Malachi's "big snip" - update: his neuter "out of norm" :(

[wolflady]

I dropped Malachi off today for his neuter surgery. Gosh, it's been so long since I've had a pet in for a spay/neuter and it's just amazing how worried you get. Poor little Malachi was trembling when I dropped him off. :( He's gained 2 pounds since the last time I was at the vet! He's now 7 pounds! :eek: He's getting to be a big boy!

I sure hope everything goes ok!

[Prairie Purrs]

Best wishes for Malachi! I'm sure he'll be home and snuggling with Phinehas in no time.

[Barbara]

Poor little Malachi. I remember that for boys it's rather easy but I still would be worried. All the best for the little guy.:love:

[lvpets2002]

:love: Malachi just think what a Bigg Boy you will grow to be without those NumNums back there.. I just know you will be fine.. Yes its normal for meowmom to be so worried.. Update us ok..

[Don Juan's mom]

malachi don't give up those widout a fight man!

yr friend don juan el gato magnifico y hermoso

[Medusa]

I'm sure your boy Malachi will be just fine but we'll send up prayers anyhow because they're our furkids and they're so special to us. :)

[wolflady]

Of course something would happen *sigh*

I've been having so much trouble with my kitties lately that I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this wasn't a simple surgery. :( I'm glad that Rachel updated me, but now I'm expecting a huge bill since poor Malachi needed to be put under twice! :eek:

Dr. Boltz said his neuter was "a little out of the norm" because she noticed that after his surgery, he was bleeding from his scrotal sacks. He wasn't hemorrhaging, but he was bleeding more than she would have liked. She had to put him back under to find out which one the blood was coming from (the left) and she ended up putting a suture in.

She also ran a CBC to check on his blood cell count, because she couldn't quite figure out why he would be bleeding. She mentioned that Orientals can be prone to hemophilia :eek: (at this point I'm starting to panic) so she wanted to check the blood cell count to rule that out. Luckily, it came back fine (thank goodness!) and he wasn't anemic. She gave him an injection of antibiotics, so he shouldn't need anything when I pick him up tonight at 5pm. I just hope he's fine and once I get him home we won't have any more issues.

We're still fighting the feline herpes virus with both Malachi and Phinehas, which is pretty frustrating, so I don't want to add any additional medical issues for these guys. :(

Dr. Boltz said that she'll be checking him every half an hour until I pick him up, so hopefully this little glitch with his neuter was just that...a little glitch.

[Barbara]

Sending best thoughts for sweet Malachi- hoping for good news tomorrow.

[Taz_Zoee]

Oh no. I know how worried you were about taking him in today. I'm sorry he had to be put under twice. That alone is just scary!!
I'll be glad (and I'm sure you will too) to hear that Malachi is home and on the road to recovery. I will also hope everything goes smoothly for his recovery as well.

Hugs to you!! And gentle hugs for Malachi when he gets home. :)

[Catty1]

Ummm...not to be rude, but should you be charged for Malachi being put under again if it MIGHT - MIGHT have been the vet's responsibility? As in - if he wasn't stitched up properly the first time?

Not trying to create trouble, just wondering.

HUGS and I know Malachi will be better soon. I hope his Grandpa doesn't hiss at him because he smells funny!

HUGS to you all!:love::love::love:

[Freedom]

Malachi, wishing you a speedy recovery!

I have a feeling he will be feeling woozy for a while. ;)
Hugs to Mom!

[Medusa]

Oh goodness, poor little guy and poor you. I know how worried you were. Prayers are continuing for Malachi's speedy healing w/no problems whatsoever. :)

[aTailOf2Kitties]

not sure about an extra charge Depends on the method they used. Some vets use sutures to tie off the vessles, some use surgical clips, and others just tie a knot in the blood vessel itself.

Does Malachi ever catch mice? I have heard that since mouse poison causes hemorraging in rodents, sometimes cats who eat those mice are slower to clot.

