A Blog of ‘The Midna Trauma’
4-22-09
So it starts out like any ordinary morning, right? Get up at about 5.20, get ready for work with the usual routine…
Well, around 6:00 a.m I hear a sort of crash-thud from the kitchen. A bit of gut instinct fills my stomach, telling me that what I just heard is something not right. And even though I followed through with checking on what happened, I certainly wasn’t prepared for what I saw.
Midna, my two-and-a-half year old female domestic shorthair, was lying on the ground and seemingly unable to move. I approached her and she tried to stand, but her back legs didn’t obey and she fell flat on the ground again. Then her breathing became erratic and she peed. Fearing that it was a sort of spinal injury, I gently placed her on a large cutting board, secured her, and called the Animal Emergency Clinic to let them know we would be there as soon as possible.
Fortunately, JB was with me at the time and knew where the clinic was (he works only a couple miles from the street it’s on and I had never been in that area of Milwaukee before). Having him with me made transporting Midna much easier. Luckily we had left before traffic became too heavy, but every minute of the ride there was extremely tense...and it didn’t help that it was a near 30 minute ride. During the drive her breathing became very shallow and she began panting (not a good sign in cats), and I tried to convince myself that she wasn’t going to die while on the way. I kept talking to her, saying her name and trying to get her to meow.
We got there at about 6:45 and they took her immediately. I then held nothing back from crying. The possibility of a spinal injury was wrapping around in my mind, and if that was the case I already knew what the outcome would be. Bej met us there as well for added emotional support.
About fifteen minutes later one of the vets comes out and tells me that after a quick assessment, Midna’s chest cavity was filled with air, hence the shallow breathing. It was likely from a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and that they needed to draw air out of her chest cavity. The vet also took note of Midna’s inability to control her hindquarters, and she wanted to tell us that it was very likely it could be a stroke, spinal fracture or brain injury. If it was either of the latter two, the vet told us the best possible option for her would be euthanization. Even though I was already aware of the selection, I cried…a lot. While I love Midna with all my heart, there would be more hinders than benefits if I let her live with a spinal fracture or brain injury. It would inevitably shorten her life expectancy, and she would have to go through therapy and be a ‘special needs’ cat that requires constant attention. Unfortunately, I knew I wouldn’t have the time or money for such an option, nor would I want such a young cat to live with such limited activity.
The vet then went back and took Midna’s radiographs to confirm her condition. During this time I called a lot of people, telling them what was going on and what was likely to happen. I cried a lot more and wanted to be left alone. I seriously thought that I would have to say my final good-byes before the end of the hour.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
About 45 minutes later the vet came back with the radiographs. There was no spinal injury and Midna had rather gained a little control in her hindquarters. They had also tapped out around 100mL of air from her chest cavity, which is a lot for a kitty (she’s about nine pounds, which is average weight for a female cat). The vet still kept the option of doing a CT scan (brain scan) but said that the most significant injury was her left collapsed lung and that she was also in a state of shock. She gave us more options and an estimate of the cost, of which I am grateful that Bej agreed to pay half of it. Knowing that there was little other choice, we agreed to pay and let the vets take the next best steps to ensure Midna’s survival. This would include blood drawing, more radiographs, and intensive care/monitoring in addition to chest taps, an IV catheter, and medicines.
We stayed for about another hour until the vet came back saying that Midna was stable but she had to get out of shock before they could do much else so she would have to stay there for the night (which I assumed anyway). We went in the emergency room to see Midna, but she was rather drugged and I wasn’t sure if she knew we were there. I hadn’t noticed it earlier, but her irises were two different sizes (one dilated and one contracted), and the vet said they were like that when she arrived (another indication of brain injury, perhaps). We said ‘good-bye’ to Midna and told her we would visit her later than night.
After that entire ordeal, I was much drained of energy but it took a couple hours and a bowl of warm oatmeal before I could finally settle down and sleep for around an hour. Its times like these I’m grateful I work with a bunch of ‘animal people’ who understand the emergency and were understanding that I suddenly took off of work that day.
However, even after sleep, I was still extremely stressed. I sent a couple emails and went to sleep until around 5:30. JB took me out to dinner before we checked in on Midna at about 7:00 pm. After waiting about a half hour we were able to get in and see her. She was wrapped up warm in a blanket with an IV in her hind left leg. She was still drugged and again I wasn’t sure if she knew we were there, but we gave her a lot of pettings and love nonetheless. The vet came by and told us that she had improved slightly but still needed to be in intensive care since her lung was leaking air into her cavity. If this occurred during the night, the best option would be to put in a chest tube since continuously tapping her would actually be risky since they could hit they heart (they had already tapped her three times that day). She gave us another estimate and I agreed to pay it. We said ‘good-bye’ and left her there for the night.
