a vets particularly regularly, and I think the amount of time she's been with me,my partner and our other cats is the longest she's been with the same "family." So I think maybe she's got nervous about being moved on again. :( It's sad I can't just have a chat with her and let her know I like her too much to send her away!
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Yes its sad cats cant talk to us so we can understand, they often try so hard but we dont get the message.
I would still have a word with the vet as to why she is not acting normally.
That ear sounded very very bad , poor thing.
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Right, I'll give them a quick call tomorrow. That was kind of the plan, just wanted general concencus(sp), I think!
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Course you can have a chat with her!! I wouldn't use kitten food on a 15 yo though, I normally use cat milk with cats that need building up (as long as they can tolerate it), and dry food can help them gain weight.
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Thanks, Desley. Although, their main diet is dry food, so it's confusing that she isn't putting it straight back on. When she stayed over at the vets, they tried to give her meat and she turned her nose up at it!
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So sorry your little old girl is not well but just give her lots of cuddles & love, as Desley has said please avoid giving her kitten food but as your cats love dry food give Royal Canin a ring on 01935 600800. I have always found them very helpful regards cat welfare rather than some companies who are only interested in making money.
Is she deaf in that ear or is it still a question the vets are waiting to see if she becomes deaf?
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HAve you spoken to the vet yet?
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Yep, it's been advised I take her in again. But to be honest, I'm loathe to as it seems to upset her so much. I might give her another week and see what happens.
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I can understand your reluctance to take her as it upsets her, but I think if the vets think she should be seen again, it would be wise to follow their advice, esp as it is her ears - there could still be a slight issue, and leaving it could make the issue worse. They should also have a record of her weight from the op, and can see just how much/little she has lost, and whether it is anything to be concerned about.
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Desley, usually I would completely agree. But she is SO much more unsure of herself since the op and it's awful seeing her so upset. If I feel there's no improvement in a week, I'll take her in again.
There's no chance of her being able to hear through that ear again,sadly.
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sorry she wont be able to hear through that ear but if you wont take her to the vet maybe you could phone him & speak to him about your concern's :hug:
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Already done that,Saffron. He said to take her in. But it's a drop in centre, and she really isn't a very relaxed cat when kept in a carrier for an hour and a half. As said before, if I feel she REALLY needs to go in, I'll take her.
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Oh ! my god in a carrier for 1 1/2 hours, what is this drop in centre?????
Sorry Jack dont know what area you are in but will certainley help if I can, on call tonight but if you have any contact details please pm me & I willl contact you straight away
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Dont like sound of drop in centre either but one of reasons she is unsure is prob down to her ear.
I think it is really essential that you get her seen again as they advise. Apart from the ear , the weight loss after an op at her age could be serious and you should not delay for a week.
Hoping Saffron can give you some advice.
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Is there no other vet you can take her to - I agree that a drop in centre with such a long wait isn't good, but between the ear still bothering her, weight loss and not being sure of herself, it does sound like being seen sooner rather than later would be a good thing, esp at her age. Could you not explain things to the vet and see if they can come to some agreement where you are seen as soon as you get there?
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I've honestly tried before, Desley. The surgery I go to doesn't seem to understand the concept of an animals emotional needs, sadly. It's a little old school in thought, and concentrates on fixing the physical problems.
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Oh dear!!
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How's Parsley today?
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A bit calmer, actually. She's been sat on me rather than running away from "the evil woman that kept taking her to the vet" so that's an improvement!
She's mainly been clingy with my partner, due to the fact that (a)he didn't take her to the vets and (b)she's known him 15 years! I've put her a bowl of cat milk down (furtitively, my oldest tom is a huge fan of the stuff!) and she's had a bit of a drink.
I also cleaned her ear a little, I thought maybe the scabbing could be what's making it itch.
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Glad she seems a bit happier ... Did the vet give you any drops or anything to help with the ear cleaning?
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Nope, no cleaning assistance!
I think she's slowly on the mend, but it's hard to tell.
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seem's that this so called drop in centre is a bit of a disaster, they should have given you some proper after care info. Please that Parsley seems to be a bit brighter
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Just been into town and got a multipack of tuna. See if that helps! :) (Not all at once, obviously!)
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Parsley is slowly but surely perking up. She was sat on my knee earlier, and kept trying to catch my hair when I moved it from under her; she hasn't done anything like that since before the op! She also let me clean her ear up a bit on Friday, so some of the scabbing that was annoying her got softened and came off. And she's been eating tuna quite happily. (Not as her meal, kind of sneaky bits of it every now and then.)
I'm going to try and get her to play with one of my cats (many!) toys later, and see if we can get any enthusiasm for life back into her! The other four are still behaving impeccably around her and leaving her alone to re-couperate. There's been no aggression from any of them towards her,(apart from my grumpy old tom, who grumbles at everyone sporadically!)despite the fact she must have returned from the vets smelling very strange indeed!
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I am glad that things are going better for her, fingers crossed it was just the confusion of suddenly being deaf.
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Hopefully so, Desley. Thanks to all of you for your advice and support. I'll keep you updated. :)
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:) great news that Parsley is feeling a bit better. I'm sure she will continue to improve and will be back to her old self very soon.
