Vibes please for kitty Arlo, who used up one of his lives :(

poiuytrewq

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2008
Messages
17,382
Location
Cotswolds
Visit site
Such a horrible evening last night. My crazy mad kitten almost died in my arms.
I’m not 100% sure what happened but there was a bark and scream and he came hurtling into the room. I got hold of him and saw blood from his nose and eye. O/H insisted he was fine even when he obviously staggered sideways instead of walking. Took him to his friend who’s wife is a vet and she said he had scratched his nose (!!) whilst I wanted to believe this I was very unconvinced. She gave him a shot of antibiotics and said to pop back in a day or so.
Well we got home and put him infront if the fire where he just lay lifeless and floppy, blood still slowly coming from his nose and eye.
We argued more about him, I said he’d be dead by morning if we left him, o/h claimed he was just a bit tired having played all day 🤬
Then he started dribbling lots of bloody stuff from his mouth so I called the emergency vet which out closest was 45 minutes (a good 45 minutes away)
By the time we got there he looked horrific, mouth open, all swollen and eyes shut.
The vet said all his airways were swollen and inflamed. He was cleaned up a little and given quite strong anti-inflammatory meds and pain killers.
I really still didn’t expect him to be alive by morning he looked that awful.
He was, I don’t think he’d moved all night but got up and walked ok. He’s used his litter tray and tried to eat but the vet did say eating may be painful, I’ve just been really gross and let him lick the chopping board after I cut up some roast chicken but he seems hungry but unable to actually eat.
He’s making coughing/sneezing sounds but seems to be breathing ok now and all the bleeding is stopped.
We are back to the vets shortly to give more medication if needed and have a really good examination.
He’s only been here five minutes but I really do love this little chap :’(
 

poiuytrewq

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2008
Messages
17,382
Location
Cotswolds
Visit site
I really don’t know what happened. I’m not sure if he got in the middle of them having a squabble.
The vet suggested he might have been shaken rather than bitten so maybe playing? Although I did hear a bark.
I’m wondering if he will be obviously nervous of one of them (we have kept them out since because he’s been feeling so ill)
They seemed to get on so well.
 

Shady

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 October 2014
Messages
6,357
Location
lost in the wilderness of France
Visit site
Oh goodness that's terrible, he could have been shaken although i would expect you to see more marks, do the dogs have bones or chews? could he have butted in on one of them eating? sleeping?
it sounds like he might have fallen heavily or been grabbed and thrown at something , it would explain the damage and he'd go into shock, you would also get a lot of blood from the mouth from his nose and everything would swell up and affect his breathing. There would be congealed blood and snot too so he'll be clearing his airways now as the inflamation goes down.
I'm sure he will be fine as long as nothing is broken but obviously keep a good eye on him . xxxxxxx
Am sending many vibes your way P, give the little chap a cuddle from me xxx
 

poiuytrewq

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2008
Messages
17,382
Location
Cotswolds
Visit site
I did give them a dog biscuit a short time before, I thought they were all eaten up but maybe one still had a bit and took it into the other room. That’s the only reason I could imagine one snapping. I do have to make sure they are shut out at meal time because Arlo won’t hesitate to climb in a bowl to “share”
I just want him to tear across the room and bite my hand or charge up the back of my leg or some other painful naughty Arlo trick.
I’ve been home half an hour and he’s not even got up.
 

Shady

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 October 2014
Messages
6,357
Location
lost in the wilderness of France
Visit site
I did give them a dog biscuit a short time before, I thought they were all eaten up but maybe one still had a bit and took it into the other room. That’s the only reason I could imagine one snapping. I do have to make sure they are shut out at meal time because Arlo won’t hesitate to climb in a bowl to “share”
I just want him to tear across the room and bite my hand or charge up the back of my leg or some other painful naughty Arlo trick.
I’ve been home half an hour and he’s not even got up.
I can hear that you are worried P but if he looks peaceful, is breathing ok leave him be for now but if it continues for hours try and tempt him up with a bit of tasty food so you can have another look at his mobility, he's had a terrible shock and the meds could make him sleepy, personally i'm not sure why the other vet gave antibiotics but it's done now and i'm sure he will perk up.
It's very hard with kittens sometimes , you just can't imagine all the trouble they can get in and you can never out think them completely. I never give bones or chews as even the nicest of dogs can turn funny with a cat in it's face, equally some eat out of the same bowl.
One of my kittens years ago fell off a climbing frame thing and broke his jaw in 2 places, you can never protect them 100% darling , just do your best, which you have. xx
 

BeckyFlowers

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 July 2017
Messages
1,665
Visit site
Yes let him have a sleep and make sure he's warm and comfortable and undisturbed. Hopefully he will be fine, and as Shady said, try and tempt him up after he has slept for a while and see how he is, he's probably drowsy from all the meds he's been given. Bless his little cotton socks ☹️
 

poiuytrewq

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2008
Messages
17,382
Location
Cotswolds
Visit site
She gave antibiotics saying the blood was coming from a scratch.
Tbf the emergency vets later on sounded like they’d have done the same. Maybe they were just being nice.
We are back at the vets now. I’ve covered his cage with a blanket

Ah we got called in mid reply....

