Snowy - Update - 18 Jul 07

Snowy, 18 Jul

Snowy can eat on her own!

There's no need to spoon feed her anymore. No more grinding teeth sounds when she chews her food - this means that her loose jaw is slowly healing and getting better. She is also able to eat more chunky canned food now (previously need to add water to soften it for easy swallowing).

She is able to walk better, still circling but is able to walk in a straight line when you call out to her. This means she can hear and recognize the direction of the voice – her sense of orientation is getting better!


Snowy weighs only about 2kg.

The scabs on her head and face are slowly peeling off; there are some blood stains when the vet and nurses clean her but nothing serious. Hopefully the skin scabs will slowly peel off and the new skin can regenerate and get better. The scabs on her toes are falling off too. Antibiotic ointment and powder are applied daily.

Snowy is still on injection antibiotics – Dr. H feels that her immune system is fighting very hard to cope with her illnesses, so the course of antibiotics may be prolonged.


Snowy, 18 Jul

Our next visit will be on Mon, 23 Jul. : )

Snowy - Update - 14 Jul 07

We visited Snowy on Sat, 14 Jul.


Snowy, 14 Jul 07

Some great news to share:

6 panel test - Snowy's kidneys and liver are normal. She is also not diabetic.

FeLV and FIV test - All negative .

YAY!!!!

Here are further updates:

Snowy's lower jaw is actually loose at the middle (mandibular symphysis) but this is not very serious. She is still able to eat. The team at the vet is hand feeding her still as Snowy cannot stand firm enough to finish her food. It is observed that while Snowy eats, she will produce this sound as if she's biting her teeth - this could be due to injury to her head or jaw muscles. Dr. H said she will continue to monitor.

The wounds on Snowy's head is drying up and healing with dead pieces slowly peeling off. Dr. H suspects her skin outbreak on the head could be due to traumatic injury as she rubbed against the cages.

There are also new skin scabs on Snowy's toes - a condition called vasculitis which means that her blood vessels are affected with immune complexes and these cause the infection and scabs. The outbreak of scabs could be related to really stressful circumstances (reduced immune system), toxins (but there is no known history) or even unknown viral infections.

Dr. H noted that Snowy is getting stronger, able to stand and walk, but observed that she is walking in circles. G and I noticed that as well during our visit. See clips.

Clip 1: Snowy walking in circles.

Clip 2: Snowy collapsed from giddiness, from the circling. G gave her words of support.

Snowy is also snorting and sneezing. The nasal discharge is not as much as last time but she will sneeze more when being fed. Her eyes are clear, not teary.

"Also my nurses mentioned to me regarding the donations for Snowy. It is great that there are many kind souls out there. : ) I will try my best to help Snowy to get her better. She is fighting really hard to survive and I hope she can make quick and full recovery." - Dr. H

Thank you everyone who chipped in to help with Snowy's medical bills and to Dr. H and her loving team who showered so much TLC on Snowy. We are deeply grateful.

Our next visit in on 18 Jul, Wed. More updates then.

Snowy - Update - 11 Jul 07

As planned, we visited Snowy tonight and spent some time with her.


Snowy, 11 Jul 07

She has been moved from the normal ward to the isolation ward - she has flu. We believe Snowy got the flu bug from the cat hospitalised above Snowy's cage in Dr. A's clinic. Unlike Dr. H who has an isolation room, Dr. A does not separate cats with flu from the others. We could hear Snowy snorting due to her blocked nose. Sigh.

We let her out of her confinement in the isolation room to exercise. She could walk more steadily now. She is also eating, with assistance.

Clip 1
Clip 2

When I carried her, I could only feel her bones. She was by far, the skinniest cat I've met.

G and I were told something unexpected. Dr. H suspects Snowy may have Feline Leukemia or Feline Immunodeficiency Disease (FIV). Snowy developed new sores on her face (between the eyes). There are also scabs on her paw. These may be caused by the immune suppression of Feline Leukemia. Dr. H will run some tests (FeLV & FIV) in the next few days to determine if her suspicion is true. Of course, G and I hope her suspicion is untrue.


New sores appearing.


Snowy resting.


Snowy, feeling tired.

We deposited the first batch of kind donations with the vet. Before we left, we told Snowy to take care. Then we heaved a sigh of melancholy, forced a smile, bided goodbye and left, with heavy hearts. When will Snowy's suffering cease?

We will visit Snowy again over the weekends. More updates then.

Snowy, 7 Jul 07

OH MY GOD!

Snowy can walk! Snowy can stand and walk now! Both G and I gasped in extreme delight when we visited Snowy last night. That moment was very emotional.


Snowy, 7 Jul 07

Snowy must have felt the loving prayers and encouragement from all of you. We were told she is also eating much more now, with help from the loving nurses who spoon-fed her patiently. She is also looking more alert and we heard her meow for the first time! It was lovely music to our ears. What we heard past few days were only groans and moans.


