ladysprite (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ladysprite) wrote2007-12-06 07:17 am
ladysprite) wrote2007-12-06 07:17 am
Entry tags:
Careful, She Bites
One of the major risks in my line of work is, obviously, injury from animals. While we primates are smarter and, for the most part, stronger than our patients, they tend to have a lot more in the way of innate weaponry - and we're hampered by not wanting to hurt them, while many of my patients have no such compunctions when it comes to me.
As a profession we have come up with many tricks to help even the odds in this sort of situation, involving the use of everything from muzzles and welding gloves to fishing nets and spaceman-like bubble helmets for little smush-face dogs. And for cats, at least, when all else fails, we have The Tank.
The Tank (or, to give it its proper medical name, the Induction Chamber) looks like a modified fish tank with a wide opening lid and in and out valves that connect to an anesthesia machine. A cat can be slid directly from its carrier into the tank, the lid slid on with relatively little risk to human fingers, and oxygen and anesthesia flow in until kitty is happily asleep. This is called tanking down, and it's a genius invention - one that allows us to examine many cats that would otherwise be getting their vaccines via blowdart. However, in order to OK a cat for The Tank, we still need to try to examine them first - just to make sure that they're healthy enough for general anesthesia. Sometimes this is harder than it seems; other times not so much.
Not too long ago, f'rinstance, I had a morning appointment booked for a new client who wanted to leave their cat for a tank-down, checkup, and full-body shave. Not surprising; many cats that need that level of sedation for an exam are tough for the owners to groom at home. But when I brought the owner into the exam room first, they started to get upset.
I tried to explain that we needed to look at their pet first, and at least try to get some cursory physical information. The owner tried to discourage me, warning me that this cat had lacerated and bitten several doctors and that noone had ever been able to get so much as a peep at her while she was awake. I explained our requirements, and they tried to indicate that I was clearly insane and had a death wish.
Cats can honestly be vicious, and I admit I'd rather deal with an irate dog than an evil cat any day - cats are pointy in five places, have a sly cunning about how to trick humans, and possess the disturbing ability to flex their spine in ways no vertebrate should in order to turn inside out in your grip and slay you. So I did take the client's warning seriously. My tech and I both put on heavy leather gloves, and, finding the biggest towel I could, I assumed the position of catcher as my tech stood back, opened the carrier door, and tilted it towards me.
Out sauntered the cutest, fluffiest cat I've ever seen.
"Don't touch her! She'll take your arm off!" cautioned the owner, as the cat sat down on the wadded towel and started nuzzling her chin against my leather-clad wrist. I cautiously reached out with my other hand to take the cat by her scruff in the hopes of catching her off-guard, certain that this was all a ruse on her part to lure me into a false sense of safety. She deftly twisted to position her head under my hand and tilted it cutely. Changing tactics, I started rubbing her ears.
"She's gonna bite you!" the owner said.
"She's purring," I replied, as the cat started kneading the towel and leaning into the scritches.
As the owner persistently declared their cat's ferocity, and insisted that this had never happened before, the tech and I quickly slipped off our gloves and worked out a system that kept at least one person giving ear scritches and chin rubs at all times. Ten minutes later, fully examined and with a lean bill of health, kitty was bundled off to the groomer without any sedation, the tech was happily putting The Tank away, and the owner was asking in a confused and awed tone just what kind of drugs I had slipped their pet while they weren't looking.
Most of the time, it's not that easy - but sometimes, to make up for the incidents at the other end of the spectrum, things go drastically and unexpectedly well....
As a profession we have come up with many tricks to help even the odds in this sort of situation, involving the use of everything from muzzles and welding gloves to fishing nets and spaceman-like bubble helmets for little smush-face dogs. And for cats, at least, when all else fails, we have The Tank.
The Tank (or, to give it its proper medical name, the Induction Chamber) looks like a modified fish tank with a wide opening lid and in and out valves that connect to an anesthesia machine. A cat can be slid directly from its carrier into the tank, the lid slid on with relatively little risk to human fingers, and oxygen and anesthesia flow in until kitty is happily asleep. This is called tanking down, and it's a genius invention - one that allows us to examine many cats that would otherwise be getting their vaccines via blowdart. However, in order to OK a cat for The Tank, we still need to try to examine them first - just to make sure that they're healthy enough for general anesthesia. Sometimes this is harder than it seems; other times not so much.
Not too long ago, f'rinstance, I had a morning appointment booked for a new client who wanted to leave their cat for a tank-down, checkup, and full-body shave. Not surprising; many cats that need that level of sedation for an exam are tough for the owners to groom at home. But when I brought the owner into the exam room first, they started to get upset.
I tried to explain that we needed to look at their pet first, and at least try to get some cursory physical information. The owner tried to discourage me, warning me that this cat had lacerated and bitten several doctors and that noone had ever been able to get so much as a peep at her while she was awake. I explained our requirements, and they tried to indicate that I was clearly insane and had a death wish.