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Thanks, Sam! :)
And Saffron, thanks for the call. With regards to carriers, how about this one(if I'm fast enough! Everything sells so fast in our Lidl!):
http://www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20070115.p.Pet_Carrier.ar8
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Gah! Just when it looked like there was a possibility that Parsleys ear would be alright and she might be a bit less stressed, she came down earlier and the tip of her ear is red raw and bleeding.
Making an appointment with another vets ASAP.....unless I can figure out a way to get her to the PDSA vet where she won't have to wait.(She's got cover until June. I really can't afford to waste it.)
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Oh no Poor parsley ... I thought things were beginning to improve. Something i obviously still bothering her, poor little soul. Good luck at the vets please keep us posted :) Big Hug to Parsley.
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Will do. It's an utter nightmare. I got the op done because I thought it would stop her from suffering; but it hasn't. Makes me wonder if I did the right thing letting her go through all that for what seems like no real improvement.
Poor old girl. :( I've attached a picture of Parsley, so you can see how sorry for herself she's feeling.(And therefore, obviously making me and my partner feel terribly guilty for not really being able to do all that much!)
[attachment deleted by admin]
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Poor Parsley, she looks lovely btw, I think you need a second opinion on this, this not a PDSA op is it?
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How did you guess, Gill?!
The problem with getting a second opinion is the reason Parlsey is on PDSA is because she had a bit of trouble with her ears and I'm only allowed one of my cats on PDSA at a time. We don't have a local PDSA clinic, so that's how it works. I was told the "bit of trouble" was ear mites(might have already mentioned that;it's early!)and treated it duly. The problem continued so Parlsey was picked for the cover to see if the vet could get to the bottom of it all. She's covered until June and I'm not allowed to transfer cover to another of my cats until that expires. This causes a financial quandry when you're on low income.
But to be honest, despite that my partner and I have split the price of a check up at another vet this week, because we can't cope with her having to wait. She's already so stressed out and her operation was almost a month ago. She is currently sat with a lamp collar round her neck to ensure no further damage can be done. It catches ever so slightly on her ear, but that seems to be bothering her a lot less than whatever's annoying her enough to rip her ear to bits.
That's one of the mob. Then of course, there's my little junkie (diabetes!) needing his check up to check his levels are still good! So that's two out of five needing vet visits!
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Oh dear, this is not good about the standard of care that PDSA is giving. Never knew it was a problem before but you and CCmacey having probs. I hope there is nobody else.
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I was due a payment two days ago and was hoping to take Parsley to a private vet, but unfortunately the payment hasn't arrived yet. So she had to go the PDSA vet.(She actually coped better as it was less crowded and got lots of fuss in the carrier. She also got tuna on her return home, which helped!)
Basically, the top of her ear as gone necrotic.(I think that's right.)She has touched it too much during the healing process;not scratched just rubbed. She has to go for an op tomorrow to remove the top of her ear. The vet said she has never seen this complication arise following the operation she had previously - but Parsley has always been an odd one.
Hopefully, this is the last of the trouble she'll have with her ear, poor old girl.
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I am so sorry about Parsleys ear and do hope they give her the special care that she needs. Good luck for the op.
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Fingers crossed for her, I didn't realise there were issues with the PDSA
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Thanks. Took her in this morning, complete with a portion of felix for when she comes round. I can't phone until 3.....I hate waiting! Hope she's OK. :scared:
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What news on Parsley? I hope all has gone well.
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She's back! Her ear looks a bit shorter, but other than that she's a lot perkier than the last time she went for an op. :) Hopefully, this time will work and her ear will stop giving her problems. I got a bigger cat carrier(the one on the link)so trips will be a bit less stressful.
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What a relief! Fingers crossed for a full and speedy recovery for Parsley now.
:hug:
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Ahhhhhh Big Big hugs to Parsley and I hope now her problems will finally be over poor little mite.
Lots of Love and Hugs
Sam xxxxx
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Have only just caught up with this thread so apologies for my late arrival...
Glad to hear that the op went OK and that Parsley is home safe and sound :) I just love the idea of her going into hospital with her own packed lunch for 'when she comes round' ;D
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She is absolutely fine;apart from having to wear the "dreaded cone of doom!" Sat and watched Desperate Housewives with me which was pleasant!
Yep, the receptionist looked at me like an overprotective mum when I handed over the cat meat - I thought it'd be a pretty common thing to do, but apparantly not!
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A speedy recovery to parsley................I always leave a packed lunch for mine when they stay over night :rofl:
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Aww, am glad she is doing better. When Pebbles had her leg op, I took a selection of pouches and her fav biscuits - luckily they already know I am a bit odd at my vets!!!
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hiya just saw this thread. how is parsley feeling today?
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Feeling sorry for herself! But other than that, OK. :) She has her stitches out in ten days...well, seven now!
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does she have to wear a collar to prevent her from scratching at her ear :(
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Well, when she had her original op, they said no because it might rub on her ear and annoy her. But after this one, they told us she should wear one, because she'd obviously rubbed at it so much after the first operation. Poor old girl. But at least she's not like my other old lady; I once tried to put a collar on her and she walked backwards for three hours until I took it off.
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Aww, bless her.