I thought for a minute you were gonna say that they only found one testicle and had to hunt for the other. Be glad that wasn't the case! Those retained testicles tend to hide real good ;)

[Kater]

Ummm...not to be rude, but should you be charged for Malachi being put under again if it MIGHT - MIGHT have been the vet's responsibility? As in - if he wasn't stitched up properly the first time?

My thinking is along the lines of aTailOf2Kitties's. It's actually not normal for a cat neuter to require ANY sutures, believe it or not. I think it sounds like this vet did a good job and caught the bleeding rather early.

Poor Malachi just can't get a break. I hope he recovers from his surgery lickety-split and can get back to the good things in life....like cuddling with sweet Phinehas! :love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Karen, I'm just now seeing this.:o I knew that today was the big snip and I've been thinking about him all day and hoping that everything went well. I'm so sorry to hear that he had bleeding and had to be put under twice.:( I'm glad that Dr. Boltz did the surgery and I'm sure that he'll be just fine. I hope that Malachi will heal up quickly and that both he and Phinehas will finally stay happy and healthy for a long time to come.:)

[wolflady]

Thanks everyone. I'm glad Dr. Boltz did the surgery too, because what would have happened if I had taken him to a low cost spay/neuter which I was considering in the beginning? Would they have caught it as fast as Dr. Boltz? (also, nice to note she didn't charge me for the additional anesthesia or the CBC!)
Malachi is a little abnormal in general, so it's not surprising that his wasn't just a normal procedure. I talked to Linda, and he was a pretty sick kitten in the beginning and he has a bit of stunted growth as well (he has shorter legs than the norm for Orientals), so he's probably a bit more sensitive to things.

I was surprised that a suture was put in since they aren't typically used, but due to the bleeding, I think it was just a precaution. When I went to pick him up last night, the vet tech was telling me that he had blood all over his face from licking the area and there was blood in the cage too right after the surgery, so they caught it pretty quickly. Poor little Malachi. :(

They gave me some pain killers to take home and also microchip info to fill out. Since he was under anesthesia, I figured I'd get him microchipped at the same time.

He actually perked up when I brought him home and he was happy to see Phinehas. He did seem a bit restless, but otherwise seems to be doing ok as of this morning *fingers crossed*

[Barbara]

That's the news I was waiting for :)
It may be normal that he was restless- having been away for a day. Hope that Phinehas grooms him a little and he'll recover quickly and be his naughty self.

[Killearn Kitties]

Aww, poor baby! That was rotten that he had complications. I hope he settles tonight and Phineas is nice to him.

Kisses for Malachi. :love:

[RedHedd]

Poor boybee. I hope he's doing better today.

[AmberLee]

Just caught the news. Has he perked up yet? Hope so!

[Catty1]

I hope his grandpa is snuggling him and loving it all better! :):love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm glad to hear that he's doing well and I hope that he'll continue to do so.:) So does he have to wear his e-collar again so he doesn't pick at his suture? Will the suture dissolve or do you have to bring him back to have it removed? I hope that Phinehas will take good care of him. I bet Malachi's so glad to be home again. Please take care.

[wolflady]

When I first brought Malachi home, I was worried he was going to lick his surgery area to death, but luckily he didn't and he seems to be doing just fine now! :)
KAK, nope - I don't need to bring him back in since it's a dissolve-able suture. :) Phinehas and Malachi seem to be doing ok, so I'm really hoping we're on an upward swing with them both right now. The meds that Linda gave me really seem to have helped clear up Phinehas's eyes, even though they're still a bit crusty...they're looking more clear. His attitude seems a lot better too and he's back to meowing for me in the morning if I don't open my bedroom door early enough to feed them!
Thanks for all the good vibes for my boys!:love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Great news!!!:D I'm so glad to hear that they're both doing well and I hope that this will continue.:) Have a wonderful Easter!!!:D