Cats can honestly be vicious, and I admit I'd rather deal with an irate dog than an evil cat any day - cats are pointy in five places, have a sly cunning about how to trick humans, and possess the disturbing ability to flex their spine in ways no vertebrate should in order to turn inside out in your grip and slay you. So I did take the client's warning seriously. My tech and I both put on heavy leather gloves, and, finding the biggest towel I could, I assumed the position of catcher as my tech stood back, opened the carrier door, and tilted it towards me.
Out sauntered the cutest, fluffiest cat I've ever seen.
"Don't touch her! She'll take your arm off!" cautioned the owner, as the cat sat down on the wadded towel and started nuzzling her chin against my leather-clad wrist. I cautiously reached out with my other hand to take the cat by her scruff in the hopes of catching her off-guard, certain that this was all a ruse on her part to lure me into a false sense of safety. She deftly twisted to position her head under my hand and tilted it cutely. Changing tactics, I started rubbing her ears.
"She's gonna bite you!" the owner said.
"She's purring," I replied, as the cat started kneading the towel and leaning into the scritches.
As the owner persistently declared their cat's ferocity, and insisted that this had never happened before, the tech and I quickly slipped off our gloves and worked out a system that kept at least one person giving ear scritches and chin rubs at all times. Ten minutes later, fully examined and with a lean bill of health, kitty was bundled off to the groomer without any sedation, the tech was happily putting The Tank away, and the owner was asking in a confused and awed tone just what kind of drugs I had slipped their pet while they weren't looking.
Most of the time, it's not that easy - but sometimes, to make up for the incidents at the other end of the spectrum, things go drastically and unexpectedly well....
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I am dead serious with this suggestion. Go through all of your LJ posts and pull the ones about your job. I bet you could put together a few chapters just from that.
And I would LOVE to read that book :-)
Andrea
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It's funny, your story reminds me of Pewter's latest vet visit. She's a scaredy cat. She's scared of strangers, scared of the car, scared of anything new, and has been terrified of previous vet visits (literally scared shitless). This time, I cradled her next to me and petted her on the table, and she started purring so loudly that the vet couldn't hear her heart. When the vet ran a flea comb over Pewter, she was the happiest kitty ever (she loves been combed with the flea comb at home). I have NO idea what was different.
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"I'm going to have to give her a little scare to make her stop purring so I can hear her heart." He says. Then flicks a little cold water on her. She stopped purring long enough to shake her head.
The Vet laughed, and said "I think I heard enough. Is she always that loud?"
She is that loud, but only has a tiny squeak of a meouw. Strange little kitty.
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I like the book idea as well.
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It had been in a carrier all the way from JAPAN, and
so was not in a good mood when we came to visit. The
owner made a point of telling me, personally, not to
even try to go near the cat, because the owner knew
how much I loved animals, and that I would naturally
go try to pick it up. So I ignored it, sat down in a
chair and flipped through a book - only to have the
cat creep in, circle the chair, and then jump up to
sit in my lap & fall asleep. Boy was I snarky when I
called her owner in to look!
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For the record, that is also an awesome idea.
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wanted to leave their cat for a tank-down, checkup, and full-body shave.
... Do what now? These people wanted their cat shaved?
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I like the book idea from above. I love your vet stories.
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He was a sight - they left his lower legs, his tail, and the upper part of his ruff, ostensibly on the theory that that was what he could see and therefore wouldn't freak out about all his fur being gone. Dubious, but he was pretty dim. Sweet, but dumb as a box of donuts.
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little poodle - who DID react to being groomed the way that
owner said his cat would - and all because the previous
owners had maltreated it. Tiger would definitely have taken
your arm off - or a good chunk out of your hand. There were
groomers who pooh-poohed the warning - only to announce,
wide-eyed, when they came to pick him up, "Wow, we actually
had to sedate him!"
"Just like we said," was always the muttered response.
Yeah, it's a shame anyone hurts animals; I'm just glad
there are people like my husband who are there to "make
it all better."
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I've been reading you for ages, and love the vet stories, and everything else. If you're so inclined, I'd love it if you'd wander over to my LJ and look at my latest post about Roo - our foster cat who has been in an oxygen tank since Monday and is stumping all 5 vets at our practice. The xrays are there on my LJ, and basically he's been tested for everything, and everything is negative (more details are on the posts.) He's eating great, grooming himself, delighted to see me and purring up a storm when he does. He clearly is not miserable, he just is breathing like complete crap, and has cloudy lungs in a weird pattern.
Another set of experienced eyes and brain ... well, it could only be a good thing. Maybe you've seen that lung pattern before and have insight.
He's only 4 to 5 months old, and he's totally sweetened up since being rescued from a feral colony.
If you're not so inclined, I surely understand, and no hard feelings at all. I just respect what you do, and would be interested if you have any other ideas.
Thanks either way, and thanks for the great kitty story :)
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