So she’s given more antibiotics because of all the blood up his nose and probably on his chest (the sneezy/cough thing he’s doing)
She doesn’t think there’s any fracture as the swelling has settled well but there is air bubbles under his skin by his eye to keep an check on.
She was very thorough and checked his eyes well and sight and although he didn’t respond at first she used a light to check and said they were both very responsive. He could also follow bits of cotton wool being dropped.
Temp and stats are all good. He’s still Uber quiet and won’t eat. She said to give him two days and if he’s not better to go back, obviously if he worsens we go back.
Any tips on making him eat? He seems interested in food going in his bowl but then licks it and walks away. Tomorrow we start metacam on his food, so he needs to eat
 

HashRouge

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 February 2009
Messages
9,254
Location
Manchester
Visit site
You can get some expensive, paste-like cat foods from the vets that are very palatable - sorry I can't remember what brands we've had but worth asking your vet. We've had them before when one of the cats has been poorly or had a poor appetite.
 

poiuytrewq

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2008
Messages
17,382
Location
Cotswolds
Visit site
I was looking in pets at home at Applaws tuna pate and similar but went for tuna, which he turned his nose up at.
He has literally just come back to life a little and ate some sausage!!
 

poiuytrewq

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2008
Messages
17,382
Location
Cotswolds
Visit site
We just let the dogs up briefly to see how he handled it. Cool as a cucumber, not in the slightest scared.
Wonder if there’s any other possible explanation I’d really expected him to be frightened
 

poiuytrewq

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2008
Messages
17,382
Location
Cotswolds
Visit site
This morning he does seem more himself 😁
I can’t believe an animal can go from so so ill to being ok so quickly!
His face is still very sore you can see him flinch and recoil when he forgets and pounces on or touches something by accident. He’s eaten a bit, not a lot but better than nothing, I put the metacam on top of a little food so think he got that. He’s still sneezy but currently playing. 💕
I really wish I’d taken a photo Sunday night as he looked so terrible but I hate dying pet pictures with a passion and really did think he was going.
Thank you for the good wishes for him. My poor little munchkin
 

BeckyFlowers

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 July 2017
Messages
1,665
Visit site
Oh bless him, so pleased to hear he's on the mend. There's this stuff in sticks called Lick-e-lix, made by Webbox, and it's like a fishy flavoured yoghurt, great for cats with sore mouths and jaws, and equally great for hiding meds in. You can probably get it in supermarkets.
 

Shady

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 October 2014
Messages
6,357
Location
lost in the wilderness of France
Visit site
Hi P
So glad he is feeling better, his smell is probably a little off, don't worry
The antibiotics make sense now, i was thinking little scratch but of course if blood is going down his throat you'd need to watch for secondary infection.
I am wondering if he was grabbed by the face or something happened and he jumped and fell badly, maybe he startled one of the dogs, who knows but thank god he seems to on the mend now. Kittens are feisty little things so i'm sure he will be ok with the dogs. Worth keeping an eye on the dynamics between them and making sure the dogs never have bones just in case. I know that one of my dogs would not have liked a kitten landing on his head whilst doing zoomies but the other wouldn't have cared! often kittens have no idea about personal safety!
Let us know how he is later. xxxxxx
 

poiuytrewq

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2008
Messages
17,382
Location
Cotswolds
Visit site
Apart from a bit of a bloody face which the vets have all said not to try and clean any more than has been done incase it dislodges clots he looks pretty normal, if I were being fussy I’d say the worse eye is still swollen but I don’t think you’d notice if you didn’t know.
He’s also just had some more food, his normal food this time so I’m pleased with that.
I will be very careful with the dogs.
Until he’s bigger when they are in the house he’s even coming to the toilet with me 😉
 

Shady

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 October 2014
Messages
6,357
Location
lost in the wilderness of France
Visit site
P
I'm so pleased to read he's improving and eating again :)
My previous dog was about 4 years old when i took in 2 Persian kittens, it never crossed my mind he would want to eat them, he'd never chased or harmed anything domestic, not even my friends pet chicken, i took him everywhere and he loved the cats. I watched his eyes change then his body language then he started chattering and launched himself across the room. I literally threw myself at him and the kittens ran. It took weeks and weeks of hard work to desensitise him and i was a nervous wreck, one day i could just see the change in his eyes and knew he was ok, i continued to monitor them but he was fine and they used to sleep with him. My big British cat was distraught when he died , wouldn't eat and just wandered around looking for him, i thought he'd like the new one but he hates him!! cats and dogs eh.......:D xx
 

Pinkvboots

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 August 2010
Messages
21,378
Location
Hertfordshire
Visit site
I am glad his perked up cats love liver if you can get hold of some, the vet told us to feed it to our poorly cat following an operation as it's very good for them when they are weak.
 

Crazy_cat_lady

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 January 2012
Messages
6,888
Visit site
How awful it must have been so scary to see him that way, glad he's feeling a little better. If he's still struggling to eat could you get some of those pate type consistency foods and if needed add a little warm water to make it so he could just lap it up and not have to chew? Or even if the smell might tempt him a bit more cook up a little chicken breast or even boneless fish then crumble it into really small pieces?

It's one of those times you wish you could have seen what happened so you're not constantly going to wonder what did go on, at least then if the dogs were involved you could try and prevent or rectify the situation happening again.

It could be as simple as a freak accident, are there any sharp edges he could have run into when perhaps having a little spook at something and hit his face? My little girl was once in the garden chasing a moth, she took off down it, fell over the tiny decorative stone wall in the garden and ran inside and shot straight upstairs, went to look for her and she had blood on her bib and was terribly frightened, fortunately unlike your poor boy the bleeding stopped and wasn't from her nose so straight to vets the next morning, she had to have a couple of teeth removed as she'd smashed them so must have hit her face on the wall as she fell. Another time she got her foot caught in the fence trying to swat something on the other side and when pulling her foot back must have caught a sharp bit of wood and slit her paw open, causing another trip to a and e and a big bandage!!

So it may just have been he just fell off somewhere or ran into something and scared himself massively however I completely agree with you wanting to be cautious with the dogs as you don't know what happened and certainly while he's so tiny it's better to be safe I'd be the same.

Hopefully he's back causing more mischief soon!
 
Top