Conference misery::feline_v1

      Hi Janet!  Remember me? Security person in TWO?  How are you?
    Sorry about your poor baby. She should be just fine though, if 
    you're getting the surgery.
       I adopted a kitty once that had been running loose for a while.
    He had obviously had a bad dealing with a car or a rough hand at
    some point earlier. The vet examined him and said his pelvis was
    broken, but had healed on it's own. It definately doesn't look quite
    right, but that cat hikes all over with me around through the woods
    and fields where I live. The joint is a little stiff, and looks
    a bit odd from the right angle, but he does really great and can
    run fast too!
      I can imagine how fast he'd be if we had found him in time to
    reset the hip!  He does great.
    
         I'm sure your kitty will, too.!
    
                                             Denise
    

    When I adopted Sweetie from the local animal shelter, it turned
    out that he had been hit by a car some time before, and his pelvis
    had been fractured and healed incorrectly, since he presumably had
    gotten no medical treatment.  I may be describing this somewhat
    incorrectly, but my understanding of the problem in his case is
    that the pelvis was crushed inwards and so it partially obstructed
    his intestines (or some other part of the extretory system).  The
    result was that he was prone to blockages;  the vet said he was
    sure to get what he called "mega-colon" without surgery adn would
    probably die within a year.  So he was operated on by a specialist
    vet and (cross my fingers) everything has been fine for several
    years.  The thing to note is that evidentally operating around the
    pelvis is very touchy because it is extremely easy to cause nerve
    and muscle damage.  The specialist vet devised a new way to operate,
    as I recall his explanation he spread part of the pelvis apart like
    butterfly wings to allow room, and put something in to keep it apart.
    
    If your vet wants to talk to him about it, he is Dr. Gary Brown,
    office in Fremont, Calif.  I have his phone number at home if you
    need it.
    
    (the first symptom of this trouble that Sweetie exhibited when I
    got him home from the shelter was slight diarrhea.  I took him to
    an emergency clinic and they gave him something to stop the diahhrea
    -- exactly the wrong thing to do, as it turned out.)
    
    P.S.  i should have said that both Dr. Brown and Sweetie's regular
    vet say he is as good as new in therms of his life expectancy after
    this operation.
    

    Hi Janet,
    
    First of all I 'd like you excuse me in advance for all the mistakes
    you'll find in my article but I don't speak English very well, so
    I prefere to don't describe my writting : You will see !!!
    
    There is few weeks I read this notefile alone in a little part of
    France and I never participate but today, you seem to be so sad and 
    your story about Sienna remember me what happens to us last march.
    
    We (my wife and I) was in winter hollidays and there was so many
    problem to take Coyote with us that we decided to let him with her
    real-mother.
    Few days later, He escaped and during one week nobody saw him.
    When We came back, we was desesperated and we decided to offer a
    reward to everybody who could help us to find him back.
    We wrote a lot of articles and distributed a lot of photos and 
    letters all around the area he had been lost.
    
    Two days later we saw an old man, no far in the same street, who
    said : "I don't know if it's your cat, but I had found one few days
    ago. Come with me and you'll see. But You have to know that He cannot
    move anymore : He seems to be injured."
    
    We saw the cat : It was our Coyote. 
    And as a matter of fact after bringing him to the Vet hospital near
    Paris, they diagnosed a pelvis fracture following a "meeting vs
    a car ". 
    The bone was broken one of its four sides preventing him to
    walk normally
    
    We was very anxious of a such injury but after 2 days in the hospital
    the Vet decided to don't operate him to avoid to give damages to
    the intestines or to the legs 'nerves. So he decided to allow
    Coyote to come back home. He had a lot of problems on the begining to
    move and to jump (above all he was only 11 months old) but with
    a lot of boards to access everywhere he never never met problem.
    
    The vet only said to survey its "gifts" to verify that no blood
    was in it (most part of time problems came from the intestines or
    the kidneys).
    
    Coyote stayed 3 months with some problems and if you could see him
    form now scooting everywhere in the flat, playing with us, fighting
    with my parents's cats and jumping in our bed in the middle of the
    night to be sure that we are still here, [;^) ] you never could
    imagime that a such story happens to him.
    
    So Don't worry, We are sure that with all care Sienna had in this big
    hospital and with all love he'll find by your side, he 'll not wait
    a long time before to be right again.
    
    
    Best and deep regards form Valerie and Daniel in France.
    
    Daniel
    
    PS: Coyote says HI to Sienna. Slurp... :-)
    						

    Thanks, everybody for your helpful replies ... and now for a progress
    report on Sienna.
    
    She'll be operated on this morning, assuming she's still strong
    enough to undergo the anethesia and surgery.  Her right pelvic bone
    broke in half and will be repared with a plate and screws.  This
    will allow the left pelvic bone, which tore off from its fibrous
    attachment to the backbone, to move back into the right position
    and reattach naturally.
    
    The orthopedic surgeon said that if we didn't do the surgery she'd
    almost certainly have trouble with her bowels once the bone rehealed
    into a big blob -- and then she'd be in big trouble.  Reassuring
    to know some of you have had experience with this (although I'm
    sorry to hear it) -- but it helps me feel like I'm doing the right
    thing.
    
    Will keep you posted on her progress ... if she's operated on today,
    she'll be able to come home by Wednesday!
    
    Now for another question.  The surgeon says she'll need to be confined
    in an area where she can't jump around a whole lot to start.  HOW
    does one keep a cat from jumping onto beds, dressers, desks, counters,
    etc.?  There's not one room in my house that doesn't have at least
    1 yummy place to jump up on. I guess the alternative is to keep her caged
    for a while, but I'd rather not do that if anyone has some ideas of
    how to screen off furniture to jump up on ...
    
