Today I went to visit Harlie at the HVC vet at around noon. I brought in a stray kitten I found at a bus stop, someone abandoned him there it seems. He was all alone, scared & hungry. So I took him in to Dr Nurul at HVC for deworming, Spot-On anti flea medication & also treatment for some minor scabies (kurap) on his ears. Poor guy, he kept quiet all through the ordeal. Anyway, once Dr Nurul was done with the kitten, we turned our attention to Harlie.
It seems that one of Harlie's stitches have come off, probably due to her licking the suture site. The vets at HVC were ambivalent about putting an E-collar on Harlie as it might induce her to stop eating which will slow down her healing process. There was a small round hole visible at the site with clear liquid seeping out. Not pretty. The vets assured me they will do their best to solve this problem, either with restitching the dislodged suture or by putting an E-collar on Harlie.
In addition, Harlie has developed a form of eczema on the underside of her belly, due to her sitting in her litter box even after she has peed in it. This also causes urine burn. This is visible as yellow marks on her belly. With the application of a topical cream & antiseptic powder, this will go away in time, hopefully. When we bring her back home, I have to make sure she doesn't sit in her litter tray, and if possible the vets advised me to use a non-sandy type of litter, to avoid the sand particles getting stuck in her sutures. The problem is, they told me that Harlie refuses to wee or do number #2 unless she's given a litter tray with sand in it. Hmmm...what can I do then? Give her a non-sandy litter, she won't use it. Give her a sandy litter and she will use & also abuse it by sitting on it. Hmmmm. Thoughts anyone?
Here's a couple of photos of Harlie from today:
Good night everyone. Wassalam.
Oh my, look at that bright beautiful eyes. From the eyes you can see she's doing well!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could try using shredded paper or wood type litter, and use double layer litter tray as the first layer keeps the wood litter and the second layer contained the urine. The first layer has holes in it to allow urine to flow to the second layer. More info in this post http://dearcats.blogspot.com/2011/08/woody-pet-wood-litter-for-sale.html#more
oh dear, and what happened on her neck in the second picture?? Poor thing, but it seems that she lets humans touch her without fuss, so that is a positive thing! But I suppose she is still very confused and feeling insecure, because it doesn't seem like a normal behaviour for a cat, naturally a clean creature, to remain seated in her own wee. I believe as she recovers and gain more confidence this will pass, but at this stage it is important to avoid further complications, I think you should try the suggestion of Pepper, about double layered litter tray. And if you are able to catch her go and do her business, you may want to gently guide her to her favourite basket to sit in when she finishes the routine.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the procedure, and also with your new research! And let's hope her wound will heal quickly! <3<3<3 Licia & Oliver
Pepper: The vet initially wanted Harlie to use only shredded paper litter, but she wouldn't use it at all. That's why they had to give her sandy litter, only then will she pee & poo. Thanks for the tips! I've seen those wood/pine type litter around, will buy one bag for Harlie to test it out. I haven't seen the double layer litter tray though..where can I buy that one? How much does it cost?
ReplyDeleteLicia: Yes Licia, I agree with you. It's not normal for a cat to behave in such a way (sitting in her own litterbox). Perhaps lack of space is also a factor? The cage she's in can hardly be called roomy. Right now I think my best bet would be to test the wood/pine type litter. If she won't take to it then I'll have to think about the double hull litter box. Not sure where I can get it here, though. In the 2nd photo, I'm trying to show the suture that she has dislodged. I guess you can't see it properly, it's very small. Hope the vets have done something about that! Thanks Licia & Ollie! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I guess she was pressed and scrunched up so that the sutured area looked like her neck! Good luck on the experiments on the litter tray, true, as you said, there might have not been enough space in the cage. I hope all will work out! Now I go on to read today's update :-D L&O
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where to get the double layer litter box, but I guess it can be simply be made by adding wiremesh to a normal litter tray like this one made for rabbit. http://thefluffies.wordpress.com/2011/06/10/diy-littertray-idea-for-bunny/
ReplyDeleteMaybe finer wiremesh needed to be added to the net so that it contained the sand/wood litter and more support needed to make sure the mesh didn't sag under Harlie's weight.
Licia: Yes, I'll try to get better pics of her neck area tomorrow when I go & check on her. Thanks for your constant encouragement & kind thought, Licia & Ollie :)
ReplyDeletePepper: I found one yesterday at a pet supply store here in Bangi. It cost double what a good normal litter tray costs. I think for the time being I'll try using the wood-based litter first and see how well she takes to it. I hope she will get used to using it. Thanks a lot Pepper! :)