I went up to look at it and he immediately walked away. Then I touched it and it was hard and then I got a good look at it and it was swollen shut with what looked like a tumor or something. I was pretty freaked out and he kept shaking his head so obviously it was not pleasant to him. I called the vet and they were closed but I got the emergency vet to come and they said that it was a hematoma and that they would have to do surgery. I guess what happened was he had gotten ear mites and they were really itchy. He was scratching so hard that he broke the cartilage in his ear and his ear cavity filled with a pocket of blood. I had no idea that something like this could even happen. I feel sooo bad. Anyway they made an incision in his ear and drained the hematoma and then sutured the skin to the ear while leaving open the wound so that it can continue draining for the next week or so. It is super sick.
The surgery took about an hour and he is going to be okay. He has to be quarantined in the laundry room so that Tibbs doesn’t try to play with him, plus he has that open wound still so he is draining blood now and then and it is way gross. I have to give him amoxicillin twice a day. I thought giving medicine to babies is hard. Try giving it to a cat!
So for anyone that has a cat—This is for you! I didn’t know this but ear mites are pretty common and contagious. The vet said that it is one of the most painful things that can happen to a cat. I HAD NO IDEA!!! All of our cats have been adopted so our vet said that they had probably picked it up from the shelter or spread it to each other. (Great… now my other cats have ear mites too?) So I had to give ear drops to my other cats and that was super hard. As soon as I got it in their ears they did the shaking thing and got it all over me like they had just had a bath. Moral of the story—if your cats have dirty ears and scratch them, get them checked out! It might end up saving you $250, not to mention the life of your cat.
Well after I got all three of the cats settled with treatments and meds and quarantined, I look out of my window and what to my wondering eyes should appear but my favorite apple tree divided in two. It was fine before I went to the vet, but in the 2 hours that I was gone it had split right down the trunk and tipped over right next to the house. I am really bummed out because it was a really pretty tree. I need to count my blessings though because it easily could have taken out our back porch or squished Chooch. (It landed right next to his dog house.)
Yesterday was a little crazy; but besides the big pile of future fire wood that needs to be dealt with, everything is actually okay. Oscar is going to be fine, half of the apple tree is still good, I am feeling better about my new reading curriculum and school, and my husband is coming home this week. Count your blessings, name them one by one...
2 comments:
Oh my gosh!!! Your poor little cat! So sad... I cracked up at your description of administering ear drops to cats. :) I hope that's something I never have to experience. :)
You are a little pioneer woman -- you are tuff enuff stuff! xxxxoooo
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