Mittens went to the Vet

Mittens hadn't eaten or drank since the day before yesterday so it was time to take her to the Vet. She had just been lying under a bed all day and all night.

Mittens got into a fight with another cat the other night and I ran out as soon as I heard the noises. The other cat ran and Mittens came right in.

The Vet kept probing Mittens until she cried out in pain and after enduring this for a little, she scratched the Vet and his assistant. I felt so bad for all of them.

The Vet said Mittens is probably developing an abscess from the fight so she has to be on an antibiotic for a week.

This may be the final straw for keeping her in permanently. It is so hard since she loves to go out and she is 9 years old and so used to it.
Help convince me to keep her in.

I'm so tired of dealing with this stuff. Hardly slept last night.

Just had to vent. Thanks for listening.

 

I remember a cat, Tami, I had who used to go outside. One day I came home from work and just knew something was wrong with her. The look on her face, the way she was acting. Rush to the vet after hours. A cat or dog had bitten into her elbow and chipped a bone in the joint. Result of a fight. She had a limp and discomfort from that for the rest of her life.
Then my cat, Sessy, once cut her belly open, possibly from falling out of a tree cause the wound was ragged. So 20 stitches and nearly $200 later she was fixed up.
My existing 4 inside-only cats have never had an emergency rush to the vet. Never been wounded. Yeah Zeus got an abcess once from Tilly scratching him but it was minor enough that I could handle it.
No fleas, no parasites, no panic-causing injuries.
It's simply not worth it so they can enjoy the outside....there is always time on a leash/harness. And I'm fortunate I have an enclosed porch the cats can spend time on during nice weather.
They don't know the outside world so they don't miss it. And I don't miss forking over $$ for emergencies.

 

I'm so sorry about Mittens. I hope she's feeling better.

In my household, we discovered that if we exposed any of our kittens to the outdoors when they are under one, they have a strong tendency to have the need to go outdoors on a daily basis. Venus and Milo are under this category. Monty, Pumpkin, and Rene are much more reserved. They are afraid to go out for any prolonged period of time and generally, they are all very happy in the sunroom. If they go out it would be only for under 5 minutes in our back yard.

I remember the sleepless night dealing with not knowing what is happening to Vene because she'll stay out and refuse to come home. One morning she came home covered from head to toe in burrs. Now that was fun to clean up. Finally the inevitable happened. Hubby's prediction that she'll end up dead hit by a car came true. Although it was my mom that let her out accidentally when she swung the front door wide open one day.

Milo is miserable if we don't let him out everyday. So we deal with him getting sick every now and then. We weighed the risks and decided to Milo roam free. I don't think harness training would work on him. Do you think it would on Mittens?

It's unfortunate that they know the outside world and would miss it very much if we take it away from them. I know any future kitties that adopt us would be strictly indoor cats.

 

Thanks for your comments. They are helpful.

I now really wish I had kept my two kitties indoors since they were kittens.

I'm going to try really hard to keep them in. Socks isn't a problem since she is shy and only goes out for about ten minutes and wants in again.
If she encountered another cat, though, I don't know what would happen.

Mittens would not take to a harness well at all. She is a fiesty little thing.
She would probably start clawing at me when I would try to put it on her.

To update everyone...since she has been back from the Vet's, she just slept under a table all afternoon and finally just a little while ago she came out and went to her litter and then ate a couple of nibbles of food
and drank a few slurps of water. I was so happy. She is under the bed now sleeping again.

 

Just another quick update. Mittens has been eating and drinking a little better and even layed on me lap this morning. She is still moving around pretty slow, though.

She is not a fighting kind of kitty and I'm still upset that the bully kitty attacked her.

 

Poor Mittens. I'm glad she's starting to feeling a little better. She was only trying to defend her territory when she got attacked. I wonder if they sell those territory markers liked boxed urine sprays that will repel unwelcome visitors like the bully cat? :0011:

 

How is she doing, Sunset05?

 

One of my cats years ago was around a year old when I adopted him, he had been an outside cat but I couldnt let him out, we lived near a busy road and just a stones throw away from the freeway, he occasionally managed to escape (chewed his way through a screen on the window one time) but it was a matter of keeping him safe.

Just to add also, please dont feel too bad about the vet and assistant getting scratched, I mean obviously no-one wants their pet to hurt someone especially when theyre trying to help the pet but I can tell you....with scars on my arms, my hands and wounds Ive had on my face, shoulders and legs Ive never once been annoyed at an owner nor the pet for that matter, (I have got a little peeved with a few dog owners that are completely unable to get close enough to their dog to put a muzzle on but cats are different than dogs). The fact is that when you are working in an animal hospital (or just about any business that caters to pets) being scratched or bitten is always a possibility, your often dealing with pets that are very stressed out, often with injuries or some kind of pain related issue....risk of the pet taking it out on the closest person to them or the one that makes the pain worse, causes the pain is high....you cant explain to a pet that your only trying to help. The only person Ive ever held responsible for injuries that Ive had from pets is myself (well...except on a couple of occasions where a co-worker has taken a muzzle off a dog too soon because he wasnt paying attention)....and it taught me to be quicker and learn better restraining and handling techniques.

 

Thanks for the encouraging words, DeLaUK. I guess that is something you would expect when working with animals.

I guess the Vet that was treating Socks knew what he was doing but I did think he could have been more gentle with her. Even after she kept crying out in pain, the Vet kept minipulating her back leg. The assistant then held Mittens tighter by the scruff of the neck. I guess Mittens finally had enough.

Mittens is still improving. She meowed at the door this morning to go out (oh no) but I didn't let her. She gave up after a little. She is moving around better. She is still on the antibiotic. She is not hiding under the bed anymore and is purring more. Definite improvement.

 

How's Mittens today? Are you going to let her back out?

 

Thanks for the update. I hope she continues to get better.

 

Mittens seems her old self today. Tomorrow is the last day for the antibiotic. Hurrah.

I haven't let her out since the cat fight and I haven't let Socks out either.
I am hoping to be strong and not let them out in the future. It will probably be hard, but maybe by thinking of the fight Mittens was in will be an incentive to me. I don't want her to go through that again.

I just wish I had a way that they could look out the window easier. Our window sills are too shallow for Socks to sit on. Mittens can sit on them but barely. I have a kitty condo but they don't like it. Maybe I'll try getting a different kind.