4-23-09
The next morning at around 8:00 am I get a call from the vet saying Midna had improved during the night. No chest tube or tapping was needed but she would still need to be monitored for that day and probably night. I told the vet that I would be there that evening to discuss it in more detail. A little relieved, I made more phone calls and actually got a couple phone calls as well. That day went by rather quickly for me.
So I stop in at about 7:00 pm again, and this time didn’t have to wait nearly as long to see her. She perked up a little when I called her name but she was still in a drugged state. The IV was still in her leg and had a cast wrapped over it, and the vet explained it had swelled a little. She then discussed Midna’s blood test results with me. They didn’t look very impressive and she was rather anemic, which drew quite a bit of concern. However, seeing as though the blood was drawn while she was in a state of trauma, they wanted to do another blood draw as well as an additional radiograph the next day. They feared that it could be some sort of parasite or fungus and wanted to do a more thorough blood test, one that would take 3-5 days.
In addition, I noticed a dark red spot near one of her lower nipples. The vet checked it out and said it was a rather sizable bruise and she would examine it. I stayed with Midna for a while longer before saying ‘good-bye’, making a note that she seemed to be sensitive to pettings in certain areas. Bej stopped in to visit Midna as well.
As it would be at this type of clinic, there was someone else visiting their pet near us. We left at around the same time, discussing what happened to our ‘babies’. Their dog was experiencing a sort of ‘self-destruct’ red blood disease in which the cells are killing each other, a rather serious case I which he was given only a 50/50 chance of survival and the owners decided to risk it. I was surprised to hear that the dog was only four years old, and when I told them Midna’s age we agreed that it’s always a tragedy when things like this happened to pets so young.
((I also learned from them that it’s difficult for dogs to get blood transfusions. Apparently canines have many more blood types than humans do and there are far fewer donors. Blood transfusion was actually something the vet recommended for Midna if her red blood cell count did not improve, but the risk of mismatching blood types in cats is actually extremely low since most cats are blood type A.))
4-24-09
I get another call from the vet at around 8:00 am. They said Midna had improved significantly; it was another day without a chest tap and that she was starting to move around, becoming more aware and responsive to her surroundings. However, she was not eating or drinking very much. Knowing that she might be more willing to eat if I was there, I made plans to see her that night.
JB went to see Midna during his break at work (remember he only works a couple miles from the clinic) and he said that he got her to eat and drink and move around a little, which was very encouraging news to me.
When I arrived at about 7:00 pm (only had to wait a couple minutes this time), Midna immediately perked up at the sound of my voice. She quickly stood, stretched, and gratefully fell into my scratching hand. She was not as sensitive as the night before and was actually quite active when I was there. And, as I knew it would, she managed to eat and drink from my hand. Seeing her increased activity, the vet said that I could take Midna home if I wanted to. I said that I would visit with Midna for a while before making my decision. About twenty minutes later, I figured it would be best to bring her home that night. She would be able to get a good night’s sleep without the constant activity of the ICU and dog whining/barking. Dogs, for whatever reason, tend to be very curious about Midna but she hates them. There was a cute German Shepherd across the room, but whenever it moved Midna would get into ‘defense’ mode (bristling the back of her neck, ears lowering slightly and irises dilating…maybe a good sign of her attentiveness?).
As it would so happen to me, that night turned out to be very busy for the vets, and I wound up waiting over two hours before the vet could see me and check Midna out. I didn’t mind so much as it was a Friday night and didn’t have to work the next day, though I was getting tired. I looked at the bruise a bit, and I realize that it’s huge, a good five inches long and stretched across her whole belly.
So I pay the ‘final bill’, actually getting a bit of a refund from the estimate since she didn’t need the chest tube. I go out to my car to get her carrier and then…
…I see the vet come running out, and I think to myself “Oh great, now what?”. The vet assures me that Midna is fine, but that she had a small cut on her ventral abdomen that opened up about two inches deep to her fatty tissue. The vet said that it would be best to put in a drain, which is a ‘minor’ surgical procedure but requires anesthesia. Knowing it would be best for Midna to leave her there another night, I agree and pay another estimate, therefore wiping out my refund and then some.
