Charlie and his sister Phoebe were born in September 1997
in the car park of a local pub. The family were discovered when
the kittens were approximately 4 weeks old and attempts were
made to capture them before the winter came. Unfortunately,
mum evaded her captors but the 2 kittens were taken to a local
vet to be checked over before going to the SSPCA to be rehomed.
Luckily, a local family stepped in and decided to take on the
2 orphans.
Both
cats grew up to have different personalities; Phoebe is the
more forceful whereas Charlie is your typical male, content
to sit back and let the world go on around him! His particular
favourite thing is to lie down and have his tummy tickled -
very unusual as most cat owners with scratched hands will testify.
However, his one weak spot is the sight of other cats in his
territory - then he turns into a Exocet missile and will defend
his patch tooth and claw - which brings us to his sorry tale.
Charlie had not been his usual bright, friendly self for a
day or two; in fact he had hissed at his owners when they tried
to pick him up. He had been seen (and heard) engaging a local
rival in a fight some days previously and so bite/scratch wounds
were the chief suspect. He was brought to the clinic where,
typical with a lot of our patients, he sat quite happily without
objecting when thoroughly examined. The only abnormal sign the
vet could find was a slightly elevated temperature (102.9 degrees
Fahrenheit) compared to a normal cat temperature of 101.5 to
102.5 degrees. However, this one sign was enough to point to
an infection somewhere within his body, probably introduced
by the teeth of the other cat.
Cats'
teeth are notoriously dirty; in fact most veterinary staff would
much prefer to be bitten by a much larger dog than a small cat,
as the resulting infection can be very painful! Charlie was
treated with an antibiotic and a painkiller and asked to make
an appointment for a checkup in 2 days as a precaution to make
sure he was feeling better. However, 2 days later, Charlie was
quite a sick little cat. Even with antibiotic cover, his temperature
had shot up to 104.6, with the result he was feeling very ropey
indeed. Again, even with a thorough examination, no obvious
wounds or abnormalities could be found. The antibiotic was changed,
as it was obvious that the infection wasn't responding to the
first one and again he was sent home with painkillers to make
him more comfortable.
Another 2 days passed and his temperature had remained at just
over 104 degrees. Added to this, Charlie wasn't feeling like
eating or drinking anything and so was becoming slightly dehydrated.
An examination revealed that there was a tender area on one
side of his body, but no wounds or swellings in that area. It
was decided to keep Charlie in for the day to monitor him and
to get some fluids intravenously into him to sustain him until
he felt like eating and drinking again. By late afternoon, his
temperature had come down to normal (101 degrees) so he was
discharged with instructions to see him again in the morning
to check his temperature. Unfortunately, it was back up to 104.6
again, although he had eaten and drunk a little overnight and
was a happier cat in himself. However, he still objected when
he was picked up meaning that there still was a sore spot on
his side. Because he had drunk a little, he wasn't dehydrated
and an intravenous drip wasn't necessary. This meant we could
treat Charlie on an outpatient basis with antibiotics and painkillers.
The history wasn't typical of a cat fight incident; normally
the fight occurs, 2 -3 days pass when all seems ok but infection
has entered the cat's body via his opponents teeth. The small
puncture wound heals, trapping infection and allowing an abscess
to grow until it becomes so large that it bursts through the
skin, discharging foul smelling pus and bloodstained fluid.
Once it becomes obvious that there is a source of infection,
antibiotics usually treat it quite successfully so after 5-7
days, everything is nicely starting to heal.
The unusual aspect of Charlie's case was that he hadn't responded
to the antibiotics; his temperature failed to come down and
stay down. The worry was that we weren't dealing with a straightforward
bite abscess. There was a possibility that a tooth had penetrated
the wall of the abdomen, introducing infection into the abdominal
cavity leading to peritonitis. The other possibility was that
Charlie had a condition that left him with a suppressed immune
system, such as Feline Leukaemia Virus or Feline Immunodeficiency
Virus. Two simple blood tests fortunately ruled both of these
serious diseases out, much to the relief of his owners.