Snowy, 7 Jul 07

The following clip is a short glimpse to Snowy walking around in her 'room'. She has not regained full mobility as you can see. She still fumbles from time to time but compared to the beginning, this marked a significant improvement.

Short clip of Snowy walking!

Aren't you like us so very happy for Snowy? : )

We're motivated to continue this arduous but full of love's journey, hand in hand with Snowy. Stay with us.

Snowy - Update - 6 Jul 07

I rang the clinic up at 12.40pm today and spoke with nurse A.

Snowy is still the same, eating just a little with help from the nurses. She is still relying very much on the IV drip. She is still flopping and crashing but slightly lesser. She pee-ed but not poo. Looking forward to visiting her tomorrow. Will update again with pics.

A piece of good news - Nana can be discharged tomorrow.

Snowy - Update - 5 Jul 07

I received the following tear-jerking heartwarming news from G at 1.55pm:

"Celeste, I just called Joyous and spoken with A (the nurse). She said Snowy is still tilting her head to one side but is eating & drinking on her own, with them holding up the bowl for her..."

Snowy hasn't had any food (she couldn't manage at all) except fluids fed via the intravenous catheter since Sat, 30 Jun 07 - a total of 5 days.

I'm glad the angels at Dr. H assisted Snowy in feeding on her own.

Now, I feel like crying... the tears of joy. : )

Also, thank you all for the very kind, encouraging and comforting words. We have since the appeal, received a few responses on helping out with Snowy's bills. Heartfelt thanks and gratitude.

Please continue walking with Snowy on her journey to recovery.

===

p.s. I'm sorry I may not be able to respond to some of the questions posted via comments immediately.

Snowy - Will You Help Her?

As planned, we turned up at Dr. A in the morning. G had called in advance to inform them we will be disharging Snowy and requested for the x-rays to be provided.

G was already at Dr. A when I was on my way. I was alerted by G via sms the bill was $480!


The bill from Dr. A. [click on pic to read contents]

---------------------------------------------------------
Examination Summary (from the bill):

Reason
HBC- Suspected trauma to the cranial region. Multiple degloving injuries around the forehead and face.
Blood test - Liver dysfunction confirmed (likely due to impact). Mild anemia.

Plan
1) To monitor for epilepsy and/or other cns signs.

2) Hospitalise for observation and treatment - given injections of antibodies and Vit B complex and liver tonic daily. Please refrain from giving any steroids in lieu of liver damage!

3) Please review liver function after medication.
---------------------------------------------------------

LIVER DAMAGE?!?!?!?!?!
Again, we were not told at all that Snowy sustained liver damage! What we were told on the day of admission was (1) she has no spinal injury (2) no bone fractures (3) no internal injury to her organs.

The blood test for liver dysfunction was performed either on 1 Jul or 2 Jul. Dr. A called G on 3 Jul, he didn't mention anything on liver damage (on top of not mentioning the abrasions and sores).

When we asked him, he said "I've informed you (on day of admission) I'll be doing some blood tests on her to check for liver dysfunction right? You mean I didn't confirm the results with you?". We said "NO". To be honest, we both don't recall him saying so. We were flabbergasted.

He then reminded us not to give Snowy any steroids and mentioned Snowy is getting slightly better (sorry to say but in my opinion, she looked worse). We both rolled our eyes and left, not wanting to question anymore for fear of prolonging Snowy's sufferings. We had to get to Dr. H quickly.


Dr. H checking Snowy. She said Snowy is a young adult, about 18 months. We briefed Dr. H the case.


Dr. H assessing Snowy's head wounds.


X-ray #1: Dr. H suspects there is trauma to Snowy's spine at her neck area. It is unusually caved in. This probably explained why she is unable to hold her head and keeps collapsing.

And Dr. A ruled out that possibility!!!


X-ray #2: No fractures on her limbs.


This is the position of Snowy when she's lying down. Note the unnatural angle of her head tilt.


Poor Snowy cannot hold her head up. G had to gently support her.


Padding her confinement area as much as possible to keep her comfortable. She will be fed via intravenous catheter.

Snowy is still trying her utmost to stand. She is still crashing all over in her confinement cage but this time, the paddings were there to cushion the impact. G and I were concerned about further trauma if she persists so Dr. H may sedate her lightly (if necessary) to calm her so she could rest. We will leave the medical decisions to Dr. H because we have faith in her.

This time, we left the clinic feeling comforted that Snowy is now in good hands. Our wish is to see her stand without falling again.

We are sincerely appealing for financial support to assist Snowy in her long road to recovery. Please contact celestelock@hotmail.com if you wish to help Snowy stand again. Alternatively, if you would like to help but cannot do so financially, you can keep Snowy in your prayers. Snowy and us will appreciate the same.

Heartfelt thanks in advance.

Hugs from,
the voices for Snowy

Snowy - The Horrifying Chapter

We visited Snowy tonight. It wasn't a pleasant visit.