I’ll admit the situation irritated me. They had known about the cut beforehand but didn’t think it was anything of concern. Midna had an e-collar on when I saw her earlier but the vet said I could remove it. Now she would have to wear one for almost a week. (And let me tell you cats and e-collars don’t mix. Cats groom themselves for several hours a day, not just for cleanliness but also as a sort of self-therapy, so being unable to clean makes a cat a bit cranky.) So I would have to make another trip back just to pick her up and pay more. However upset I was though, I would rather have such a situation at the clinic rather than at home since I would have wound up taking her back anyway. *sigh*
Honestly, the hardest part about waiting to bring Midna home was watching Drake, my three-year-old domestic longhair. As is the case with domestic animals, Drake immediately knew something was wrong when we didn’t come home with Midna on Wednesday. At first he was ‘okay’ with her being gone, but after a day he began looking for her. Every time he passed the couch, the table, the bed, or the nightstands, he would peek under, even be a bit apprehensive about it (as if expecting her to jump out at him). It was very difficult seeing him doing that because you can’t tell an animal what happened when another pet is gone. He would look under the furniture, and then up at me in a most curious gaze expecting some sort of answer.
4-25-09
I arrive at the clinic early Saturday morning and pick Midna up. The vet tells me about the drain (leaving it in until Tuesday, cleaning it if necessary) and that I should come back on Monday for a recheck and another radiograph. Her activity needs to be severely limited, essentially in a cage (which my mom gave me) for about ten days and watched closely for any breathing abnormalities. She is on both antibiotics (for a week) and a painkiller (for five days). She slept the vast majority of the day, but I refused to leave her side. Having gone from near dead to recovering was just such a relief that I couldn’t find myself doing anything but admiring her bravery and willpower for almost all of Saturday (that and it was interesting mulling over her summary report and bill). I took a nap, woke up and gave her the medicine, and let her out for about 10 minutes at a time every few hours.
As expected, she hated the e-collar, and even got a bit frustrated with it and tried to remove it several times (proving unsuccessful, later resulting in quitting, but she found out that banging it against the side of the cage got my attention and therefore she resorted to that whenever she wanted out of her cage). She required some help eating and drinking, but consumed more food than the previous day. The bruise was still dark and massive.
Drake is…jealous. He doesn’t like that Midna got most of the attention today, and in fact growled/hissed at her a few times. He also seems a bit unsure about the e-collar. He’ll sniff it and then back off. But as long as I give him a few snuggles, he’s doing all right. He probably wouldn’t admit it, but he’s glad she’s home. And for some reason, the food in her cage tastes better than the stuff in his bowl…despite the fact that it’s the exact same foood. Ah well, typical cat. (Normally, Midna is the same way with water…for some reason it tastes better out of my glass than it does her bowl.)
4-26-09 I got a little bit of my life back on Sunday. No vet visits today! Midna was still rather sleepy…and so was I. I have put her cage next to my bed, and she woke me up twice (using the ‘bang the e-collar against the cage’ method) for ‘attention’ (but at least she was cuddly and sweet about it) and another dose of medicine. She got around a little bit more that day and had an increased appetite. She used her litterbox too. However, mostly she still just slept and regained some of her energy. Her bruise improved mildly and she got ‘kind of’ used to both the medication and the e-collar.
4-27-09
Monday! Again, she woke me up a couple times during the night for ‘attention’, resulting in a two-cup-coffee day (normally I only have one cup). I got ready for work and let Midna out for a few minutes after giving her the medicine. She seemed to be getting back into her old personality a bit, and she didn’t like being put back into the cage when I left for work, but JB stayed for the early afternoon and gave her the medications. She was eating and drinking more voluntarily, even finding pleasure in bananas and peanut butter (two of her favorite human foods).
I got home from work and she seemed quite relieved to be let out of her cage. Her bruise had healed considerably, which surprised me but at the same time was even more relief. At around 6:30 we leave for the vet clinic for her re-check and additional radiographs, arriving at about 7:00. Because they see animals in order of priority, I was certain it would be some time before they saw Midna. By ‘some time’ I figured an hour. At most. Nope. Wound up waiting two and a half hours. I’m not sure what the vets were doing, but I did see a couple of them ‘idly’ conversing with some clients. They just didn’t seem to have it together that night. There was a couple next to me with an adorable (though very strong and playful) pit bull that had at least four bite marks in her side. While the injuries weren’t ‘terribly’ bleeding the couple was waiting for nearly as long as I was for a vet to see them. We chatted a little and I could tell the lady was getting very impatient waiting, but I would be too if my pet was sitting with gaping holes in her chest. Her dog saw a vet about ten minutes before Midna did, and I can only guess what wrath she unleashed.
