Cat recovering from being hit by car

[eddieandmurphy]

Hello,

I've had the worst weekend ever. One of my lovely cats (about 1 yr. and 3 mo) was struck by a car - approx Fri. night. Usually they don't stray far from the front yard and never go out at night, when he didn't come home Fri. night it caused us a lot of worry. Then after searching for him Saturday afternoon we found him slouched on our porch barely alive, and barely breathing so we rushed him to the Emergency vet clinic for immediate attention. Turns out he has not broken anything, but has suffered a lot of head trauma which has caused his pupils to dialate at different sizes, internal bruising, lung contusions which make his breathing a bit difficult. All of which the Doctor claims will hopefully heal with proper care. The doctor claims he (Eddie) was very lucky.

So now I have him at home, and he is not doing as well as I'd hoped.
Last night I was feeling positive as he used the litter at least twice on his own, and was purring while lying down and resting.

I am feeding him painkillers and antibiotics every twelve hours, but he WON'T EAT! The doctor has given me high protein wet food (they normally only eat dry) and a syringe to feed him with. He won't drink water either. Today I thought we'd wake up and he'd be ready to eat, but he won't on his own. He growls at me and struggles when I try to feed him with the syringe.

I am going to schedule a vet appointment asap but I really wish I didn't have to pack him away in his carry on and take him out again - he's been through so much.

Any suggestions on helping his recover, tips on feeding, etc. would be much appreciated.

[Traci]

The breathing difficulty may be making it difficult for him to eat and the stress of forced-feeding could be making it even worse, did the vet discuss that with you? What is the pain medication and did you happen to give too much? Did the vet check for possible broken teeth or jaw fractures? Did he rule out and/or treat potential swelling in the brain?

Did the vet suggest kitty should be hospitalized for a couple days rather than take him directly home? Anytime there are breathing problems or lung contusions, strict rest is essential for recovery, plus other intensive care measures. I'm assuming the vet did xrays to rule out fluid or blood in the chest/abdomen?

Ideally, hospitalization to address the breathing distress and fluid therapy are best for recovery, as long as the vet clinic is a 24 hour facility. Once the breathing distress is addressed and kitty is more comfortable, then chances are he would be more interested in eating. Understandably you don't want to stress him by taking him back to the vet, but the vet really needs to re-evaluate kitty and ensure that the lungs are not compromised or any other problems surfacing. So, make the appointment ASAP, and take measures to keep kitty's stress reduced at all costs (keep things calm and quiet and comfortable for him as much as possible). He may also need to adjust the medications in the event the pain medication is making him too drowsy, therefore less interested in food. Talk to your vet in detail about that.

BTW, from now on, for ALL of your cats, Indoors ONLY!

[eddieandmurphy]

First off, I have some good news. Eddie is starting to eat on his own, and off my finger. The doctor provided several cans of high protein Hills prescription Diet A.D - and he seems to be eating more and more every few hours. He still isn't drinking much water but I am putting some in his food.

The medications provided were 10 mg of Tramadol every 12 hrs for pain and 62.5 mg of Clavamox/anoxicillin to prevent infection.

His breathing seems to have gotten better, and he is purring and seems quite comfortable although he is not moving around that much other than rolling around and acting like a suck. He is still hesitant about being picked up, understandably so I am very gentle.

The xrays show no broken bones, or tooth/jaw damage and he mentioned nothing about swelling of the brain. Although I am trying to research more as to why his pupils are different sizes. I was in a bit of a state and tried to get as much info. as possible and the doctor mentioned the possibility of Hortons which I will discuss with the vet.

The xrays also show no severe damage to his abdomen or lungs, just swelling and bruising. However, there seems to be a little blood in his urine although very little. I think he is a bit constipated too from the medication.

Both of my cats will remain indoors only and I'm researching the best ways to make that transition as easy for everyone! Right now I am very stressed as I have one very sick cat, and another who won't be quiet -- crying and moaning to get outside. I haven't gotten much sleep myself needless to say.

The good thing is that both cats have only lived the outdoor life for about 4 months as they were only big enough to go out on their own upon turning 1 yrs old, so it's not like they have been 'outdoor' cats for very long which I hope works in my favor.

I hope Eddie continues to improve and I will schedule the appointment with the vet in the next few days - sooner if I notice any decline.

Thank you so much for your post.

[Traci]

Did you see the vet or only call him? Did you ask about the Tramadol? The dosage may need to be slightly reduced, but only do so on your vet's instruction.

If he's taking the food from your finger, this is better than forced feeding, since forced feeding is stressful and will only exacerbate the breathing distress. Try warming up the food slightly and using a small shallow plate to entice him to eat on his own, also at eye/mouth level where possible.

Don't attempt to pick him up at all, unless it is absolutely necessary. Lung contusions and breathing problems require strict rest and no handling except where absolutely necessary. Do NOT encourage him to be active or to play, he needs strict rest!

The dilation of the pupils is due to the trauma, and could also be due to the pain medication. It should normalize in time.

The blood in the urine is concerning, tell your vet about this at once. It wouldn't be unusual in a trauma case, but you need to absolutely rule out the potential for a bladder wall rupture or pelvic injury that could worsen quite quickly...tell the vet ASAP and followup as he advises.

If he's constipated, ask your vet about giving Laxatone once daily.

[eddieandmurphy]

Day 4 of Eddies recovery and he seems to be coming around more and more.

One of my concerns now is that it is getting increasingly hard to give him his medications as the stronger he gets the more of a fight he puts up, growling and backing away. Is there an easier way to give him them? Can I put them in his food/crushed? I make sure he gets some food in him before I give them to him.

