- Joined
- Oct 15, 2019
- Messages
- 8
- Purraise
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Hello, first time cat owner (as an adult) and first time poster to the forums (unfortunately under grave circumstances).
My 5-6 mo. Kitten experienced cardiac arrest on Thursday. Here's what happened:
About 3 months ago, my partner and I decided to take in and raise two, male feral kittens (littermates). We've been taking pretty good care of them, having them get all their vaccines and de-worming meds as scheduled. They've warmed up dramatically over the last few months and are social, happy, and loving; in short, I absolutely adore them. Aside from some fleas, worms, and dirty ears, they've appeared healthy at all their check ups. (And they've been treated for those problems). Basically, we've done everything we're supposed to.
They're about 6 months old, and this past Thursday, we had them neutered at an extremely reputable low cost clinic (state-wide non-profit org).
Pictured, a healthy Charlie before surgery.
Long story short, one cat (Neo) did fine, but the other (Charlie) underwent cardiac arrest when coming out of anesthesia. We don't know how long he was without oxygen, but they did resuscitate him using CPR. When they discharged him, the vets at the clinic didn't seem too concerned, and said to take him to our primary veterinarian for a vitals check, and had suggested we'd be able to bring him home afterwards. Their lack of concern belied what was to come.
Things didn't seem right when we picked him up. He wasn't moving when we picked him up from the clinic, aside from what appeared to be muscle spasms and his sporadic, rapid breathing. He did not look good; it looked like he was sleeping and having a very bad dream. We were surprised the vet at the clinic seemed so unconcerned, but I guess our animal wasn't their problem. :/
Well, we booked it immediately to our primary veterinarian and they immediately put him on oxygen and fluids and monitored him for hours. This was around 2pm. Before they closed for the evening at 5pm, he hadn't improved. We had to decide there whether to put him down, or see if he would recover in emergency care over the next few days. The vet said there was no way of telling the extent of his damage. He may have brain damage, he may be dull, he may not be the same cat afterwards, but we had no way of knowing 100%.
We opted to give him a chance, despite the costs of care and not knowing the odds of survival and full recovery. The first night, they had him in oxygen. By the second night, he was able to sit upright. During our visit with him three days after the surgery and cardiac arrest, he was able to walk around (wobbly), despite bumping into things. His eyes were open and he meowed several times, and he was eating some food. The vets caring for him at the animal hospital have seemed optimistic about his recovery, despite the fact that many cats don't survive or don't fully recover. They say with him being some young, there's a decent possibility he will continue to improve over the next week or two. We finally brought him home Monday evening after 4 days in treatment at the animal hospital.
He may be home be he's still recovering. He doesn't have full vision (tho the vet thinks there's good chance it will return, just slowly), and bumps into everything when walking. He walks slightly low to the ground, without his legs fully extended (we're continuing PT at home). He also seems to walk around without much purpose, and isn't reacting much to being reunited with his brother (brother Neo is being very gentle and even cleaned his face after I gave Charlie some food). In general, his senses seem dull and it's scary to think this may be as far as he gets mentally. He responds to wet food when presented, but mostly licks at it and I'm worried he may not be getting enough sustenance. (I will be following up with the vet)
What I'm mostly nervous about is everything after now that he is home. I don't know what to expect at all in terms of him getting back to normal, and may have to except that Charlie will have a new normal from now on. For instance, he's urinating and pooping on pee pads in his carrier (when we're not supervising his movement around our home), and seemingly doesn't have control over when he goes. If he's never able to use a litterbox, I don't know what his day to day care is going to look like with me and my partner working full time jobs. Luckily my partner works from home and can provide care (ensuring meds are given on time, feeding him, etc.) for a couple weeks while he recovers, but if Charlie hits a recovery plateau and never improves, I'm very nervous about how we can make him happy and comfortable in the months to come. I want to do everything we can for him and am hoping for the best. There's just a lot of unknowns right now, and not a lot of info online about what recovery for this looks like.
Basically, if anyone has experience with a similar situation, or knows any good resources (articles, videos, etc) about caring for a car after cardiac arrest, I'm all ears.
I know each case is different when it comes to traumatic events for people and animals, but even anecdotal stories can be valuable (and hopefully give some hope to us, too)
TLDR; my 5 mo. old kitten got neutered and underwent cardiac arrest while under anesthesia. He's still recovering from a state where he was barely moving. After a few days, he's walking again, but his senses are dull and he has low appetite and seemingly no control over bladder/bowel movements. Seeking any and all advice on his health or even anecdotal stories of what other cats have been through.
I appreciate you all listening and bearing with this long post. <3
Charlie recovering in the animal hospital a couple days ago. He's home now.
My 5-6 mo. Kitten experienced cardiac arrest on Thursday. Here's what happened:
About 3 months ago, my partner and I decided to take in and raise two, male feral kittens (littermates). We've been taking pretty good care of them, having them get all their vaccines and de-worming meds as scheduled. They've warmed up dramatically over the last few months and are social, happy, and loving; in short, I absolutely adore them. Aside from some fleas, worms, and dirty ears, they've appeared healthy at all their check ups. (And they've been treated for those problems). Basically, we've done everything we're supposed to.
They're about 6 months old, and this past Thursday, we had them neutered at an extremely reputable low cost clinic (state-wide non-profit org).
Pictured, a healthy Charlie before surgery.
Long story short, one cat (Neo) did fine, but the other (Charlie) underwent cardiac arrest when coming out of anesthesia. We don't know how long he was without oxygen, but they did resuscitate him using CPR. When they discharged him, the vets at the clinic didn't seem too concerned, and said to take him to our primary veterinarian for a vitals check, and had suggested we'd be able to bring him home afterwards. Their lack of concern belied what was to come.
Things didn't seem right when we picked him up. He wasn't moving when we picked him up from the clinic, aside from what appeared to be muscle spasms and his sporadic, rapid breathing. He did not look good; it looked like he was sleeping and having a very bad dream. We were surprised the vet at the clinic seemed so unconcerned, but I guess our animal wasn't their problem. :/
Well, we booked it immediately to our primary veterinarian and they immediately put him on oxygen and fluids and monitored him for hours. This was around 2pm. Before they closed for the evening at 5pm, he hadn't improved. We had to decide there whether to put him down, or see if he would recover in emergency care over the next few days. The vet said there was no way of telling the extent of his damage. He may have brain damage, he may be dull, he may not be the same cat afterwards, but we had no way of knowing 100%.
We opted to give him a chance, despite the costs of care and not knowing the odds of survival and full recovery. The first night, they had him in oxygen. By the second night, he was able to sit upright. During our visit with him three days after the surgery and cardiac arrest, he was able to walk around (wobbly), despite bumping into things. His eyes were open and he meowed several times, and he was eating some food. The vets caring for him at the animal hospital have seemed optimistic about his recovery, despite the fact that many cats don't survive or don't fully recover. They say with him being some young, there's a decent possibility he will continue to improve over the next week or two. We finally brought him home Monday evening after 4 days in treatment at the animal hospital.
He may be home be he's still recovering. He doesn't have full vision (tho the vet thinks there's good chance it will return, just slowly), and bumps into everything when walking. He walks slightly low to the ground, without his legs fully extended (we're continuing PT at home). He also seems to walk around without much purpose, and isn't reacting much to being reunited with his brother (brother Neo is being very gentle and even cleaned his face after I gave Charlie some food). In general, his senses seem dull and it's scary to think this may be as far as he gets mentally. He responds to wet food when presented, but mostly licks at it and I'm worried he may not be getting enough sustenance. (I will be following up with the vet)
What I'm mostly nervous about is everything after now that he is home. I don't know what to expect at all in terms of him getting back to normal, and may have to except that Charlie will have a new normal from now on. For instance, he's urinating and pooping on pee pads in his carrier (when we're not supervising his movement around our home), and seemingly doesn't have control over when he goes. If he's never able to use a litterbox, I don't know what his day to day care is going to look like with me and my partner working full time jobs. Luckily my partner works from home and can provide care (ensuring meds are given on time, feeding him, etc.) for a couple weeks while he recovers, but if Charlie hits a recovery plateau and never improves, I'm very nervous about how we can make him happy and comfortable in the months to come. I want to do everything we can for him and am hoping for the best. There's just a lot of unknowns right now, and not a lot of info online about what recovery for this looks like.
Basically, if anyone has experience with a similar situation, or knows any good resources (articles, videos, etc) about caring for a car after cardiac arrest, I'm all ears.
I know each case is different when it comes to traumatic events for people and animals, but even anecdotal stories can be valuable (and hopefully give some hope to us, too)
TLDR; my 5 mo. old kitten got neutered and underwent cardiac arrest while under anesthesia. He's still recovering from a state where he was barely moving. After a few days, he's walking again, but his senses are dull and he has low appetite and seemingly no control over bladder/bowel movements. Seeking any and all advice on his health or even anecdotal stories of what other cats have been through.
I appreciate you all listening and bearing with this long post. <3
Charlie recovering in the animal hospital a couple days ago. He's home now.