buddyboy Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 (edited) Morning. Zooey-cat is at the vet for the day, having investigations done on his heart. He's had a murmur since he was a kitten, but its gotten much worse recently (now grade 4). He desperately needs a dental, but they don't want to risk the anaesthetic til they know whats up, so he's having some tests and an x-ray done. If it all looks good, he'll also have the dental, otherwise we'll try to stabilise the heart with tablets, and then the dental can be done in a few weeks. He was not a happy cat at being taken to the vet for the second time in 4 days - we had to dismantle part of the bed to get him out from under it Sophie - Cassie Cav had acupuncture during a dental, this is pasted from a thread I put on a forum at the time.... it would be worth asking your vet to contact Mikki at Priory Vet in Cardigan 01239 612479 Cassie Cavalier had to go in for a dental last week. She has been with me 2 years and her teeth have been dodgy from the start however she has an extremely enlarged heart and severe murmur (not that you would know it from the way she hooleys around with the others) so up until now the risk of the GA has been more than the risk of the teeth causing problems. At her last checkup for repeat meds the vet said the teeth had really got to the stage where they had to come out and to book Cassie in with one of the other vets who is the speediest at dentals. We went to the surgery where bloods were taken and then went for a long walk round town. When we got back to the surgery the bloods had all come back ok so Cas was given a mild sedative and a minimal dose of metacam. She was in surgery for just over an hour (the teeth were manky but still put up a fight). The vet did not want to give her any more GA or painkillers than was absolutely necessary as the risk of losing her was extremely high so she used acupuncture instead. There was no pain relief other than the original metacam. Normal GA is 2.5 – 3.0% apparently, Cas had only 1.75%. There were 2 needles either side of T3 and T5 – the sites used for pain relief which coincidentally also benefit the heart. There was also a needle in the point just above her dew claw which is used for calming (only one side, there was a drip in the other leg). Cas’s femoral pulse was strong throughout, her vital signs were good and her heart rate remained steady at between 120 (normal resting rate for her) and 135. Within an hour of surgery Cas was bright eyed and demanding food (well – she had forgone breakfast!). She coughed a bit after eating (knowing her she did not bother chewing, just hoovered it up!) so had more acupuncture. She came home 2 hours after surgery as they felt she would be better at home than wondering what was going on there. She had half a metacam tablet on Saturday morning and half on Sunday morning – no signs of discomfort but I thought I had better give them as prescribed to help any inflammation. Saturday afternoon she was charging around the field with her friends, Sunday she was clambering over rocks on the beach. The vet said today she could have murdered the other vet who said the teeth were to come out as the risk was so high, but she is thrilled to have seen just how much of a difference the acupuncture made to a dog with serious heart problems and is definitely going to use it again. She did use acupuncture as pain relief on another dog yesterday – not under GA and it made a small difference but not as major as Cas. She is planning on writing a paper on it. Thought this may be helpful for anyone else who has a dog with heart problems as it is worth asking your vet to find out more if a GA is required. Edited February 25, 2013 by buddyboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 decisions decisions... Just seen on Facebook that the company who supply our gym equipment are looking for models on the 19th March. Am off that day. Do I go for it and risk seeing my ugly mug all over the gym? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophie Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 (edited) Thanks for that buddyboy. They didn't do his dental today as they want him on heart meds for a few weeks first. Which means the dental will be at our branch of the vets, which is where the vet who does accupuncture works (Zooey was at the branch with the heart specialist today). I'll definitely discuss it with her before they do it, as if they can reduce the amount of GA its got to be good. Edited February 25, 2013 by Sophie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murtle Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Happy purry thoughts for poorly puss cats xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 ive test drove the micra, like it,but going to look at others. thinking od you owl xxxxx go and be in the photoshoot .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted February 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Been to pick up Max's ashes. Broke down as soon as I got in the car and I thought I was doing so well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murtle Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Thinking of you and your family Owl. Alex you are doing well, crying is not a bad thing not a sign you aren't doing well. xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murtle Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 You are still in my thoughts xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 thinking of you xxxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacobean Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I'm not here I'm revising honest guv Alex let your emotions out when you need to. Keep thinking of you. Sam you might find some good volunteer help from here - http://www.charitychoice.co.uk/volunteering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whizzie Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Thinking of Alex & Owl.I've crumbled every time over ashes. I don't think it is unusual at all but hugs to you from all here x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Owl, hope your aunty improves and your mum gets home soon Suzeanna....congrats on the new car! sophie, hope zooey cats dental goes o.k HLGS hope you get some volunteers Gooster.... go for it!!! Merledogs (((hugs))) nothing wrong with crying i have been really ill again over the weekend, went to the emrgency drs on saturday who gave me broad spectrum antibiotics instead of uti specific so i ended up in agony yesterday peeing blood, saw the nurse this am at my GPs who wasn't happy and sent me back this afternoon to see my GP, he has sorted me out with some tablets to hopefully knock it on the head.... during my consultation he informed me he was retiring in march (along with his wife) i managed not to cry, i have known this fella all my life and he is one of the few people i trust...gutted! i am going to miss them so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzeanna Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Sorry you're feeling so rough again at the moment Griff, and the doctor going must be making it worse, feeling you have to start over with someone who doesn't know your history. I hope the tablets sort things out for you. I was watching Calendar news earlier and was sickened to watch a report from Sheffield...a staffy type dog had been tortured, its back legs broken, then tied to a tree and set on fire. Absolutely barstewards, I'd like to tie them down and drive a car over them, the scum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 to Alex, it is natural to be upset. Grief affects everyone differently and for different lengths of time Owl, hope your family are all feeling better soon. Griff, it is hard when someone you trust medically moves on. When I took over 2 days at my current practice, a lot of people were unsure at first, as they had seen the same person for so long, but am doing my best to gain the trust of those patients that I do see Hopefully your new GP will be equally as fab as your old one I think I will send an email - the worst they can say is no! (Or rather yes, and I make a complete wally out of myself in the photos for all to see ). As one of the girls I worked with today said, if I have the guts to apply for take me out, this should be a walk in the park Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzeanna Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 Morning! This is disgustingly early:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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