The trials of Tigger

[Dextrous63]

Tigger being my 8 year old cat, who some of you have been offering kind words and thoughts about over the last few days.  Thank you.

Took him to the vet who couldn't find anything broken in his rear off-side paw.  So he has been given some pain killer, and we have to keep him indoors.  If no sign of improvement, the next step will be an X-ray.  In which case, I intend to present myself at the nearest hospital with a self-induced broken arm and sneak Tigger in with me to radiology so I get the picture for free.

Obviously, while there, like any good tradesperson, they found that he has a heart murmur.  We opted for the monitor-it-ourselves-for-the-time-being-by-counting-his-breaths-rate-per-minute-while-he-sleeps approach for the time being instead of the ECG.  I shall have to think how to fake a heart attack and where to shift the sticky pads to on him and off my body at hospital.

I'm sure our one time radiologist on here might be able to offer advice.

In the meantime, we shall have to create a small en-suite for his litter tray somewhere within the house, as he has to be kept indoors for a while.

Naturally, this will involve having to get up numerous more times per 24 hour period to let our other cat in and out.

Pets, eh?
Dontcha luv 'em?

[Scrumpy]

Aww!  I wish him all the best.. I adore cats..

[Dextrous63]

😇

[Mups]

I wonder what Tigger's done to his paw or leg then?
Was it sudden pain Dex,  or has it been getting worse slowly for some time?

Years ago when I used to hatch a lot of poultry/waterfowl etc,  I bought a stethoscope to listen to the chicks inside the eggs.   I also used to check Gertie's heart with it  (as she had mitral valve problems when she was a puppy),   and used to  listen to my own heart too.   It's a handy thing to keep if you've got animals.
Might you consider getting one to check on Tigger's heart if this is going to be an ongoing problem?

I hope he gets on alright. 

[Dextrous63]

Cheers Mups.  He turned up at our neighbour's house (it's kinda his second home) last Thursday with the poorly leg.  So, they called me (I happened to be on the way back from visiting my wife in hospital) and went round.

No idea how he did it.  Probably a cat leap gone wrong.

[klondike]

Some cats lead violent lives. They all lead secret lives. Next-door is always full of missing cats.

[Dextrous63]

We have a log cabin at the end of the garden where cats like to hang out at times.

When looking for Tigger under a seat, I saw the rather disturbing remnants of a squirrel.  That's another little job to contend with in a bit 🤬🤬

[Alex]

I do hope Tigger will be ok Dex, could it be arthritis as he's getting on for 50 ?

[Mups]

We have a log cabin at the end of the garden where cats like to hang out at times.

When looking for Tigger under a seat, I saw the rather disturbing remnants of a squirrel.  That's another little job to contend with in a bit 🤬🤬

Do you think it's possible that Tigger caught the squirrel,  and got bitten in the process?

[Alex]

I expect the vet would have found any bites, at least you'd expect him to considering their charges  !

[Mups]

I expect the vet would have found any bites, at least you'd expect him to considering their charges  !

I agree with that!

Just wondered if he might have got a puncture wound which might not be so easy to see in the thick hair.
Another way of looking at it is,  perhaps if Tigger had not got an injury,  the vet probably wouldn't have found he had got a dicky ticker.
I think I'd still get that stethoscope though,  then I could check it myself.

[muddy]

We had a cat that used to catch squirrels and stuff them in the bookcase .
Later he developed a cough and was increasingly poorly .
When they operated on him they found he had a desease in his lungs that was normally caught from squirrels .
There was ( at that time ) no cure so they let him go while he was still under anaesthesia .😢

[klondike]

I think I'd still get that stethoscope though,  then I could check it myself.

I think the best I could manage with a stethoscope on a cat would be confirmation of life and that would come from the fight not anything I might hear.

[muddy]

I took someone's cat to the vet for an injection it was the sweetest most docile cat and I told the vet this .
However when he stuck it with the injection  it leap about 10 ft onto a cupboard from which vantage point it glared down on us snarling with the syringe still sticking out of its body .

Without a word he took out a rolled scroll .

Entitled "Lies people tell vets"

[Dextrous63]

I do hope Tigger will be ok Dex, could it be arthritis as he's getting on for 50 ?

Possible, I guess, but this is more of an injury of sorts.  He's as fit as a fiddle other than this and, er, the newly discovered heart murmur.

If I could persuade Tigger to come out from behind the settee, then I'd be able to watch him breathe .... the vet suggested around 30 per minute would be about right.

I'd also be able to administer his meds.  Didn't do I earlier as I want him to be aware of where the new litter tray is in case he gets a dose of the trots from the painkiller.

Hopefully he'll come out soon and I can get him spaced out enough with a first dose.

Today at 02:06:55 PM
I shall indeed get a stethoscope to monitor his heart, amongst other things.  Cheers Mups.

Although I haven't looked too closely, I'm pretty sure that the squirrel seems to have been euthanised some time ago.  Although, other squirrels are available, as indeed are a plethora of highly irritable magpies.  So, there's still a change of it being a wound of some kind.

Finally, thank you for your continued interest and support in Tig's current tale of woe.

🙂🙂🐈

Today at 02:13:06 PM

I took someone's cat to the vet for an injection it was the sweetest most docile cat and I told the vet this .
However of how to administer medicine and to swaddle a cat with a poorly leg in order to get him in the carrier.

Very strange how the animals they use when he stuck it with the injection  it leap about 10 ft onto a cupboard from which vantage point it glared down on us snarling with the syringe still sticking out of its body .

Without a wo he took out a rolled scroll .

Entitled "Lies people tell vets"

Quite.  I have, in the past and obviously today, watched some youtube reels on how to administer pills and indeed swaddle a cat with an injured paw to prevent further injury (to all parties concerned!!) while getting him in the carrier.

The cats they use must be dosed up to their eyeballs with gas and air, since they seem unusually docile and unphased by such procedures.