Ida visits the ER
Last night, we fed Ida, finishing around 11pm. My husband came in to help me give her a dose of pain medication which, sadly, has to be administered orally. And this little girl has got ONE. SORE. MOUTH. So we got the syringe in her mouth, gave her the meds, and suddenly she freaked out. She jumped away from us and proceeded to jump wildly a few more times. Immediately after all this popcorning about, she began frantically pawing at her mouth (this is something cats do when their mouths hurt badly). I watched her as she reacted to the pain and suddenly noticed something wrong: this cat, whose mouth was fused shut post-surgery, could suddenly open and close her mouth completely. Not good.
My heart started beating faster than a hummingbird’s wings and all the breath left my body. It was 11pm and no regular vet is open at that time! Oh, IDA! Quickly, I had my husband confirm my suspicions and he agreed that yes, her mouth was no longer fused. I immediately called the animal emergency clinic and relayed what we had just witnessed. They, of course, recommended I bring her in, and I immediately did, since Ida depends on me and I owe it to her to give her the best care I possibly can.
So I loaded her up in the car and drove to the ER. The doctor examined her immediately and agreed that she had, indeed, undone her fusing and her jaw had resettled in its askew angle, as it had been since she had been shot. They fitted Ida with an e-collar (the cone) so she couldn’t paw at her mouth and cause further damage. They reassured me that her vitals were fine, she was healthy and stable, and that I should call her surgeon in the morning.
I spoke with her surgeon’s office and was able to get her some different pain meds and, since her surgeon was off today (and determined that this wasn’t a super-emergency), set an appointment for 8:30am Monday morning. She will likely be under anesthesia again to have her jaw reset.
Poor kitty just can’t get a break.