    --Janet             

    
    I'm really glad to hear she'll be okay. How long will her recuperation
    process be?
    
    I think fencing off furniture might be harder than fenching off
    the kitty. Maybe you could rent (or purchase) an airline carrier
    and leave her in it while you are away from the house, and let her
    out when you get home when you could watch her. The largest carrier
    is actually quite large (I am thinking of the one for large
    dogs.) I think the carriers can be expensive though. Maybe someone
    has one to lend out. While it's not ideal, it is a solution. 
    
    The other idea I had was if you  had a bathroom with only a shower-
    no tub, as oftentimes are attached to master bedrooms. Pile something
    such as books on the toilet seat to discourage her from climbing
    up on it, and she could stay in there while you are away.
    
    As I have stated in other notes, I take care of "hurt and recuperating"
    cats/kittens for the local humane society. While I have not had a cat
    with an injured pelvis, I have had cats who had to be confined due
    to assorted other injuries. I usually feel bad putting them in a
    cage while I am at work, but then it is the best thing for them
    AND it is only temporary.  The humane society has had cats with
    your kitty's problem, and I know they are kept in cages about the
    size of an airline cage and let out for exercise under supervision.
    
    You might be able to get someone to construct a large cage for you.
    If you do, be sure to use fencing small enough so
    that her head cannot fit through the openings. You'd be surprised
    how well they can stick their heads somewhere they don't belong. 
    
    I am sure you'll get lots of other solutions from the noters since
    many have run into the same situation.
    
    Again, so glad for you and your little Sienna that the prognosis
    is so good.
    Pat
                              

    I too was very sorry to hear about what happensed to your kitty
    and am glad she's going to be alright. I just wanted to say something
    about putting her in a bathroom with books on the toilet to prevent
    her from jumping. I would think, especially with this type of injury,
    that that wouldn't be such a great idea because she might try to
    jump up anyway and end up pulling the books down on top of her and
    reinjuring herself. Other than that I would say that a bathroom
    such as the one described before would be the perfect place to keep
    her quiet. Just my opinion.
    					Geoff

    Janet is going to borrow one of my large cages for the first
    part of Sienna's recovery (however many days the vet recommends).
    This cage (much larger than a carrier) has removable shelves.  I
    suggested that because cats like to perch, but Sienna shouldn't
    be jumping much at first, that one shelf be left in at first at
    a very low height, such as 4 inches -- a mere step up, but a 
    perch nevertheless!  As she gets more mobile, the shelves can
    be moved up to 2-3 feet off the floor.
    
    	Penelope

    Sweetie spent the first part of his recovery from surgery in a large
    cage, much larger than an airline cage.  I found it thru a pointer
    from a local humane society.  I kept it in the living room (with
    something soft in the bottom, and plastic between the bottom of
    the cage and the rug), and I spent evenings and night time with
    him.  Sooner than you think, the time will pass and Sienna will
    be out of her cage and into mischief.
    

    Post-operation update on Sienna ...
    
    Surgeon says all went well.  She's woken up and "is lookin' good"
    and can come home early next week!  [Dr. left a message on my answer
    machine since he didn't get an answer at my office @@###%%!! ...]
    
    They did also find that she had a fractured jaw (I thought I'd seen
    some misalignment initially).  Dr. Wadsworth thinks she can do alright
    without surgery so long as she can eat soft food in the next few
    days ... they'll continue to monitor.
    
    Whew!  Thanks, everybody, for your kind support and especially to
    Penelope for offering one of her cages.  I am now a confirmed and
    addicted notes file user!
    
    Will give you progress report next week when she arrives home. 
    No idea yet what the recuperation time will be, but it continually
    amazes me how quickly cats do heal.                    
    
    --Janet_the_much_relieved_Mommy_of_a_newly_repaired_Aby

    Sienna's operation (all 2 1/2 hours of it) was deemed a success
    by her surgeon ... and she's eating!  ... which is particularly
    encouraging given her fractured jaw.
    
    If all continues to go well, she'll be home Tuesday.  No bandages,
    not even any stitches (all stitches are subcutaneous).  Will want
    to sleep and lay around for a few days and will bear a fair amount
    of weight on the newly fixed pelvis within 10 days to 3 weeks.
                 
    Sounds as though she's had top-knotch care at South Shore Veterinary
    Associates (affiliated with Tufts), including visits, petting, and
    feeding by the surgeon twice a day Saturday AND Sunday.
    
    SOooooo, her Mom's extremely relieved and anxious to have her home
    (one forgets how much company our favorite felines are until they're
    not around!).
    
    Will post a progress report after she's home.  BTW, Penelope's cage
    is all set up awaiting her arrival, so thanks to Penelope, we've
    solved the problem of keeping her from jumping around too soon and
    damaging her new pelvis.
    
    And thanks again to everyone who's shared their concern, experiences
    and good ideas.
    
    --Janet_the_much_relieved_Mommy_of_her_newly_repaired_Aby
                                      

    so sorry to hear about your cat, and sorry to say i can't give you
    and advice, but i can tell you the the South Shore group is absolutely
    wonderful with animals.  My son had a dobie that had to have orthepedic
    surgery, it was done there and i believe it help prolong the dog
    life by 5 years.  Best of luck.  Julia

    ... and now for a final report on Sienna who's doin' fine ...
    
    Home from the hospital for 1 week now and she's already getting
    around really well.  Other than some limping and not being able
    to jump yet, she's back to her ol' self.
    
    Thanks again for all your concern ...
    --Janet