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Old April 15th, 2008, 10:06 AM
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Gracie's not doing too well

Hi folks, been a while since I posted about the critters.

Our little Gracie is not doing too well. The other night / early morning we heard her hacking up what we thought was a furball. We went to check on her (and clean the mess) and figured that she got into something like a plastic bag and was barfing up the pieces. We kept an eye on her yesterday and she wasn't herself - a bit sluggish, still barfing (bile coming up), etc. We took her food away around noon and gave her water. I checked her litter last night to find that she hadn't had a movement and only had one pee since Sunday evening.

My wife took her to the vet this morning (they proceeded to say that they would work up an estimate to treat her ... wife told them to just tell us how much we owe them afterwards). They took her right in, checked for dehydration - which she was - and started her on fluids. I received a call from the vet a few hours ago. The were in the process of doing some bloodwork but had the results of the x-rays.

Vet said that it appeared that she had a hernia that was pushing her insides into the chest cavity. He asked if Gracie sustained any trauma recently, such as being hit by a car or taking a fall. I gave him the limited speculated history that we had on her prior to us finding her last year. As well he said that what appeared to be a blockage was showing on the x-rays. She is scheduled for surgery sometime this afternoon and I am waiting for an update post-op (very difficult to sit here just waiting). Vet said that the herniated area may cause some complications for surgery but he won't know the extent until they go in.

This poor kitty has been through far too much in her short life to have to deal with this. Hopefully all goes well When I get more details I'll let you know.
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  #2  
Old April 15th, 2008, 10:14 AM
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for Gracie. If she was a young stray who found you she must be very tenacious. No doubt she will come through with flying colors. Please update us when the vet does call with the good news post-op
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Old April 15th, 2008, 10:44 AM
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Sending some your way. Hope all goes well.
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Old April 15th, 2008, 10:50 AM
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Poor Gracie has had a rough start. I'm sending some good thoughts your way. Please let us know how she does after the surgery.
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Old April 15th, 2008, 11:08 AM
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for you and all the s, , and for little Gracie.
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Old April 15th, 2008, 11:17 AM
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Sending lots of , Gracie is a tuff little cookie , I'm sure it will all go well

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Old April 15th, 2008, 11:22 AM
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for a good outcome. Her age is in her favour, as is your tender care. Please keep us updated!
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Old April 15th, 2008, 11:23 AM
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poor gal... sending good thoughts & vibes your way!
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Old April 15th, 2008, 12:09 PM
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I hope Gracie gets through it all with flying colours. Hugs to Gracie and a speedy recovery.

Cindy
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Old April 15th, 2008, 12:29 PM
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Oh poor Gracie.
I hope the surgery is straight forward and no complications. for a quick recovery.
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Old April 15th, 2008, 12:32 PM
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Sending you some that all will be well for Gracie - and, as others have said, she does have youth on her side .. Keep us posted on the results!
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Old April 15th, 2008, 01:22 PM
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I am so sorry to hear about Gracie. Poor wee girl has been through so much already. :sad: I hope this surgery goes well for her and sending lots of good wishes your way.
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Old April 15th, 2008, 03:04 PM
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Lots of and from us too!
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Old April 15th, 2008, 07:24 PM
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Thanks for all the well wishes. Gracie made it through her surgery alright although there apparently were a few touch and go moments. Her O2 saturation level dropped to 30% at one point. They figured that she had a preexisting tear in her diaphram. When she ingested the foreign object (I have it home with me and cannot figure out what it is ... it looks like an electrical marrett but is not the type I occassionally use??) it got lodged in her upper intestine. When she worked at yacking it out, it caused the tear in her diaphram to open up which forced her stomach, small intestine, liver, kidneys into her chest cavity which put pressure on her lungs and heart.

They were able to pull everything out and put it back where it belonged and close up the diaphram tear (as well as extract the object). Vet said that her lungs were about the size of small plums rather than filling the chest cavity, so they were working on inflating them slowly. We picked her up this evening to transport her to the after hours / emerg clinic where she will be spending the night. Her O2 saturation was around 85% when we left her, as well she is looking around and moving her head.

We are going to pick her up in the morning and bring her back to the vet for the day. She will likely spend tomorrow evening at the emerg clinic again, then if all goes well we should be able to her home on Thursday evening.

I figure she's used up 4 or 5 of her lives so far. Hopefully she is done with using up anymore for a long long time.

