Dougal - A Good Night

We checked on Dougal several times during the night and he was sleeping peacefully. He likes to come out of his cage and sleep on the settee or a lap, but he is still not keen on walking on his right back leg, but he does stand on it some of the time.

Dougal - Home Again

We collected Dougal late this afternoon and this picture shows him in the pen I used many years ago when I used to breed and show Birman cats. He has to have caged rest, although he is allowed out under supervision for exercise. He must not jump up or down or play with Florence his sister. He has to go back for a check-up in four weeks’ time.

He had not been home five minutes before he had been in the litter tray for a poo, eaten some Dreamies and scoffed a whole sachet of food; fish flavoured too and he used to prefer chicken. It took Florence longer to eat half a sachet while he was eating a whole one.

This picture does not show the extent of his shaved body. His back and spinal area from tail to almost his neck is bald although the fur is starting to grow back already. He also has other shaved parts on his legs. His right back leg is still quite swollen and he has to have an ice pack on it four times a day. Apparently he is not keen on this procedure, and tries to hide, but it will help the swelling as will the exercise. We have two lots of painkillers to give him so hopefully he will be comfortable.

Dougal - Doing Well

We were told this morning that Dougal is doing so well that he can come home tomorrow afternoon. We collect him at 1600 hours after we have learnt how to do his physiotherapy!

Dougal - No Visiting!!

Last night we were told that he enjoyed his physiotherapy, not sure how they know, but I will take their word for it. This morning the swelling in the leg which was causing concern has gone down a little. He has more physiotherapy today and it looks as though he will be allowed to come home on Friday. We are not allowed to visit him as it will be too stressful for him and might set his recovery back. It would be difficult to make him understand why we went to see him and then left him there again; while it is hard for us it is better for Dougal.

Dougal - Some Concerns and Physiotherapy

This morning the surgeon told us that they were starting physiotherapy today. Giunio is concerned about the swelling in one of his legs although it is still early days and Dougal has been bruised and knocked about. He is eating a little, but still has a fluid drip so it does not matter too much at this stage if he does not eat much; he still has a catheter. I am hoping that we will be allowed to visit him tomorrow.

Dougal - Doing Okay

Last might when I telephoned I was told he had not needed as much morphine as had been written up for him and that he had been eating. He had also been rolling on his back to have his tummy tickled.

When Giunio telephoned this morning he said that he was comfortable and was likely to come off the morphine today; he still has a fluid drip and a catheter. Both back legs are moving, although they are very swollen as to be expected. If all goes well he starts physiotherapy tomorrow and if he makes good progress, he might be able to come home on Friday or Saturday.

Dougal - Update

Giunio telephoned this morning to say that Dougal had a good night and was comfortable. Sounds like the message you get when you ring a hospital about an inpatient. It is too soon to know how successful the operation has been. They ring you twice a day with updates, but only once at the weekend; you can ring them if you wish.

Then just after lunch they rang again and I thought the worst. However, there had been a mix up and I had written down the wrong home telephone number when I booked him in, which is why they had telephoned my mobile. It was the receptionist this time so at least I was able to tell her that he preferred chicken to fish, which I had omitted from the admission form. She did say he would be tempted by a variety of things until they found something he likes, but I doubt they will provide fresh mice!

Dougal - The Operation

 My vet rang this morning and said he had settled as well as could be expected with his injury and that there was no internal bleeding. The other problem that might occur was that he might not be able to urinate; this would mean that the spinal column was crushed and there would be no other option, but to put him to sleep. However, there were no such problems and my vet had spoken to a specialist.

That left us with two options, one was to cage him in a carrier the size of a cat carrier for three months and hope that the spine healed. One false move and the spine was likely to move and cause more damage, which by then would be irreparable. The other option was major surgery to pin his spine together. As far as we were concerned this left only one option.

We collected him from one veterinary hospital in Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire and I drove very carefully to another specialist unit, Dick White Referrals which is in a village called Six Mile Bottom, near Newmarket in Suffolk; we live in Essex!

We left him there to have an MRI and for the surgery to be carried out during the afternoon. He has some damage to his right back leg and there is a thirty percent chance that he will not gain the full use of it. Animals, especially cats are very adaptable and Giunio the surgeon, thinks he will cope well.

We are not allowed to visit him for at least three days and he has to stay there for a week. Giunio phoned during the early evening to say ‘your little boy is fine’. It seems the operation went well although after the anaesthetic he was needless to say, a little groggy.

Dougal - The Accident

My husband had a hospital appointment this morning and when we came home just after lunch, as I was backing the car into the drive, Dougal ran behind me and I ran over him. We searched for him for hours, but he had hidden in the undergrowth. Just as it got dark he managed to come home to the back door. My vets were closed, but we got the duty vet and they thought at first that apart from some soreness he had survived very well. They admitted him to the veterinary hospital to check his red blood levels to make sure there was no internal bleeding. Later that night they rang to say his back was broken, but my vet would speak to a colleague at a specialist hospital.