Scooter's Cat Bite :( (and Aural Hematoma)

[Maureen Las]

ray:ray:ray:ray:..........

 

[juliew19673]

Hey Pipp how is Scooter now? It sounds like he was allergic to the Bicillin that he was given. Please let me know and will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

ray:ray:

Thinking of you and Scooter...anic:

 

[GoinBackToCali]

I had a doe that was injected with Bicillin, and a couple of other things. As it turns out she ended up being horribly allergic to it, horrible wheezing and snuffling.

Unfortunately, the damage was already done for my little doe, and she succumbed,because I did not know the signs.. it was early on in my rabbit career..

I am keeping you and Scoots in my prayers..

Z

 

[Pipp]

I lost Scooter.

I honestly don't know what happened -- he may have had a reaction to the penicillin, or he may not have had enough of the stuff and the infection caused him to gointo shock.

He was still pretty low key this morning, the ear looked a bit better -- I had iced it last night -- but notmuch better, and he hadn't perked up. He had eaten most of his dinner, but he still had pellets in his bowl this morning, andhe wasn't munching any hay. I didn't like how quiet he was, and that he wheezed when I picked him up. I would have brought him in anyway, I didn't like the idea he wasn't getting antibiotics. I had beengetting conflicting info about how often he should have had them -- the vet said weekly, the board said every two days, I believed the board --so I took him into my regular Vetthis afternoon.

He was fine at the Vet's, but even though the firstVet(the new guy) had kept insisting it was a hematoma (I called him again about it yesterday),it was indeed an infection. And the dose ofbicillin he gave him wouldn't have been big enough(which I didn't know) and one shot wasn't enough (which I did know).

He had another infection in his eye and nostril, unrelated to the cat bite, I guess that was the watery eye hehadwhen he arrived here. And he had a slight discharge I figured was just stress.It was most likelythe source of the wheezing. His nostril was swollen shut.

The vet gave him a shot of penicillin and gave me nine days worth in syringes to take home. He also prescribed Metacam, which I had already been giving him. I got him home, he stayed in the carrier, but when I gave him hisMetacam (banana-flavored), he slurped it up and also slurped up the acidophilus and water. I gave him a piece of kale, and he started munching that down.

I went into the kitchen for some Pedialyte to give him the rest of the acidophilus, seeing as he was taking the sweet stuff so well from the syringe, when I came back, he had the last bit of kale still sticking out of his mouth, but he wasn't chewing. He looked glassy-eyed. I immediately thought anaphylactic shock from the penicillin and dialed the vet right away.

They were closing but said they'd wait for him. I called a cab, told them it was an emergency. I waited 10, 20, 30, 40 minutes, no cab, kept calling them back, Scoots was still alert... finally flagged one.. and he died on the way. So yeah, maybe the Yellow Cab company killed him.

I did have a necropsy done.. and it was inconclusive. The vet thinks itwas more likely the infection than the penicillin. (And btw, his teeth were fine -- contrary to the other thing the vet said).

The Vet's office is feeling pretty terrible that their new doctor messed up. Whether the clinic's owner actually does anything about it, though, will be another story.

At this point I'm not mad, I'm just feeling too incredibly sad to be mad.

I do owe everybody an apology -- I letAlex, Julie, Peg and April down -- the people who helped get him here. I let the board down. And I really letScooter down.

He liked it here. He liked me -- he forgave me so quickly for the first Vet visit and was back to being my little puppy dog. He didn't mind the pen, which was attached to my room, even when thedoor was openhe'd go back there.The cats weresharing the house well --they'd see his pen door was closed and would hang out in the living room. When it was open, they were safein the kitchen behindgate I built to keep them apart. It was working out so well.

And because of two stupid mistakes -- thecat and an inexperiencedVet -- he's gone. All that for nothing -- less than nothing.

So very sorry.

I'm not going to dwell on that, though and I'd rather the board didn'teither. I'd like this thread to remain a medical commentary. I'll start a post in the Rainbow Bridge for yet another awesome mini-rex.We're two for two in that department.

