Today marks the one week anniversary of my cat Gable dropping dead. And then being brought back to life. Did you know that the cost to resuscitate a cat is $198 US. Well, there's an interesting bit of feline trivia for you.
I sound so laissez-faire about the whole dead cat thing. But I can only because he is once again alive and back at Casa de Atkins terrorizing all in his wake.
It went a little something like this:
Last Saturday we were all out and about. I came home at about 4:30 and sat down to catch up what was on the TiVO while I had a few minutes of peace and quiet. Gable came into the family room to join me. I noticed he was breathing a bit oddly, but it sounded like he was in the beginning phases of coughing up a fur ball. I gave him some love and he went on his merry way
I mentioned this odd breathing thing to Chuck when he returned home.
At about 7:30 Chuck heard a funny sort of mew noise and went to investigate. Gable was lounging on the living room floor but still doing that weird semi-fur ball breathing thing. A brief discussion ensued about what was going on with him and whether or not a trip to the emergency vet (read $$$$$$$ vet) was warranted. We agreed it was, and off Chuck went with the Big Man.
Well, apparently it was just in the nick of time. The car ride was very stressful for Gable and by the time they arrived at the vet the breathing thing was even worse. The cat was whisked back to the emergency treatment area where he proceeded to “crash”. (Yes, I watch too much ER.)
What followed was three ours of tearful phone calls back and forth between Chuck at the vet and me at home as he kept me up to date on the status of the cat and his prognosis.
It seems that Gable had a pneumothorax: his lung had a hole in it so his chest cavity was filled with air and the lung had collapsed. This resulted in the cat breathing but not actually being able to fill his lungs with air and actually breathe. They inserted a chest tube and drained off the oxygen filling his chest cavity and had him in a kitty oxygen tent (you too can have your cat in an oxygen tent for a mere $110 per day).
While they had brought him back to life once now did we want a DNR on the cat?
We agreed that if Gable died again that would be the end of it. I wanted them to help him, but did not want him suffering any unnecessary indignities or pointless surgeries. He lived with grace, I would let him die the same way. And this, my friends, is a decision you never want to make.
Chuck got home about 10:30 or 11. Gable had been stabilized. They inserted a chest tube so that they could siphon off the oxygen as necessary. He was in the kitty ICU getting the best care possible. That night would be pivotal. We should call first thing in the morning to check on him.
When I called in the morning he had spend a peaceful night and though he was still in ICU, he was resting comfortably. I could come visit if I wanted to.
To make an already long story short, it all worked out in the end. We knew it was going to be fine when we went to visit him Tuesday night and he was back to his usual grouchy self and was hissing at the vet techs. It was just a matter of time before the lung healed up and we could bring him home.
Though we (and he, no doubt) had a very stressful week, Chuck and I brought him home Thursday morning. He’s got a pressure dressing around his middle because they had to stitch him up when they took out the chest tube. He’ll have that removed today.
And everything is once again good here at the ranch.
Posted by beth at February 5, 2005 10:59 AMWell, I suppose it would be fairly obvious to point out that he now has only 8 lives left (which comes to: $198 X 8 = $1,584), so I'll just say how relieved I am that everything turned out well.
Posted by: David at February 5, 2005 03:27 PMUnfortunately, David, I didn't share all the previous dramas we've been through with this old guy. I'd say he's down to life 4 or 5 (maximum) at this rate.
Posted by: beth at February 5, 2005 05:25 PMBeth, my mental ipod played the dynamic and pulse-raising ER theme as background music for this post.
Has your kitty been boring you to tears with descriptions of the passage through the tunnel, the great white light, the moment of letting go and finding peace...all those near death experience after-effect buzz words?
Posted by: GraceD at February 6, 2005 06:24 AMCheap at twice the price.
Posted by: bob at February 6, 2005 07:03 PMI'd do/did the same thing for my cats. Once spent $400 for an emergency hysterectomy on one so it wouldn't bleed to death and then hand feed her 4 kittens when I had to small sons of my own. Don't think I would go that far now though if the same situation arose.
Posted by: Paula at February 6, 2005 08:42 PMHa Paula! I don't know you, but chances are if you did it once, you'd do it again.
Grace dear, thank you ever so much for that musical interlude. Meow meow, white light, meow meow. While utterly fascinating at first, I'll admit it's getting tiresome.
Thank you Bob, I know you understand, as a fellow feline fanatic (OK, maybe not fanatic, but I was going for the alliteration there.)
Posted by: beth at February 6, 2005 10:19 PMAh, great story. Cats are resiliant little critters. I once had a cat ("Little Joe") who got bitten by a black widow (we think). He was so sick, and on the brink of death. I drove him to the vet to end his suffering. Mozart's Requiem Mass was *literally* playing on the radio. I felt horrible, but Joe was in so much pain. The vet said ... "Eh ... why don't you let him ride it out and see what happens?" I happily took the advice. Joe recovered and lived many more years.
I'm a cat lover. I hope you can meet my obese Frida soon. :)
Posted by: Jim at February 9, 2005 08:55 AM