It
was decided that the next step was to perform a small exploratory
operation as by now there was a definite swelling on his right
flank. Charlie was given a general anaesthetic and the area
over and around the swelling clipped up and prepared for surgery.
An incision was made and pus oozed out. All the pus was drained
out which left a large empty pocket in the skin. Normally we
would suture the skin over a wound but with an abscess it's
best to be left open to allow drainage otherwise the abscess
can fill back up again. To help the pus drain out, a Penrose
drain was sutured in- this encourages any pus to drain along
it and out of the wound. Unfortunately, the drain has to be
left poking out from the wound and although not painful, would
feel rather strange and the temptation would be for Charlie
to try and remove the drain. Charlie had to wear an Elizabethan
collar which would prevent his tongue and teeth coming into
contact with the sutures and as you can see, he didn't feel
too put out with it on!.
Charlie
was kept in overnight to monitor his recovery and his temperature,
and happily next morning, he was much brighter and his temperature
had gone back down to normal. We flushed out the drain but very
little pus had formed and so this was removed (as was his collar).
His delighted owners were able to collect him later the same
day. Four days later, Charlie was given a postoperative checkup;
his temperature was normal, he was eating much better and his
wound was looking fine with no more pus forming. He was signed
off with strict instructions to either learn to run away faster
or take lessons from Mohammed Ali!
MEET
SOME OF OUR PATIENTS: “Charlie"
Both
cats grew up to have different personalities; Phoebe is the
more forceful whereas Charlie is your typical male, content
to sit back and let the world go on around him! His particular
favourite thing is to lie down and have his tummy tickled -
very unusual as most cat owners with scratched hands will testify.
However, his one weak spot is the sight of other cats in his
territory - then he turns into a Exocet missile and will defend
his patch tooth and claw - which brings us to his sorry tale.
Cats'
teeth are notoriously dirty; in fact most veterinary staff would
much prefer to be bitten by a much larger dog than a small cat,
as the resulting infection can be very painful! Charlie was
treated with an antibiotic and a painkiller and asked to make
an appointment for a checkup in 2 days as a precaution to make
sure he was feeling better. However, 2 days later, Charlie was
quite a sick little cat. Even with antibiotic cover, his temperature
had shot up to 104.6, with the result he was feeling very ropey
indeed. Again, even with a thorough examination, no obvious
wounds or abnormalities could be found. The antibiotic was changed,
as it was obvious that the infection wasn't responding to the
first one and again he was sent home with painkillers to make
him more comfortable. 
It
was decided that the next step was to perform a small exploratory
operation as by now there was a definite swelling on his right
flank. Charlie was given a general anaesthetic and the area
over and around the swelling clipped up and prepared for surgery.
An incision was made and pus oozed out. All the pus was drained
out which left a large empty pocket in the skin. Normally we
would suture the skin over a wound but with an abscess it's
best to be left open to allow drainage otherwise the abscess
can fill back up again. To help the pus drain out, a Penrose
drain was sutured in- this encourages any pus to drain along
it and out of the wound. Unfortunately, the drain has to be
left poking out from the wound and although not painful, would
feel rather strange and the temptation would be for Charlie
to try and remove the drain. Charlie had to wear an Elizabethan
collar which would prevent his tongue and teeth coming into
contact with the sutures and as you can see, he didn't feel
too put out with it on!. 
Charlie
was kept in overnight to monitor his recovery and his temperature,
and happily next morning, he was much brighter and his temperature
had gone back down to normal. We flushed out the drain but very
little pus had formed and so this was removed (as was his collar).
His delighted owners were able to collect him later the same
day. Four days later, Charlie was given a postoperative checkup;
his temperature was normal, he was eating much better and his
wound was looking fine with no more pus forming. He was signed
off with strict instructions to either learn to run away faster
or take lessons from Mohammed Ali!