I got an answer to my question/Gem at the vets

It seems that because I've already switched the name back to the free host that my blog should be safe... I just hope that come March the person that answered wasn't wrong!



Has anyone else noticed that when you take an animal to the vet that you end up looking a complete liar? We had to take our old cat today as her claws on her front paws had grown so long that they were digging into her paw pads and making her feet bleed! It's a problem that should have been obvious earlier, but for the fact that Gem hates contact with people except on her terms... and even then it's just the odd head scratch. We all thought that her walking a bit stiff lately was due to her being 19 years old and having arthritis in her legs... well, it wasn't, it was because of her claws. Having a cat hiss and spit at you if you get too close has a way of making you keep your distance lol. It was only when Mum noticed that her right paw was bleeding slightly that we made an appointment for her at the vets yesterday (once our landline was fixed on Thursday, after we noticed the bleeding on Wednesday).

So we took her to the vets, with all the attendant moaning and meowing in the car on the way there, and the vet just picked her up out of the pet carrier (we have never been able to pick her up without a virtual fight... which we lose!) and the vet was stroking her and touching her back near her tail straight away... it took us about three years before Gem trusted us enough to let anyone stroke her properly (from head to end of tail!)

They tried to cut her claws whilst we were waiting outside, but because they were quite bad when they did the first couple and the pads on the right paw started to bleed quite heavily, poor Gem just got really distressed so they asked for permission to sedate her and carry on. I readily gave consent for that, even with the warning that it could carry the complication of her reacting badly and passing away. What could I do? I couldn't just let her have painful and possibly infected feet for the rest of her life... so we had no choice but to leave her there and come home again.

It was 2pm yesterday before we phoned and got the good news that Gem was fine and up and awake (although still wobbly from the sedation) and we could go back and get her :o)

She looked a bit of a state, bless her, with both paws done up in little feline boxing gloves and the fur on her back legs shaved (because it was matted where she's unable to wash herself properly because of her age... it has only been in the past few months that she has allowed me anywhere near her with a brush!)

Anyway, all is well now, and she has to go back on Monday to have her dressings looked at... although the sneaky moo has already pulled off the left paw one and Mum had to loosen the tape on the right one as Gem wouldn't settle with it and kept trying to get that one off, too. Seeing as that is the worse of the two feet we want to keep that one covered for as long as possible. Mum phoned and asked if it was ok for her to pull the dressing off and was told that as long as there is not very heavy bleeding it's fine and not to worry as cats heal really quickly. If the bleeding gets too bad we are to phone their switchboard and they will give us the address of the 24 hour emergency premises.

We have the lovely job of trying to get antibiotic tablets into Gem starting from Sunday, twice a day, just to make sure that her feet heal properly... but apart from that she should be fine. They were happy with her weight, and her teeth are in good condition for a cat her age (nothing rotting or needing treatment, which is good news). We have to pop out tomorrow and get a special grooming mitt so that we can brush her properly... but it's a small price to pay to have her with us for as long as possible.