Please help! 18 year old cat got in a fight with 5 dogs! Survived but...

[pazamar]

My 18 year old cat escaped when my daughter left the door open two days ago. We left the house not realizing she had gone out. She is the only one we don't let out because of her age. Hours latter we receive the voice mail of our neighbor, a Vet, telling us what happened. She had been attacked by the vet's 5 dogs. They got her out in time, but she did get bit on her side and she lost most of her nails trying to defend herself. She was lucky!! Vet said there appears to be no broken bones of serious injury besides the pain she feels from the nails being ripped off.

Since then, she hasn't been interested much in food. She licks the wet food a bit but wont eat. So we are syringe feeding 3 times a day. She drinks water on her own and uses litter box.

Basically we are worried about the eating. 2 years ago we lost a cat to fatty liver, we all suffered the process. We don't want this to happen again.

She is not as active as she was before the attack, but I suppose it's due to the pain.

At least she isn't hiding like she did the first two days after.

I'm sure there are people who have been trough a recovery after a fight, attack or some kind of injury. Would appreciate any advice or support. This cat is so special to all of our family and want to do whatever we can to help her back to normal as soon as possible.

Thank you!

 

[quiet]

Hi;

I am sorry for what has happened to your cat.

Did they do any radiographs to check for any signs of internal injury? They can have minimal damage on the outside yet have extensive internal damage such as a diaphragmatic hernia or tears in the abdominal wall. So hopefully there were xrays done.

I also hope your cat was treated for shock with IV fluids to get the blood pressure up which would have been low do to shock. If it wasn't done the drop in blood pressure can cause damage to the kidneys. If your neighbor is a vet I am sure he would have treated your cat for shock. Also very important is pain medication. Because if your cat is in extreme pain she won't eat.

You are right to be concerned about Hepatic Lipidosis. Sadly syringing food into your kitty three times a day still isn't enough food. But there is no way to actually force feed a cat that doesn't want to eat. you can really hurt them badly trying . Be carefull handling your cat as she is probably painful all over.

What kind of dogs?

 

[pazamar]

Thanks for answering. No xrays were performed, but she did get an IV right after the attack. The vet said 6 cc three times a day is enough food. And was given convenia and a pain med, but only that day.

The dogs are 3 labs, one boxer mix and one medium mutt. I know, a lot for a little kitty. I offered her some food a couple of hours ago and she actually ate a bit from my hand. It's like she wants to but thinks so much before she takes a bite. I'm going to buy some tuna and diferent varieties of canned food to see if she gets in the mood to eat some more.

 

[carolina]

Omg, i am so sorry!
OK... This vet is.... Well, not good (sorry) . 6cc three times a day is not nearly enough.... In fact, all combined is not even one feeding.... It never cease to amaze me how vets do that to cats.... Then parents are baffled when their kitties show up with fatty liver
Get yourself a good feeding syringe at the pet store, measuring 1/2 ounce, or 30cc. You will feed two of those PER MEAL.
The goal is to feed the entire daily nutritional need. So if she eats a can a day, that's what she needs to have... One ounce per feeding, several times a day works the best.
Good luck with with your little girl

 

[quiet]

I honestly think first you really need an xray to determine what is going on. Any kind of trauma with a cat should always have at the minimum and chest radiograph with three views. I cannot say how important that is. Obviously with a diaphragmatic hernia or something of the sort you wouldn't want to feed very much food but I agree that 18 cc of food a day is a very low amount that won't support life let alone allow a cat to heal. But like I said an x ray is really needed. Do you think that the neighbor vet will at the least get you some radiographs done?