And once we got in to see a vet? It took a grand total of 20 minutes. And another payment. The good news? It seems that her pneumothorax has mostly healed. Though there are still a few ‘air pockets’ in her cavity, they are decreasing. No word about the blood tests though.
4-28-09
Another day of Midna recovering and another two-cup coffee day after being woken up twice again. She is becoming more active, playful, and stronger. Her appetite and personality is returning to normal. Every now and then she’ll get into a drowsy nap but overall very doing well. The bruise has decreased slightly, and she must still be kept in a cage when I can’t watch her.
We went to our local vet to get the drain removed, and even though it’s only a five-minute drive Midna managed to pee on herself on the way, and since I can’t give her a bath she reeks of cat urine (the best I can do is wipe her with a warm cloth, but that isn’t quite as effective as a bath). The vet checked her over and removed the drain (free of charge! Yay! But then again it took all of five minutes), and he made note of a lump on her stomach. I hadn’t noticed it before, but it is rather sizeable. The vets at the emergency clinic hadn’t said anything about it and neither did he. I’m going to leave it for now, hoping that it’s just part of the bruise and will heal over time since she didn’t have the lump before the incident. She needs to keep her e-collar on until Thursday so she doesn’t irritate the wound her drain was in. This is the last of Midna’s scheduled vet visits, and she will only return if something goes wrong. There was still no word about the blood tests, so I will inquire about those tomorrow.
(I have also found out that giving Midna her medicine in smaller ‘squirts’ works better than trying to give the entire dosage to her all at once. She doesn’t spit it up as much.)
4-29-09
Today is Midna’s last day of painkiller, though I’ll hang onto it for a few more days in case I see she’s in pain. She’s on her antiobiotic until Friday. Vet visit today? Yes. For whom? Drake! Both Midna and Drake were actually due for their distemper vaccination this week, but because of Midna’s condition I was advised to wait until she’s fully healed before getting hers. Drake isn’t so lucky, but he did very well about the vet. He’s lost a bit of weight too (a good thing).
JB’s cousin, who is a nurse, stopped by today and took a look at the bump on Midna’s belly. He mentioned that it isn’t uncommon for patients who experience such trauma to have that, since the body’s homeostasis is temporarily shifted. It’s essentially a deposit of chemicals and fat and fluids that is ‘stashed’ since the body is ‘busy’ handling the trauma. He said that if it doesn’t decrease within a couple weeks or if it hurts her to take her to the vet, otherwise to just keep an eye on it.
4-30-09
Midna is getting stronger by the day. The bruise is nearly fully healed too. And it was actually nice keeping Midna in a cage while I cleaned the apartment. Usually she won’t leave me alone.
5-1-09
As if waking me up three times during the night wasn’t enough, Midna crapped in her cage today while I was at work, and then rolled around in it. -_- I can’t give her a full bath yet, so I had to make due with a wet rag scrub-down. Today is her last day of antiobiotics, and I decided to remove the e-collar as well. She then proceeded with an hour-long tongue bath. She’s getting back to her old self…begging, whining, protesting, finicky, etc etc. She tries to jump up on furniture (which I have to discourage) but isn’t yet strong enough to make even short jumps. I also got her blood tests back today, all negative. That means there is no infectious disease or fungus or anything else to worry about. Unfortunately, the vet also said she needs to stay well-rested (i.e, in the cage) for at least a couple more weeks.
5-2-09
Midna does not miss her antibiotics at all. She also does not miss being in her cage for most of the day, though at times I have had to put her in for a ‘time out’ when she starts getting too rowdy. She desperately wants to play (and so does Drake), but I won’t risk it at the moment. It’s great to see her getting back into old habits, despite how annoying they are. I’ve also noticed that there are no free air pockets in her chest cavity. As for the bump on her belly, as of now I can’t tell whether it’s getting bigger or smaller.
5-23-09
So it's been awhile, but things are going great! I was able to take Midna with me to visit my dad, where she was able to go outside (supervised, of course, and to be honest she won't have it any other way) and play with his cats. She also got a bath, and she was quite the filthy little bugger. So, Midna has 'officially' returned to her normal bratty self, trouble-causing and all. The 'bump' on her belly is slowly decreasing, now about 1/4 of the original size. Pretty much the only thing that's left is for her to grow her fur back! Her front legs are pretty much covered, but her back legs and belly will take longer.
6-30-09
Went to the vet to get Midna’s distemper shot. The vet was one that had not seen Midna before and I told her about the bump on her belly. Turns out…it’s an inguinal (abdominal cavity) hernia, and she’s going to need surgery.