As of this morning he is getting around on his own quite well but part of me wants him to just sit still and rest. Obviously I can't make him do this and I hope it's a sign he's feeling much better. I'm sure his medication will make him drowsy now that I have given them to him (9am and 9pm) which hopefully means he will sleep for the rest of the day.

His twin brother Murphy, whom I lovingly call 'the bad one' is pretty jealous of all the attention (and wet food!) - on top of which I am trying to ween him off the outdoors. Needless to say he is very hyper, and more mischevious than normal (which is pretty bad) - I have found him on several occasions biting or trying to fight with his recovering brother so I try and keep them seperate. It really surprised and upset me that he would do that to his obviously sick brother, but I assume he can't really understand what's going on. I have no way of seperating them as I live in an open space - besides they both go absolutely nuts if they enclosed in the bathroom or back veranda (enclosed) so I have taken another day off work in order to ensure Eddie is recovering well and his brother doesn't hurt him (or even worse!).

He hasn't really gone to his litter very much, last night I brought the litter box right to him and he went pee (a little bit of blood but very little). I believe his is still constipated so I will talk to my vet about laxatone today.

[Traci]

Ask your vet for the liquid suspension form for the medications, these are easier to give and more tolerable for the cat. Hold kitty's chin slightly upward (but not straight up), place eyedropper with liquid inside the lower corner of the lip, and gently squirt the liquid into the mouth. Gently hold the mouth closed and gently rub his throat until he swallows.

You need to tell your vet you are concerned with possible constipation. If there was a pelvic injury, it may require a re-evaluation to ensure he can produce a stool. If he is too constipated and unable to produce, your vet may need to give a kitty enema. Your vet also need to address the blood in the urine, I can't stress that enough.

[kiggityca]

I think the best advice is to be patient, follow the vet's orders, and call the vet with any questions. My cat was injured (they weren't sure if it was from a car, a fall, or a fight) and came home with a broken pelvis and some head injuries... it was about 2 months before he was fully recovered and involved weeks of keeping him in his cage, then in one room, which he was not happy about... but then he went on to live another 12 years, so I think it was worth it. Just have to be patient and stay calm, and make sure he takes any required medication and follows any restrictions, as hard as it is to see him unhappy and put up with the attitude!

[eddieandmurphy]

Update on Eddie

Hello everyone, thanks for your advice and support. The past week has been a trying one especially for my lovely cat Eddie.

As you can tell by reading the above posts he was injured (not sure the cause, but likely by a car) last weekend.

There was so much progress in his recovery all last week, things were looking up. He was eating on his own, purring, alert and using the litter successfully. I guess I got my hopes up too soon.

He has a follow up appointment this past Friday, but my father is also very ill and I had to reschedule it for Monday - which I didn't think would be too big of a deal because he was doing so well.

Then came Sunday. He was finished his cycle of meds and seemed much less alert and more in pain than he had all week since we brought him home. He wasn't eating on his own, or moving much at all and his breathing seemed to be a bit strained.

I would have taken him to the emergency veterinary clinic but unfortunately I am a single person on a limited income and the last trip cost me a lot of money I don't have - so I had to wait until Monday afternoon to take him to the vet (This is a new vet, as his original vet is in a different city).

Upon getting him to the vet's office yesterday afternoon he was panicing of course, and being sniffed and barked at by dogs didn't help either. He seemed more alert and 'normal' than he did at home but I assume that was due to the adrenaline of being scared. The vet examined him to determine he has no internal bleeding (determined by touch and xrays taken the previous week), his breathing and blood pressure is 'normal' (which confuses me because I KNOW that he was breathing quite strained at home before I brought him in)...and that all that he could TELL that was wrong with him was he was dehydrated and his gums were pale and tacky. (his nose was also quite pale). I told the doctor his stool was quite dark, but it was hard to determine between the two cats which was which.

The vet recommended Eddie stay over night to rehydrate with an iv and force fed (something I'm not very good at doing myself) and to monitor him over night, another expensive cost..but of course I did it.

I just called to see his status and was told to call back in a few hours and speak with the doctor. The update given by the secretary/assistant is that he is STILL not eating on his own.

I am not expert but I didn't feel trustworthy or confident in this vet, maybe I'm just being overly protective. But I know when something is wrong with my cat, if he is not eating or drinking on his own something is seriously wrong.

Any comments, advice or support is really needed.

Thanks,
S

[Traci]

Call vet NOW, demand his response. If he isn't telling you what is wrong, get Eddie to an emergency vet RIGHT AWAY.

You need to rule out the following:

Get a new x-ray, to determine lung capacity, evidence of internal bleeding or hemmorhage.

Get bloodwork, to determine possible anemia or liver disfunction that would require new treatment approach.

Possible tox screen to rule out toxicity (the dark stools may indicate this, particularly if they were black. You did NOT give any human medications, did you?)

Do NOT wait on this, you need answers NOW, and appropriate, agressive treatment. It could be that his liver is disfunctioning because he hasn't been eating a sufficient amount, nor drinking enough water. It could be anemia or kidney/liver disfunction as a result of the Tramadol, or severe bacterial infection. A bacterial infection could have developed internally and may have been missed by the vet. It needs to be ruled out NOW.

The pale gums could be indicative of anemia, the dehydration demands investigating liver function.

Call the vet ASAP, get answers, and if he doesn't offer bloodwork or new xrays, get Eddie to an ER vet TODAY.