__________________
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lucy - 9 yr old border(?) terrier mix
Jack - 8 yr old yorkie terrier mix
Gracie - 7 yr old tuxedo kitty

Monty - RIP buddy
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"If your dog doesn't like someone you probably shouldn't either." - Unknown
"If cats could talk they would lie to you"

Last edited by Dogastrophe; April 15th, 2008 at 07:39 PM.
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Old April 15th, 2008, 07:36 PM
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Wow, that poor little thing has been through a very trying day. You must be very worried about her and I hope you are able to get some sleep and not worry too much about Gracie. With any luck she will be home in a couple of days and you can fuss over her and spoil her rotten.
I will be thinking of her
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Old April 15th, 2008, 08:09 PM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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wow thats one tough cat im sure she is feeling tones better sounds like you should try to keep plastic away. never had a plastic loving kitty it must be a real struggle
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Old April 15th, 2008, 08:13 PM
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Yeah, we need to do a better cat proofing of the house (plus keep her out of my furnace room).

Mrs. Dog just called the emerg to check on her before bed. They still have her on full oxygen but expect to wean her off throughout the night. They said that she was sitting up grooming herself.
__________________
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lucy - 9 yr old border(?) terrier mix
Jack - 8 yr old yorkie terrier mix
Gracie - 7 yr old tuxedo kitty

Monty - RIP buddy
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"If your dog doesn't like someone you probably shouldn't either." - Unknown
"If cats could talk they would lie to you"
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Old April 15th, 2008, 08:17 PM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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excellent!!! thanks for the update she looks so cute !! it always amazes me how these fragile looking creatures are so tough and resileient
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Old April 15th, 2008, 09:04 PM
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I'm so happy she's all better. I've been checking throughout the day to see if you posted anything.

She's been through so much. You need to do some major spoiling.

Please let us know how she's doing once you get her home.
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Old April 15th, 2008, 09:09 PM
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I'm glad everything is ok now I love the picture , she looks like a statue !

about cat proofing the house .... I don't think this is doable , cats get into EVERYTHING !!!

Speedy recovery Gracie
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Old April 15th, 2008, 09:46 PM
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Thats great! I hope she has a speedy recovery and that this is the last of her dicey situations!!!
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Old April 15th, 2008, 09:49 PM
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OMG, poor Gracie! That must have been some tear in her diaphragm!

I'm so glad she's doing so well after surgery! Even grooming herself! for an effortless recovery from here on out.

s to you and Mrs Dog and a very soft and careful for Gracie...
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Old April 15th, 2008, 09:52 PM
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s and for a speedy recovery for Gracie. She is one tough little cookie to have gone through all of that.
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We can stick our heads in the sand for only so long before it starts choking us. Face it folks. The pet population is bad ALL OVER THE WORLD!
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  #24  
Old April 16th, 2008, 05:31 AM
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Gracie made it through the night with no real troubles. We called around 3am to check on her - they said that they had her out of the O2 enriched crate for about an hour or so and that she was breathing fine. Her O2 sat level is now in the 95% range. Her heartbeat is still increased but they figure she is a bit stressed out. She is following motion with her eyes and is fairly alert.

Mrs Dog is picking her up this morning to bring her back to the vet for another day of monitoring. Unless something drastic happens, I think she will be ok.

The pups were really missing her last night, especially Jack. He wandered the house sniffing in all her hiding spots then would stop, look at us with a quizzical look, then continue to sniff around.

Her beautiful fluff of white fur on the chest is now gone

I'm stopping into the vet around lunch to check on her so will have more info then.

__________________
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lucy - 9 yr old border(?) terrier mix
Jack - 8 yr old yorkie terrier mix
Gracie - 7 yr old tuxedo kitty

Monty - RIP buddy
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"If your dog doesn't like someone you probably shouldn't either." - Unknown
"If cats could talk they would lie to you"
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Old April 16th, 2008, 05:46 AM
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I'm so glad she's going to be okay. Yes, I'd say she's used up a few lives on this episode. She's way too cute. I love the picture.

Cindy
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  #26  
Old April 16th, 2008, 06:51 AM
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Oh, I am so happy she is going to be OK!

BTW, she is a cutie
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Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs)

Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey
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Old April 16th, 2008, 07:49 AM
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thanks for posting updates! such a relief to read she's going to be ok! she's so cute... hugs to her for a speedy recovery!
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  #28  
Old April 16th, 2008, 12:43 PM
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Thanks for keeping us all posted. I'm so happy to hear she's doing better. I'm sure she'll be at 110% in no time!
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Old April 16th, 2008, 01:01 PM
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Glad to hear all went well for Gracie. Wishing her a speedy recovery and hope she will soon be playing with Jack and Lucy again.

Love the pic....too cute.
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  #30  
Old April 16th, 2008, 05:18 PM
kalola kalola is offline
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Glad to hear all went well. Thanks for keeping us posted!
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