Medical subsidy for Blacktail, ex-sporo-cat with fractured femoral head on hind leg (Wong Yoke Mei’s)

Ref: http://animalcare.my/2013/04/09/a-follow-up-on-ex-sporo-blacktail-now-for-adoption-wong-yoke-meis/

We have subsidised RM465.50 (50% of the total bill of RM931) for Blacktail’s treatment and surgery. This subsidy comes from all donors through our Medical Fund (RM233.50) and Berjaya Cares (RM232).

From: Yoke Mei Wong
Date: Mon, May 20, 2013 at 1:02 AM
Subject: Re: [AnimalCare] Please moderate: “Sporotrichosis in cats ”
To: Chan Kah Yein <chankahyein@gmail.com>

Hi there Kah Yein,

Blacktail is all good and recovered from Sporo. His life is full of events, making mine ever so busy. In late Apr2013, i was away for training in Sabah and i had to leave the feeding of our stray cats to my hubby. During my trip, i got a call from hubby saying that Blacktail seems to be limping when he walks. I thought maybe, it could be a sprained ankle or bruised leg because of jumping around/rough playing. When i came back, his condition did not seem to be improving. In actual fact, he was now laying down on the floor while eating his kibbles. I thought to myself, maybe give him another week and we shall see whether there’s any improvements. Strays tend to get a lot of injuries here and there and given sufficient time, whatever injury that they may have could sometimes heal on its own. After another week of monitoring, it seems that his movements did not improve at all, and my sixth sense told me, something is not right. I sent him to the vet and he tried to touch his leg and feel for anything amiss, since they don’t have x-ray facilities in their clinic. the vet says, give him a few more days and keep on monitoring. After a few more days, Blacktail seems to use less of his left hind leg and i felt that his paw pad is a little hard compared to the rest of his other paw pads. My gut feeling told me not to wait any longer, and i quickly send him to another vet (11 May 2013). My fears confirmed when an x-ray was taken. He had a fractured femoral head at his left hind leg. It could be from a fall or being knocked by a passing vehicle. Dr recommended surgery to remove the femur head so that all the fractured pieces could be removed and relieve Blacktail of the pain that he had suffered all these while. The procedure is named “Excisional Arthroplasty (femur head removal)”. Dr recommended for the surgery to be carried out soonest possible and it was done the same afternoon when he was diagnosed. Since Blacktail was nearly 7 months old now, i requested that he is castrated as well during the procedure so that he doesn’t have to go through anesthesia again.

Recovery period would take as long as 1 month if everything goes well. So, he is now confined in a cage with his “e-collar”. The Dr did not charge me on the castration since the procedure was pretty simple and him being a stray. The total cost of the surgery amounted to RM 931.00 so far. Sorry i did not managed to write earlier to inform you about his condition. Things have been pretty busy at home as well as in the office. I would like to apply for the medical subsidy from MyAnimalCare for Blacktail’s surgery costs if possible.

Here are some of the pictures of Blacktail post ops. The stitches are due to be removed in another 2 days time. I will try to get a picture of the x-ray from the clinic to show you the fractured femur head to give you a better understanding of his condition.

Looking forward to hear from you soon.

Thanks.

Yoke Mei

A good friend keeping guard.

 Blacktail’s sidekick looking very concerned.

 Blacktail’s new hat.

Don’t like the hat!! 

 View of stitches after removing plaster.

From: Yoke Mei Wong
Date: Fri, May 24, 2013 at 2:37 PM
Subject: Re: [AnimalCare] Please moderate: “Sporotrichosis in cats ”
To: Chan Kah Yein <chankahyein@gmail.com>

Hi there Kah Yein,

Here are some update of little Blacktail. We went to the vet last Tuesday to remove the stitches and Dr says everything should be fine. Given time, his movement will improve. Whether or not his movement will be back to his normal before the incident, only time will tell. I for one is already grateful that he is no longer in pain and able to use his hind limb now. Here are some of his pictures these past few days. I have also taken a few videos showing him walking, running even jumping. I nearly had a heart attack when he jumped up. Broke into cold sweat right after. Thank goodness he is ok. It’s back into the cage for him after that so that he could calm down and not injure himself. During feeding times and whenever i can find a few minutes here and there, i would let him out to do some stretching and work his limbs a little. Dr says he will have to build his muscle to support his body. A little exercise is needed to work those muscles. But after that “jumping” incident, i will not look away even for a second when he’s being let out. Cats can do magnificent things in a split second.

I have also got the permission from the Dr to take a picture of the x-ray that showed his fractured femoral head. The procedure is named excisional anthroplasty. The procedure as explained by the Dr simply removes the femur head and leave the remaining structure of the lower limb on it’s own. The muscle will work and hold up the whole limb for movement and support. I was pretty impressed and a little sceptical at first, but Dr says, this works for animals and even large dogs for that matter. They had done this procedure on large dogs before and it works. That’s because cat & dogs are 4 legged, whereas, it won’t work on humans because we are 2 legged. That’s another thing i salute the animals for. Just simply amazing!

I do hope little Blacktail will recover well and be up and about in no time. There’s just so much that we can learn from each incident and each phase in our lives when it comes to animal rescue and nursing. The more i learn, the more i find that we have so much shortcomings and so much to learn in life.

Thanks Kah Yein for helping little Blacktail out. Happy Wesak Day!

Regards,

Yoke Mei

 A little help to hold the fella down.

Dr removing stitches.

Iodine applied on surgery site.

 Back in carrier after ordeal that lasted less than 5 minutes.

 Back into his lair.

 So eager for yummy food.

Waiting for waitress (yours truly) to serve!

 The X-Ray