[kristi]

I took her, Frodo, and Lemur to the vet today for their yearly visit. She tore out 5 claws on the metal carrier gate. Stupid luck; the other 2 carriers are canvas, and I managed to put her in the one that would injure her.

She has severe anxiety when confined. She foams at the mouth, howls, vomits, and loses control of her bowels. She was a complete wreck.

The vet gave me a sedative to give her next year before the visit. She also gave her a shot of benadryl today before we left to ease the ride home. She still howled, though.

Her right paw lost 4 claws; her left only lost one. She also scratched her chin; I guess biting at the carrier.

Sigh.

 

[Zalensia]

we use to have a cat called shelly, when ever you took her to the vets she would poop everywhere in the carrier. Then youd get to the vets to take her out and she would be covered in poopy

 

[kitkat]

Is it going to grow back?? It sounds horrible but hope Daisy gets better...what a nervous wreck! :wink:

 

[kristi]

Thanks for the sympathy! She's doing better today; her paws and mouth aren't bleeding. The vet said the claws will grow back, but I think it will take several months. My greyhound ripped a claw out once, and it took several months.

One good thing about cat claws versus dog claws is that cat claws are retractable, so she doesn't have the exposed nail bed open to the air to keep bleeding and getting hit on things. I don't think it's bothering her too much now.

 

[Jeanie]

Poor Daisy! That must have hurt her so badly. Unlike Tina's cat, my Creampuff (long gone now) crawled under the seats, and was so frightened, she would claw at anything that came her way, like a hand, for instance!

I use a cat carrier. My cats don't like being confined, but don't get panicy.

 

[kristi]

Tina--I'd thought of letting her run loose in the car next time, but then I don't know how I'd catch her and put her back in a carrier to take her inside? How do you do that?

 

[drjean]

A good trick for carrier-haters is a pillowcase or laundry bag. This works best if you have someone to drive and you can hold them on your lap. Or, put the cat in the pillowcase, and put the pillowcase in the carrier. For some cats, the close "hidey-hole"-ness of the cloth is comforting. Of course, be sure to tie the open end securely!

Some cats do okay in the car loose, but when you stop? Be careful!! I remember one summer day, a client pulled up in her car, flung open the door, and her loose cat shot out (taking quite a lot of skin and blood with her--mom was wearing shorts!), sped across the street (thankfully no cars), and slipped under a fence into the neighbor's rather overgrown backyard. It took 2 weeks to trap her out of there. Not a happy situation--I wouldn't recommend it!

BTW, just keep a close eye on Daisy's paws; she could get an infected nail bed while things are still healing. Best to catch something like that early!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[drjean]

Daisy & claws

Hi, thanks Tina! Just found this site myself, and having a big mouth (and fast fingers) I just love to throw my 2 cents in!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[kungfukitty]

I don't know about where you live but here we have three vets that make house calls. It's a little more than a regular office visit but not much. It sounds like it might be well worth it for you.

 

[Jeanie]

My guess is that Dr. Jean is too busy for that. That's why I'm holding my breath, for fear that she doesn't have time for us. Don't let that happen! Everyone needs a hobby, and this one is so addictive.

 

[drjean]

house calls

Actually, I do housecalls in my area, but there's only 250 people in my town and not many more in the surrounding 10 miles!

Jeanie's right, this *is* addicting...I have been on a lot of lists and forums, but this group is a lot more fun than most!

I may not always have time to go through all the posts in detail, but I will try to respond quickly if someone has a question for me!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[kristi]

Thanks all for the replies! Daisy is way too grouchy even on a good day to try to catch and hold when she doesn't want holding, so I guess I won't do the loose-in-the-car thing next year. I'll just rely on the sedatives the vet gave me and hope they work!

Welcome, Dr. Jean!

How I wished we had a vet here who would do house calls!

 

[jmichaelp]

I posted a month or so ago about one of my cats tearing out claws. Don't worry about it, they grow back. I guess it's like tearing off a fingernail...

 

[mismodliz]

hi to Tina from another Tina!

I don't get to share my name very often!