HIgh Rise Syndrome: Sky diving cats

Several weeks ago, a kitten came into our emergency clinic that had fallen 50 feet out of a tree. Amazingly, the owner had caught the falling feline just before it hit the ground, but on the way down the kitten hit a large branch. His back leg was clearly broken, and after giving some pain meds we talked to the owner about his two options: Fix the broken leg, or amputate. Three legged cats, or "tripods" as they are affectionately known, have become quite the designer pet as of late. Thankfully, so far, Paris Hilton et all have not discovered this trend. Unfortunately, this kitten owner was cash-strapped, and was forced to elect a third option: humane euthanasia due to lack of funds. The owner signed a euthanasia and cremation form, and the Siamese-mix kitten sat in a cage awaiting his fate. As the doctor on shift, it was my job to perform the euthanasia, but I stalled. After all, pain meds were on board. My procrastination had its reward an hour later when one of our vet-student nurses came to work. She took one look at the kitten and proclaimed her willingness to take over its care if the previous owner was willing to surrender him. One phone call later, and with the help of another veterinarian skilled at fixing bones, and Thomas' (his new name) broken leg was pinned together. Cats have an amazing ability to survive large falls. In New York City, a veterinary study showed that if a cat fell more than 7 stories, it was much less likely to be injured than a cat that falls just a few floors. With the occasional absence or removal of window screens, it is not unusual for cats to find their way onto window ledges and airborne danger. What usually happens when they fall is that they slowly try to right themselves (by this time they have fallen 3-4 stories), and once righted, float down, parachute-like, to land on their feet. If they land before they are righted and relaxed, there are usually severe injuries because they are tense and flailing. As I write this Blog, Thomas is curled up in my lap (occasionally introducing some typos on the keyboard), because our technician could not keep him after his leg was fixed, and she was trying to find a new home for him, and no one else would take him and well...here he is.

Izzy's Repreive

Can 4 drops of Rescue Remedy cause a dog to become gravely ill? Izzy is a 4 yr old Chihuahua mix that came into our emergency clinic last weekend with bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Her owner had put 4 drops of Rescue Remedy, a homeopathic flower extract, into some water and Izzie drank all of it. The next day, she was lethargic, not eating, and started to have severe bloody diarrhea. She was so weak when she got to our clinic she could not stand up.

Poor Izzie’s owner was racked with guilt. She was convinced she had poisoned her dog, and unfortunately another veterinarian had told her that Rescue Remedy could be fatal. Well, it turns out you could probably give multiple bottles of the product to one dog without causing any harm, because it only contains microscopic amounts of plant extract. Of more serious concern is the alcohol base that the plant extracts are in. It is probably questionable whether products like Rescue Remedy have any beneficial effect at all with dogs, but that is my own skepticism getting in the way of an open mind.

Izzie’s blood work showed that her blood was way more concentrated than it should be (PCV=66% if you like lab numbers), and much of the fluid had leaked out into her intestines. This is typical of a disease syndrome in dogs known as HGE (hemorrhagic gastroenteritis), which may have many different causes including bacterial infection, stress or dietary indiscretion (ie eating a dead animal).

The treatment for HGE is IV fluids and IV antibiotics, and that is what Izzy got. Most likely, her bloody diarrhea was due to the stress that prompted her owner to give her the herbal product in the first place. At our hospital, we have seen many animals get better with IV fluids and treatment, even if the diagnosis was unknown. We have an almost religious faith in the ability of IV fluids to help heal any condition; maybe we could start a new religion?

In any event, 48 hours of fluids did the trick for Izzie, and home she went. I am pretty sure that her owner will not give her any more Rescue Remedy the next time Izzie gets stressed. I wonder if it would work for me???

Deuce is wild, or Why You Need Pet Health Insurance

Should you get pet health insurance for your dog? Ask the owners of Deuce, a 2 year old, 80 pound black Labrador Retriever, who lives up a mountain canyon in Colorado.

Deuce arrived at our emergency clinic on July 27th, with a very swollen leg, the result of a rattlesnake bite. Fortunately, rattlesnakes in our part of Colorado do not have very potent venom, and most patients survive. However, in a few cases, the venom can wreak havoc in the bloodstream, leading to unstoppable bleeding, kidney failure, sloughing of skin or other systemic illness. The basic treatment for a rattlesnake bite is IV fluids, an injection of an antihistamine, anti-inflammatory medication, and pain meds. Sometimes antibiotics are added if the bite wound appears infected. Whenever possible, it is ideal to give antivenin, to counteract the negative affects of the snake venom on kidneys and platelets (clotting portion of the blood). Unfortunately, antivenin is very expensive, costing close to $600 per vial. Of course, when you consider that the average human snake bite victim may get 10 vials which cost upwards of $2,000 per vial, the veterinary version seems like a bargain. The average dog gets one to two vials when the owner can afford it, but many can not and most dogs will survive regardless. Deuce got the standard treatment, without antivenin, and recovered over the next 3- 4 days.

On July 30, we got a call saying Deuce was coming back. The assumption was there was some complication related to the snake bite wound. No, said the owners, this time he appears to be coughing. It turns out Deuce had been shot by a neighbor with a shotgun when Deuce escaped from the yard and started chasing the neighbor’s chickens. XRays showed multiple pellets throughout Deuce’s chest and abdomen. (See below)

The treatment was déjà vu: IV fluids, some pain meds and more antibiotics. When it comes to shotgun pellets, they are usually left alone (ask Dick Chaney and some of his hunting buddies), as long as they are not causing a problem with a vital organ. Although some of the pellets in Deuce’s chest were irritating his airway, he stopped coughing and went home the next morning.
No doubt when Deuce’s owners were checking out for the second time, 4 days after the rattlesnake bite, they may have inspected one of the brochures for Pet Health Insurance that was sitting on our counter. Of course, at that time, the horse was already out of the barn, so to speak.