are there any vets around? how long does a painkiller last?

[IAmBooyhoo]

my cat is in alot of pain. i found him this morning in a heap at the back door and thought he had been run over. the vet thinks not but can see he has had "a real knock about". she doesn't think it was another animal either. she couldn't xray him because he was still in shock and she said it was too risky to sedate him so i am bringing him in tomorrow morning for xray. from what she could feel she said there are no broken bones. she says she thinks (hopes?) it is all muscle injuries as he is clearly in so much pain. he can't move, he can't put any weight at all on his front legs (i have no idea how he managed to get home and over my garden fence he must have been in agony ), his face is really swollen and grazed. he wont eat or drink or use the litter tray. i have him on a thick blanket by the heater. she gave him an antibiotic for the grazes and a painkiller but surely this wont last till morning? is there anything i can do for him?

[tabulahrasa]

Not a vet.

I'm pretty sure some of the painkillers do work that long though, if he needed more, she would have given you some to give to him at home.

Anything that strong would make him drowsy as well, so I wouldn't stress too much about him not eating, drinking or going to the toilet till tomorrow morning.

[IAmBooyhoo]

oh thank you tab. that explains it then. i just thought he was so sore he couldn't move. well i know he can't put the weight on his front legs but i thought the not lifting his head and eating was down to pain. good to hear it might not be.

[Merivel]

So sorry to see from the "letters" thread in Chat that your cat may have been injured by a human so I hope you don't mind but I had a look to see if you have a thread about him - sending very best wishes and hoping you get past the worst very soon

[IAmBooyhoo]

yes the vet reckons it was a person who did it to him. i am inclined to believe it tbh as there was terrible fighting on my street on sunday night/monday morning with lots of drunk people milling bout til all hours so i am thinking he got in someone's way and got the brunt of tehir temper.

he was xrayed today and has a broken jaw, the vet has put wire through it and he will be able to come home tomorrow as long as he is eating by then (he hadn't done by this evening when i last spoke to the vet). thankfully no other broken bones or internal injuries other than very sore all over. he still wont stand up or try to move. i am getting angrier and angrier at how someone could do that to an animal. he's tiny compared to a human. they could have killed him. i cant bear to think of the pain he was going through.

[IAmBooyhoo]

thank you for your good wishes.

[Merivel]

Thanks so much for updating , Booyhoo - I have everything crossed that he'll be up to eating tomorrow - glad vet is observing him, thoogh it's awful having them staying at vet's

I can't imagine how you feel but I can hardly think of anything more upsetti ... please try to thik in terms of some accident in the commotion - you know how cats get under your feetwhen you're trying to avoid stepping on them , etc- a drunk person may well have been trying to avoisd him but and stepped down on him And if it was confusion/drunks/aggression , there are countless different scenarios which needn't have involved malice

< positive thoughts (& prayers , if you go for that sort of thing ) for you & your cat >

[IAmBooyhoo]

yes you are right, it' healthier to think that it was an accident. it doesn't do me any good to be angry with no real evidence taht i need to be. better to think the best of the situation. i think it has just sort of hit me this evening. i spent all day yesterday in a state of shock and panic and until thsi evening when the vet phoned i was just really worried taht he would be far more injured than he could recover from. now that i know what the injuroes are i think my brain has made room for me to get angry. but you are right, it hopefully was a very unfortunate accident.

thank you again.

[Merivel]

Oops , sorry only just seen your kind reply , Booyhoo . Hope you got some sleep & haven't had too much cause this morning to be worried by your cat's condition , & that he is getting good pain relief .

I would have felt the same way about the people causing disruption in my road that night , & you sound very level-headed considering your fears about how injuries happened ( sorry sounds so patronising !), but I genuinely think it was likely to have been an accident .
I have everything crossed for your cat & I hope you can take some time for yourself now as you've had such a shock

[IAmBooyhoo]

thank you. no it doesn't sound patronising at all.

he got home today. he is moving around, very unsteady and falls over alot, still not eating which probably doesn't help with the wobblyness as he must have zero energy. the vet gave me some food for him that is really soft as his mouth is so sore. he sniffed it but didn't try to eat. i have to keep trying him and if he hasn't eaten by the morning he has to go back in to vet.

[tabulahrasa]

poor wee thing...

is he drinking? Could you water it down a bit? If it's the recovery stuff you should be able to, apparently heating food to body temperature helps get them interested as well.

[IAmBooyhoo]

yes its the critical care stuff. i will try and water it, vet also said to heat it for 5 seconds to release the smell for him so will try that aswell. he hasn't drunk anything yet. just sniffs the bowl and turns away. he has been using the litter tray today which is good as he wasn't before.

[Merivel]

Thank you for update , Booyhoo . Poor boy with his sore mouth , really feel for you . Sounds promising that he considered the water & used litter tray- fingers crossed he drinks very soon . < sending positive vibes >

[Jux]

Can you make stock? Chicken stock, with no salt, and don't buy the cubes and make it from that.

I had a cat who was hit by a car, her jaw was broken. When she came back from the vet wiring her up, she was very doddery and couldn't really eat. You used to be able to get Brand's Chicken Essence from the chemist. It was actually for babies and so had no additives or salt etc. I'd give it to my cat a teaspoon at a time. I don't think it exists any more though, which is why I suggested making stock yourself.

Can she lick her nose? If you put a drop on her nose and she licks it off then that might get her started.

I'm afraid I can't remember how long it took my cat to start eating; it was a very long time ago.

I hope she recovers quickly.

[IAmBooyhoo]

we have success!!

he started eating the critical care food a few hours ago and then had a big drink of water. he also managed to get himself up on the sofa while i was out of the room so is definitely improving. i'm so relieved. so glad he's now taking on some calorie. still very wobbly on hsi feet and just wants to sleep really (dont blame him) but it looks like he is starting to recover. haven't had any purring yet but i'm happy he's eating.

thank you all for support during this. i really appreciate it.

[Jux]

So glad.

[Merivel]

Oh that's brilliant - so pleased to hear it , and you're the one who deserves , for getting him through < sniffles at "haven't got a purr from him yet " > Lots of postive vibes to you both

[tabulahrasa]

Yay :)