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6.29.04 — Nine lives
A lot of things have been happening around here, and I know everyone wants to see pictures of the new house, but right now I need to write about Chloe. If you are at all squeamish about medical stuff, don't read the rest of this entry. I am posting this because when I went to Google to search for answers over the past week, there wasn't much out there to answer my questions. My hope is that Google will pick this up, and anyone else who experiences this and is searching for answers will find this.

Last Tuesday, Chloe had a tooth pulled because of a cavity. She had to be anesthetized because of the procedure, and we were worried that might be hard on her kidneys, especially since they are already compromised. For those who don't know her history, almost two years ago Chloe was having some medical issues, and we found out that her kidneys aren't functioning as well as they should be. That is common in cats. To help her kidneys out, we give her subcutaneous fluids once a week. She's been fine ever since. