Our Kitty Was Attacked, Fractured Lower Jaw And Head Trauma. Need Advice

[Matt79]

Hello everyone.. this is my first post , but I just have to talk to someone.

I have a 9 year old cat named chakita. She is in most nights and out during the day. She loves the outdoors and I live on a dead end road in the country with next to no traffic and she has always stayed very near to home.

Yesterday I heard that terrible ( in pain ) meow and didn't even think it was her. I looked under my car and she could barely move , was breathing funny and her mouth was open. When I got closer I noticed the damage. Immediately took her to the vet and she ended up having a fractured lower jaw , and head trauma. The vet initially said she was hit by a car. But it just doesn't add up to me.. I think someone did this to her. If there was ever a time I wish animals could speak it would be now. She's in so much pain and very timid around me , and she's never been that way. Ever. She hides, but when she sees me she comes , but very cautiously .. syringe food , and pain meds for the next week..

I'm literally heartbroken seeing her in pain and there's nothing I can do.. she is currently in the garage ( fully finished and climate controlled to keep her safe and quiet. We have 2 more full-time indoor cats and lots of commotion inside , so thought this would be more relaxing for her.

Is there any idea of what I can do to help her ? I want her to rest but have to syringe feed and water her every 4-6 hours.

I just want her to feel better and I know that comes with time. But anything I can do to comfort her I'm all ears.

Thanks for reading

Matt

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. So, so sorry for Chakita. We just had a cat in our neighborhood that was hit by a car (or so we think). He had a broken jaw and lost an eye, thankfully no other damage. He's been in a hospital with a wired jaw and has been fed through a feeding tube. He was also on pain meds. Any reason why a feeding tube wasn't considered? They can be administered by you at home too.

Is your girl on some pain meds? I hope so. Can you stay with her most of the of the time? That would help a lot.

 

[Matt79]

Thank you. She's ok. She's in a little cat house I just made her in our garage. Hopefully she does ok through the night. I'm just worried sick. She is on pain meds. I think they're more of an inflammation med though??

I feel so helpless I'll try anything to make her more comfortable .. they have her on some preloaded meloxidyl

Also, poor Kitty from your neighborhood

One of the worst feelings for me is seeing a hurt / suffering animal.. I could never be a vet. I'd break down completely.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Just be with her as much as possible! This neighborhood kitty was a 'loner', but he didnt want to be alone after being hurt. And, check with the vet about keeping her pain in check. That will help alot.
Keep her in comfy, soft blankets/pillows - anything that will help her feel safe and secure. If she likes to be talked to, or to hear soft soothing music, do it for her. You know her best - cater to her in ALL the ways you know she likes.
I hope other members have some ideas for you.
Please keep us posted!

 

[Matt79]

Thank you so much.. sometimes in situations you just look over the obvious to try and find the big solution. I'll have to put the other cats in a room and bring her in tomorrow night.

I'll definitely be calling the very on Monday regardless of how she's doing. Just want to make her ass happy and content as I can until then

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Poor baby girl. POOR YOU! I had no intention of getting on the forums today, I'm "un-readying" the house from Dorian, but I spotted this post in my inbox, and had to talk with you. You've done what is medically possible for now. She's going to be in pain, and that means that she may very well seclude herself. It is instinctive for cats to do this. What you can do is sit in the room where she is and just read aloud. She will be comforted simply by your gentle voice, and your presence. PLEASE keep us posted about Chakita! Once you come here for a problem, you are one of us, and in some small way, your cat is also ours. We will worry. And remember that you aren't alone in this now.

I hope, I so hope, that this was a car. That would be bad enough, but to think that someone might do this to a cat out of sheer evil just sickens me.

 

[ArchyCat]

You might try feeding your cat Kitten Milk Replacement (KMR). Buy the powdered form, then you can mix only as much as you need. It is high in fat, protein, and minerals. Check with your vet. But you could use KMR instead of just water.

To me, it does sound as if a human attacked her. Make her an inside only cat after she recovers.

 

[Matt79]

Poor baby girl. POOR YOU! I had no intention of getting on the forums today, I'm "un-readying" the house from Dorian, but I spotted this post in my inbox, and had to talk with you. You've done what is medically possible for now. She's going to be in pain, and that means that she may very well seclude herself. It is instinctive for cats to do this. What you can do is sit in the room where she is and just read aloud. She will be comforted simply by your gentle voice, and your presence. PLEASE keep us posted about Chakita! Once you come here for a problem, you are one of us, and in some small way, your cat is also ours. We will worry. And remember that you aren't alone in this now.

I hope, I so hope, that this was a car. That would be bad enough, but to think that someone might do this to a cat out of sheer evil just sickens me.

Thank you very much. I've only been a member here for a few hours and just looking through others threads , it's amazing to see how generous , kind and willing to help the members are here.

I just hope that she pulls through. Seeing her mouth open and in pain just kills me. ( She sounds like lil bub now ) she was so scared when she came home , that she just sat under the shelving in my garage. I went to see her and once she came out , I sat on the floor with her, rook the top of the kitty house and just pet her til she fell asleep. If I could jump in there , I would. But maybe shell just have to be an indoor ( in the house ) kitty for the next week.

So much going through my head , and I can't sleep. As well as the thought of this being done by a person makes me sick. We just lost a 14 year old on June 2nd, so this is bringing back lots of heartache with the " what ifs " .. I need to just clear my head and be with her as much as I can.

And again much appreciated to both of you that talked with me tonight.

 

[Matt79]

You might try feeding your cat Kitten Milk Replacement (KMR). Buy the powdered form, then you can mix only as much as you need. It is high in fat, protein, and minerals. Check with your vet. But you could use KMR instead of just water.

To me, it does sound as if a human attacked her. Make her an inside only cat after she recovers.

Thank you. I will check on that tomorrow!!

Ugh. I hate seeing that last thing you wrote. to my stomach . What makes you think it was a human?

I don't know if cbd would help but I've been looking at that as well.

 

[Norachan]

I'm so sorry your girl has been hurt. I'm going to agree with your vet and say it was most probably a car. Fractured jaws and head injuries are very common when cats get hit by cars.

Has she had her jaw wired? Does the vet think it will heal on it's own? I agree with other posters, soft nutritious food will help her heal. You could try KMR or offer her some scrambled eggs. Chicken broth is often a good option.

Please keep her inside from now on, cats are so vulnerable outside and she might not get another chance.

Lots of us have indoor only or indoor/enclosure cats. They're perfectly happy that way.

The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside

Cat Enclosures

How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats)

Sending your girl love and healing vibes.

 

[Willowy]

Did the vet recommend surgery, or any treatment other than the pain meds? It doesn't really look like it'll heal properly on its own.

Gerber chicken baby food is my go-to food for sick kitties. Very gloopy and easy to lap up.

 

[Matt79]

She has a suture in, that wraps below the bottom of her mouth. She had the surgery yesterday. She's just out of it and probably exhausted , and just happy to see familiar faces. Everytime I go to feed her, she's laying down and purring. Her mouth is still open a bit but I'm sure there's lots of swelling and pain. I went out there just now and I rubbed her belly and paws went in the air.

Oh please let our little baby be ok

 

[vyger]

There are so many ways for an animal to get injured it's hard to imagine. In my limited experience injuries like this one are often caused by machinery of some type. Here in Montana when it gets cold cats get inside engines because they are warm after they have run. Then if the engine is started again with them in there they get these terrible types of injuries. And it's not just car engines that they can get into. Machinery is also a place where mice hang out so it's a good hunting ground. So likely this was one of those wrong place wrong time things rather than someone being malicious. Cats have really fast reaction times, they can dodge strikes from snakes they are so fast so it's unlikely someone would be able do something like kick them in the head. I once almost broke my toe trying to kick a chicken that was tearing up the garden, I never thought that they would dodge that fast. Learned a lesson that day. And cats are faster than chickens. Anyway, it was likely just a weird accident. The really good thing is that when she got hurt she came back to you for help. Many of the less tame, less social cats will go off to a quiet place and hide and then often die. So she had enough confidence and enough sense to look for you for help. If the vet thinks she will heal then likely she will. The hard part is getting through that annoying stage of hurting whenever you move before you learn to remember not to move that way, at least not now.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

Your poor girl how horrible for you both,

 

[Uncled]

Poor little girl, I hope her a speedy recovery

 

[Willowy]

Oh, she did have surgery, that's good. Now it just takes time to heal. But with someone who cares about her I think she'll heal up just fine .

If the Meloxicam isn't doing a good enough job of pain relief, ask the vet for some tramadol.

 

[Matt79]

Thank you again everyone. Crazy how just some reassurance and people to talk to about things like this can't help somebody. To hopefully help chakita. She's definitely in good spirits. Just tired and weak. Debating taking her in to the house. If she could get comfortable in my room I think all she would do is sleep. But she'd have to be in there with a litter box , but I don't want her jumping off the bed. Ugh... I swear I'm about to have a slumber party in the garage.

 

[FeebysOwner]

This sounds very good!! Wish I could tell you whether or not to bring her inside (or for you to have an overnight with her in the garage)! I know you will make the right decision - after debating in your head forever (I know I would)!!!

Happy to hear she is in good spirits! Yay!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Cats do purr their way through injuries. There are a couple of apparent reasons...one is that it self-comforts. The other is that there is increasing empirical evidence that the vibrational rate of a cat's purr sets up a healing ultrasound effect, speeding the knitting of bones, and possibly speeding soft-tissue healing, as well!

 

[Matt79]

Cats do purr their way through injuries. There are a couple of apparent reasons...one is that it self-comforts. The other is that there is increasing empirical evidence that the vibrational rate of a cat's purr sets up a healing ultrasound effect, speeding the knitting of bones, and possibly speeding soft-tissue healing, as well!

As long as she's moving and happy I'm happy

Never knew that, though. Thank you!