S

 

[pla725]

I'm so sorry. I can kind of understand. Scotter sounded like an awesome rabbit. Perhaps you can open your heart and home to another needy rabbit in time.

 

[naturestee]

I'm so sorry Pipp. I was thinking about you all night- my internet was out and I didn't know what was going on.

Mistakes happen, but they really suck. :hug:

 

[Maureen Las]

Hi Pipp

I am really really sorry that you lost Scooter. :bigtears:

but there is absolutely no reason to blame yourself. Cat bites are very serious as I said last night and it's very possible that continual antibiotics would not have made the difference.

In terms of your cat ..You had a system worked out at home with him and the rabbits that worked and who would have thought that your new guy would attack a cat and thus provoke this. it is not your fault.

You didn't let any one down
Since I have been amod I knowhow muchhas been going on with you. You lost your heart bunnyYou made all those arrangement s to bring in another rabbit, helped George with Fuzzy, pushed to get the Chicago Ridge bunnies saved and probably had no sleep since last week

Thing occur with all of us when we are very involved with multiple things..that is human and that is life.
Right now I have a pair of bunsthat I brought home from the shelter last night. My cat could jump in their enclosure and one of the rabbits could attack him. he's never bitten anything but if he was attacked..would he bite.? probably hewould try to escape but i cannot say for sure.

We are not 3 people in one body but only one person.In terms of the vet ..what else are you supposed to do ? Stand there and fight with him for more meds
It takes awhile for a person to get there thoughts together to do that. especially if one is unsure and has other thing going on.
You did the very best that you could and way more than most.
Please don't beat your self up.

We all all here for and you are a great rabbit owner

Maureen

 

[ZoohCorner]

I am posting this for medical info for future, in case anyone is interested.

This sounds like sepsis (blood poisoning), also called septicemia. This is when the infection gets into the bloodstream. For future reference septicemia or severe infection should be treated with iv fluids and iv antibiotics - in hospital - by good qualified rabbit vet.

Ahead of time, properly dosed durapen (or possibly Amikacin AND Baytril injections), plus properly anesthetized and cleaned wound area. Pain control - *injectable * Metacam. Durapen is usually dosed every other day, but can be given daily. In US no dilution is necessary, but dilution IS necessary with the Amikacin and Baytril. And using a wash cloth soaked in hot water and Epsom Salts several times a day - which can help draw out infection.

I prefer Amikacin and Baytril because they cover a broad range bacteria and rarely get a negative reaction from bunnies.

I just wanted to leave this info for anyone. In case.


:bigtears:

 

[Pipp]

ZoohCorner wrote:

I am posting this for medical info for future, in case anyone is interested.

Very good info, this will go in a permanent file somewhere.

I will add that one big problem was that both the vet and I missed the bite marks at the base of his ear. When I looked him over, I only saw two puncture marks in mid-ear. The bottom of the ear was thick and swollen, but no actual holes wereapparent to me -- although one person trying to check out that kind of injury on an aggressive rabbit wasn't easy.

I treated the bite marks I saw with Betadine, but I didn't do much with the base of the ear. I believed the hematoma theory, it was very sore to the touch,and I didn't want to be too liberal with the anticeptic in that area in case it dribbled into the canal. Twenty-twenty hindsite, I'm sure it would have helped.

So many mistakes. :tears2:



sas :cry1:

 

[Maureen Las]

When I first joined this site in 2005 two of my males got together by accident (out of a pen ) and fought all night long.

I found Joey in a comotous state in the morning but with no visible injuries. . He came out of the shock stage but Everyone ( Carolyn I think ) told me to be sure and check him over in about 2 days because I would not be able to find the puncture wounds until tiny scabs formed. ...and she was right. there were tiny scabs in multiple places on his body that were not apparent until they scabbed over.
I have heard that cat bites are not too much different than a lethal injection for a rabbit.
Many things could have been done differently and the outcome most likely would have been the same.

Please give yourself a break.

Scooter was loved from the moment that you wanted him....