This morning, after crawling out of bed and feeling super sick, I noticed the limp was getting worse on the cat. I made Gary's lunch, kissed him off to work, showered, called the vet's office, and drove him down to see his vet. I gotta say, I really am quite pleased with the veterinarian we have been seeing for over a couple of years (Dexter was fixed at this vet). Our first vet upon moving to the valley was in Canyon Country and it was an animal hospital (yeah, learned later those are usually the most expensive). Not only were they insanely pricey, but they did procedures on Lila without telling us and we were forced to pay. I then immediately found a vet for Dexter's neutering and vaccinations and have been satisfied since.
Anyway, I drove Dexter to Collett Veterinary Clinic in Sylmar where his leg was examined. Dr. Meza pushed and pulled his leg and poor little Dexter was not pleased but didn't complain. Finally they had to give him an x-ray. When that was complete, the vet showed me the pictures of the x-ray and studied them for sometime before saying aloud, "Ooh, ouch." No bones were broken, thank goodness. However, he noticed the area around his carpals and metacarpals were larger than the area around his "good" leg (2 x-rays to compare). He then explained it was due to nerve damage. The most likely situation was he got his leg stuck in something, then twisted and pulled, damaging the nerve. While the bones weren't broken, nerve damage is considered worse because of the long healing process. His other concern was it may be due to another illness. However, when I mentioned how active and hyper Dexter is (constantly climbing, running, sprinting, playing, etc), he was a little more relieved and hopes it was due to injury and not some hidden chronic illness.
So, the prognosis is good, but there will be a healing process. Dr. Meza gave him an injection to help with the inflammation and pain, then sent us home with 4 syringes pre-dosed with medication. Starting tomorrow, he will be getting medicine. He has to come back in two more weeks to see if he's doing any better. If not, more tests may be run. As for the next month, sadly we have to put away the kitty condos and keep Dexter in an area where he cannot do acrobatics (as said by the vet). He won't like it, but it's the rule. Lila still gets toys and stuff though, just not Dex. He needs to stay off of it and heal.
Since coming home, he's been hopping (I'm guessing the x-ray didn't help him and he's been really sore since) around a bit, but mostly sleeping and laying around. Poor guy.
I decided, while at the vet, to call in sick from work since I thought I was going to die with whatever is hitting me. I then noticed Gary again came home early from work (he did 2 weeks ago when I was feeling sick as well) to rest. Repeat of what hit us two weeks ago? Not likely, but who knows!
Anyway, time for more rest. That's the update!
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Growing Up
So...time slows down, when? It has to sometime, right? I missed posting in the month of May, where two pretty big days took place! ...
3 comments:
Poor little kitty! I hope that the Dr.'s right and that it's just nerve damage that will heal with time. I guess the more 'acrobatics' you do, the more chances you have of pulling a muscle or nerve... I hope Dexter and you and Gary all feel better soon. Let me know if you need anything!!
We're fighting what we had two weeks ago, so maybe it's a super long flu/cold/whatever that has a dormant period. :-)
Vet hospitals are more expensive? I vaguely remember calling around the vet hospital we go to was the cheapest. Maybe I got lucky? Although, we've now moved to a cheaper part of town, so perhaps I should make some more calls so we can go somewhere closer... and cheaper.
Erin, maybe the experience varies for people. I've always had worse luck with hospitals, but I agree it can depend on the area and what else is around. Clinics are usually considered the cheaper route.
Megan-thanks! We're hoping to get better too (including Dexter).
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