?Seriously, Midna saw no less than 5 different vets during her visits and had two full body scans no one picked this out? And I paid how much for all that? Damn.
Well, better safe than sorry. While most hernias aren’t hazardous, they do have the potential of being rather nasty should they get infected. So the vet gives me an estimate on the ‘minor surgery’:
$800.
Minor my ass. The surgery was $275, and anesthesia was $300 (three shots worth). Plus the IV and medications and equipment, this is what they wanted.
I go home and cry about the estimate (no way in hell is anesthesia for a 10lb. cat that expensive), then call my dad.
He calls his vet. The new estimate? $400. We make an appointment.
7-18-09
I take Midna in to my dad’s vet for her to glance over. Despite me giving her the blood results from the emergency center, she decides to do another one plus a chemistry test. She also charges me for a ‘full’ physical exam, even though she only checked Midna’s heartbeat. What a rip.
7-20-09
Midna’s surgery was today. She missed a beautiful day to be outside but there will be more to come for sure. We call the vet later in the day to check in on Midna. The good news: Midna is doing great (though she has to stay overnight due to some swelling) and the cost of the surgery is only $200.
Bad news? Turns out the hernia was an umbilical hernia, not an inguinal hernia. In short, this means that Midna did not need surgery at all as umbilical hernias pretty much have 0% health risks. However, they did not find this out until after she was under anesthesia and cut open, so they went forward with the surgery that was more cosmetic than anything.
Thanks, vets...all six of you. Glad to know you all know what you’re talking about while I hand you my life savings. *sigh* I’m upset but to be honest I know it isn’t the surgeon’s fault…she was only going on what my vet told me and given the area the hernia was it, it could have been either one. I guess it’s better that it turned out to be better than worse (that is, an ‘umbilical hernia turned inguinal hernia’, or just thinking it was an umbilical hernia, not get surgery, and then turns out to be inguinal during an emergency). Oh well, it’s said and done and paid for. And I won’t have the worry of a hernia in the back of my mind for the remainder of her life (which had better be a damn long time).
7-21-09
I pick up Midna and take her home. She doesn’t have any antibiotics or painkillers but she appears to be in no pain and pretty much acting normal. She needs to have the stitches in for two weeks, and while I’m not home she needs her e-collar on so as not to rip at them. I take the e-collar off while I’m at home though, and she doesn’t seem to bother the stitches anyway. By the way, the stitches are about 3-4 inches long and rather unsightly looking.
I really hope I don't have to update this with any more bad news.
Special notes about Midna:
About the incident: I didn’t witness the incident, so I’m not 100% sure what happened. However, I do have some assumptions. First off, I think she fell from the top of the cabinet, which is a near seven feet high, but I have no idea what could have caused her to fall. My best guess is that something startled her and she rolled backwards, or she was sleeping and just rolled off without realizing where the edge was. Second, since she was found in front of the stove, she must have somehow hit the fan above the stove, and then the stovetop while falling (this would explain the massive bruise to me) before slamming into the ground and collapsing her lung upon impact.
About her hindquarters: Since we got her at eight weeks old, Midna has always had rather weak hind legs for a cat. While she can jump, she is not nearly as good as other cats her age and is incapable of the ‘leaps of faith’ I’ve seen other cats take. My dad’s cat, Peanut, is her biological brother and can jump at least a foot higher than her on average. In addition, Midna tends to miscalculate a lot of her jumps even if they are short (I’ve seen her stumble on jumps less than a couple feet long). She tends to underestimate the distance, resulting in a shortfall. While she is a speedy sprinter and can burst into short distances of lightning speed, she can barely jump higher than three feet without having to pull herself up. She also has a tendency to jump into things rather than over them (like when she jumped into the paint tray rather than over it, resulting in green paw prints all over the carpet). When she walks, she doesn’t have the ‘model-esque one-foot-in-front-of-the-other’ gait. Rather, her two back legs tend to be set apart further than normal. She does walk with a very mild limp at times, but it comes and goes and doesn’t seem to bother her much.
As far as what made her lose control of her hindquarters, the vet assumed it might have been a stroke but that was eventually ruled out in favor of it being just the ‘shock/trauma’ of the situation. It is something I know I will be keeping in mind for awhile.
Pet Insurance: I’ve heard of it but I’m strongly considering it now. I never thought I would while the cats were young, but after paying the final bill (bye-bye tax return money and all I planned to spend you on) and knowing that there could be potential problems in the future as a result of this, I looked into it. I found something that looks good (on paper), but read the find print and discovered that Midna would not be covered for at least another six months due to what just happened.