ocean733
New Member
Great news, sounds like your kitty is on the mend!
Here's my little hellions....
Your kitties are georgeous!!!!!
Your kitties are georgeous!!!!!
fredsaid2
New Member
Your kitties are georgeous!!!!!
Thanks! They're lucky they're cute. It lets them get away w/ a lot!!
L
luckystar
Guest
Great news, sounds like your kitty is on the mend!
Here's my little hellions....
Adorable! They're so tiny. I wonder a lot what my cats were like when they were kittens.
Oh, and just to update - Manny's in the bedroom while I'm at work, so hopefully he doesn't have as much to hurt himself on. Hoping he doesn't figure out how to get the cone off while I'm gone. He seems to be in good spirits, or at least as happy as he can be with that cone on his head and an incision from "####### to appetite" as my mom put it. Still trying to figure out who I can call to keep an eye on him while I'm at work.
L
luckystar
Guest
Manny's incision yesterday, he had just gotten home from the vet:
Doped up on kitty morphine:
Learning to drink water with a cone:
I think the last one is just adorable. I can't wait until his wound is healed up and he can get back to playing like a normal kitty.
Doped up on kitty morphine:
Learning to drink water with a cone:
I think the last one is just adorable. I can't wait until his wound is healed up and he can get back to playing like a normal kitty.
Chasey_Lane
Salt Life
Give Manny a hug and a kiss for me.
mAlice
professional daydreamer
Learning to drink water with a cone:
I think the last one is just adorable. I can't wait until his wound is healed up and he can get back to playing like a normal kitty.
He didn't seem to be running into as much with the cone, and he's eating slower, instead of woofing it down like a Fido.
denisend
New Member
luckystar,
Just out of curiosity, did they offer to do a barium x-ray series before the surgery, or did they indicate that it was an emergency situation (because of his temperature or something else)?
If you aren't familiar with barium x-rays, they'd give him a barium drink, then x-ray him every 30-60 minutes to see where it is. It should pass entirely through his system in 4 hours, but you would be able to see relatively quickly if he was blocked where the stomach and intestines meet. Plus (in the case of a GI bug) the barium drink is like Pepto Bismol times 10,000 so it could offer some temporary relief.
I'm glad Manny is feeling better! *pets* for him and *hugs* for you!
Denise
Just out of curiosity, did they offer to do a barium x-ray series before the surgery, or did they indicate that it was an emergency situation (because of his temperature or something else)?
If you aren't familiar with barium x-rays, they'd give him a barium drink, then x-ray him every 30-60 minutes to see where it is. It should pass entirely through his system in 4 hours, but you would be able to see relatively quickly if he was blocked where the stomach and intestines meet. Plus (in the case of a GI bug) the barium drink is like Pepto Bismol times 10,000 so it could offer some temporary relief.
I'm glad Manny is feeling better! *pets* for him and *hugs* for you!
Denise
L
luckystar
Guest
No, nothing like that. I'm already getting the feeling I've been duped, but my cat is better (with the exception of the gash), and that's all I'm concerned about now. I'll be making some calls questioning some charges in the near future, and may discuss what you mentioned with them. However, I signed papers that said I would allow them to treat Manny as they saw fit, so I can't be sure I can question much of anything. Thanks for the info, though.
denisend
New Member
It's really hard to know what's best... the only reason that I know about the barium series is that I went through something similar with Yates not too long ago. Dr. Fox (in Indian Head) took the time to explain the options (and risks) and that's what we did - Yates turned out not to have a blockage, just to be moving like MOLASSES (it took 4 hours just for the barium to exit his stomach!). On the other hand, Yates didn't have a temperature like Manny did, so that may have heavily influenced your vets.
I learned some lessons early on with St. Charles Animal Hospital (who spent a LOT of money and didn't usually tell me the results of the tests and weren't willing to figure out what was wrong with Yates). I'm now heavily involved with my cats' care. I look at the xrays myself; I ask questions about the proposed procedures (and costs), I ask about alternatives and risks (and at the ER vet an alternative is always "what if I wait until my normal vet can see him?" because that will cost you 1/2 as much).
That's my advice for anyone - BE INVOLVED, but it's hard to keep your head in an emergency situation (Yates is chronically ill, so even when it's an 'emergency', it's still something that I've been dealing with).
So, yeah, you can ask about why they didn't make sure there was a blockage before diving in with invasive surgery (and you should, if you have any doubts!!), but you'll probably have to chalk the cost up to a lesson learned.
*hugs*
Denise