Snowy had terrible abrasions and sores on her head and on the side of her face - we were petrified!

Dr. A had called G in the morning and had informed her that Snowy is still disorientated and cannot stand without collapsing. The usual drip cannot be used on her as she may strangle herself accidentally from all the struggling (to stand). So Snowy had to be injected the fluid. The point is, Dr. A had not mentioned anything about the abrasions and sores. G and I were perfectly certain they had not been there when we admitted her.


1 Jul 07: Day of admission

3 Jul 07: The wounds

In the 30 mins we were there, we saw for our very own eyes the damages Snowy had involuntarily inflicted on herself from the collapses. She crashed, flopped, smashed, toppled, thumped herself against the metal bars (all 4 sides of the cage, no solid surface) she was in. Only a thin piece of towel was there. Nothing else. We felt terrible, real terrible. Uncle Y stood at the side, silent with immense sadness. I don't know how else to describe the pain in our hearts.


Snowy, totally helpless...

G and I had to improvise the condition with whatever we could find - the newspapers. We laid the papers on the base of the cage and the sides so it wouldn't be too painful for Snowy when she hit herself against the bars when she collapsed.


The cages used for hospitalisation. Snowy is in the middle.

We would have expected intervention from the nursing staff (or the vet) to do something about the cage (to perhaps cushioned the cage) once they noticed that Snowy was hurting herself. Even I could think of at least an e-collar to minimise contact of her head to the metal bars, why can't the professionals? When we questioned (nicely) the female staff about the wounds on Snowy's head, she said she wasn't sure and asked that we check with the vet. We were appalled - the staff didn't know?? The wounds were so apparent! Unless she's implying she did not check on Snowy (or it wasn't her responsibility to) since Sunday to be alerted about Snowy's wounds! Gosh.

When we later check with Dr. A, he explained that the wounds are likely "internalised". G and I have our reservations about this explanation (though we are not certain). I asked Dr. A if they were going to do anything about the cage otherwise it will be a matter of time Snowy is going to break her skull or her neck. He suggested using an e-collar (*roll eyes*) or transferring her to a carrier (those you use to transport the pets around) with smooth surface. Aren't these measures they ought to have thought of in the first place?!?!?! Isn't this something they would have anticipated given Snowy's condition?


Snowy crashing herself.

G and I have plans to transfer Snowy to Dr. H, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (Dr. H's clinic is closed on Tue unfortunately)! We are very disturbed about tonight's finding.

I managed to get in touch with Dr. H via their emergency line and discussed the situation with her. We will discharge Snowy from Dr. A tomorrow morning and send her to Dr. H. It is only at Dr. H we can really be assured of quality care, attention and conducive recovery environment.

I can't wait for morning to come.

===
p.s. I am not doubting Dr. A's professional knowledge and skills and I'm not saying he's not nice (he is ok) but I'm awfully disturbed about the hospitalisation conditions.

===
Note: Some of the comments are removed either as requested by comment author or email addresses are included (for privacy).

Snowy - The Beginning

On 1 Jul, G and I sent Snowy, a nursing mother cat to Dr. A for emergency treatment. Our regular vet, Dr. H has no x-ray facility in her clinic.

Poor Snowy has been hit by a vehicle in Bedok. A fellow caregiver from G's area found her by chance in Bedok and brought her home on 30 Jun. Snowy had a brood of 5 young kittens with her then but the elderly malay lady can only cope with Snowy at that point in time (she perhaps had no carrier with her). When she returned later, the kittens were missing.

We understand Snowy was quite lifeless when they settled her at home. They thought she may not make it. On the following morning (1 Jul), Snowy started struggling. Mdm L, another caregiver contacted G and asked for assistance. G and I arranged to send Snowy to Dr A immediately.


Poor Snowy, in a carrier, waiting to be transported to the vet for emergency treatment.

Poor Snowy struggled hard to stand up but collapsed on every attempt. Our hearts broke each time she collapses. Deep in our hearts, G and I believe Snowy was struggling to brace herself up for her kittens - she must be very worried about them. We feel so sad and sorry. The malay lady will try to locate the young ones again.


Every collapse and moan from her breaks our heart. It was very painful for us to see her suffer.

Dr. A took two x-rays of Snowy and the diagnosis was that she was injured in the head, went into a shock and suffered concussion from the blow. This explains her inability to stand. Other than the head injury, Snowy is not hurt elsewhere. Dr. A administered an anti-shock jab for her. Snowy will have to be warded for observation. We sincerely hope she can get over the shock.


Snowy resting after her anti-shock jab.

Please join us in wishing Snowy speedy recovery and hopefully, for her to be reunited with her kittens she so loved.

If you happened to be in the vicinity of carpark near Blk 81 Bedok North, please help keep a lookout for Snowy's young kittens (unfortunately I do not have the kittens' description). Please call 97670958 if you see them. Thanks.