My poor little girl has been attacked, not sure whether it's another cat or a dog or even a fox maybe? There is a naughty bengal nearby who fights with Geoffrey, but my vet thinks her injuries are more dog-like, although I can't think of where or how that would have happened so I am still inclined to think she was just pretty viciously set upon by the bengal.
She was fine Tuesday morning and I got home from work Tuesday night to find her curled up in a corner and she protested violently every time I went near her. Decided I should take her up the emergency vet as I didn't know what was wrong with her, unfortunately I arrived at the same time as a dog that had been hit by a train
and another more seriously injured cat, so I had a very long wait and the vet was a bit rushed when he saw Milly. He looked her over and found one wound on her hip, so we concluded that she had been in some kind of fight. He said it wasn't even that deep, not breaking fully through the skin, so it shouldn't be a problem. She was standing up and walking around then so even though she looked sore, I decided to bring her home again instead of leave her there - especially as there were more critical patients so I don't think she would have got much attention anyway. She had antibiotic and opiate painkiller and came home.
Wed she was still poorly, not wanting to move at all, so I took her back to my own vet, who fairly quickly found that she was absolutely covered in wounds on her underside. She'd also got an enormous bruise and swollen bit by her sternum which my vet thought was very concerning. She had an x-ray while I was there and it didn't show any air getting in, but she thought there might be a muscle tear there, although there was too much swelling to tell properly. I also saw a copy of the faxed notes from the emergency vet, which basically said that I had brought in a bright and active cat who had one wound on her. The notes actually say "no other wounds located". I'll post a photo in a mo which show what was missed!
Milly went back this morning as my vet couldn't decide whether there was a definite tear/risk of hernia or not, I basically had the choice of sending her in for surgery, or waiting and seeing if the swelling goes down and if they can then tell for certain. As she had perked up this morning I decided to wait and see...fortunately my vet is open 7 days a week and the vet I always see is working this weekend so I feel reassured that she will be seen quickly and competently if needed then. She is also going back tomorrow morning for another check and to see if they can decide if she needs surgery.
Finally, a couple of pics, the more I think about it, the more upset I am that the emergency vet only found one wound and wrote the notes that I feel make me look like a crazy woman bringing in a virtually healthy cat. I know he was incredibly busy with far more critically ill patients, the treatment would no doubt have been the same and she did get the pain relief and antibiotic cover she needed, but even so, I don't exactly feel like I got the most robust treatment for my £160 and worry that had I not taken her to my own vet the next day, she might have ended up really suffering.
Here's the wound that the emergency vet found
And here's what my own vet found the following day - you can see the bruising around her sternum
Back to the vets in the morning, when we will decide whether or not to go ahead with surgery tomorrow
