Disaster & Upset

[Velvet]

This evening just after dinner Mindy started to shake her head & cry out, I rushed over to lift her and she panicked, cried out louder shaking her head & clawing at the plastic collar. During which the collar flew off across the floor and to my horror - as she lept out of my arms, I saw blood on the back of her neck:shock: There is a definite wound there, poor little thing, no wonder she was so distressed.

Left the collar off, rang the vet and wasn't entirely happy with them. They told me to put the collar back on. I kept repeating the wound was deepish and bleeding and was told - which was worse, her pulling her spay stitches out or a bit of discomfort with the collar:? They suggested half heartedly that if I "really wanted" to bring her in, someone would see her however they were closing at 7pm - it was 6.35pm & it takes me 45 mins to get there:?

I asked could it be irritation from the microchip but was told told a definite no, however I am not convinced as a few days following it's insertion it had moved round to the front of her throat. They said she had probably did it herself scratching.

She wouldn't leave her spay wound alone - I put Citatrin powder (antibiotic) on her neck wound to try and stop it bleeding. I really didn't want to put the collar back on but could see no other way. It's one thing for a vet to remove the stitches neatly & cleanly but another for a animal to rip them out so on the assumption it was the "tie" on the collar, that maybe irritating her neck, I removed it & the collar is just placed over her head loosely. The tienwas never that tight, you could always get a finger between it and her skin.

Interestingly enough with the collar in place, you can see it was no where near the neck wound which again makes me wonder about the microchip. Picture below does not show the wound well, it is bigger and deeper and it's very near the shoulder blades where the chips are placed. Could the chip have travelled back up again to it's origin & caused an irritation making her scratch? Could she allergic to the chip itself?

Thank goodness we were going to the vets tomorrow anyway.

Pix below-


http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m585/timambin/e5389495.jpg

[lynz85]

poor wee girl :(

not entirely sure what could have cased it, my guess would be perhaps her scratching to get it off? if your worried about it being too tight we've always tied collars on with a crepe bandage.

has the bleeding stopped?

[Velvet]

poor wee girl :(

not entirely sure what could have cased it, my guess would be perhaps her scratching to get it off? if your worried about it being too tight we've always tied collars on with a crepe bandage.

has the bleeding stopped?

Yes the bleeding has stopped thankfully

It seems strange though as I inspected round the collar every day & you would think if it was constant scratching, it would have been noticeable before now

I don't know what if some vets do dissolvable stitches they cant all do them, it appears to be so much easier on them. It would have stopped something like this happening.

[Hevvur]

Looks too far forward to me for it to be the chip, although hard to tell from the pic!

Perhaps the plastic bits on the collar (that you put the tie through) have been digging in when she's laying in a certain position?
I know the move around a lot sometimes.

[angieh]

My old Merlin had a similar wound from his collar - we got some micropore and stuck wads of it onto the area of the collar that was rubbing. Made a lot of difference.

Poor wee lass - I hope that you can find a way to calm her and stop her worrying the stitches before she has them all out. Don't suppose you have an option of finding a different vet?

[Velvet]

Great news, stitches are out! Hip hip hooray

Vet was horrified at the self inflicted wound at back of her neck. She got antibiotic injection & some ointment on it. Spay wound exam & no problem - stitches out.

Much much happier wee kitten. Let her out in the run - first time in over a week.

[juju1989]

Glad she's much happier :)

[angieh]

What a relief for both of you - hope the wound heals up well and quickly. Wasn't the microchip then?

[dandysmom]

Glad to hear that news; she must be feeling so much better. Poor little one.

[Velvet]

What a relief for both of you - hope the wound heals up well and quickly. Wasn't the microchip then?

Thankfully no! She has been scratching it again tho - you can see the blood very vividly on White fur. :roll:

[calismum]

Glad it has worked out but poor baby.

[pinklizzy]

Glad she has had the stitches out now, poor girl :-(
Is there a lump where she was scratching at all? It's not that common but I have seen reactions to antibiotic jabs given under the skin of the scruff during a spay.
As for the dissolvabl sutures, it's a difficult one, they are a lot fiddlier and take longer to do so some vets prefer not to, particularly if the op has taken longer to do. Another factor is that, there is a lot more 'foreign material' sitting under the skin and it can cause a local tissue reaction in some cats. We generally only do it on request, and for the wild TNR cats of course.

[Squirrel]

So sorry to hear about wee one's wound. That's worrying. Glad all seems well, and that the vet was able to sort it so that she didn't need the stitches anymore.

Hope that she's soon not bothered by it.

[Velvet]

Glad she has had the stitches out now, poor girl :-(
Is there a lump where she was scratching at all? It's not that common but I have seen reactions to antibiotic jabs given under the skin of the scruff during a spay.
As for the dissolvabl sutures, it's a difficult one, they are a lot fiddlier and take longer to do so some vets prefer not to, particularly if the op has taken longer to do. Another factor is that, there is a lot more 'foreign material' sitting under the skin and it can cause a local tissue reaction in some cats. We generally only do it on request, and for the wild TNR cats of course.

I dont know sbout raised area. I know what you are talking about as Harvey (dog) had one when he was neutered. I queried it as Boxers being Boxers you worry about odd bumps & lumps. She was born feral & came to us within days of being trapped & think the collar just really frightened & worried her. She didnt sccept it as most do. She didnt eat well & lost a lot of weight. I think probably for the vast majority the e collars are fine, they accept them but these little semi feral kittens just find them so so fearful

Ah so thats why the rescues all get the vets to do dissolvable stitches. I will know for next time

Thanks for explaining, appreciate that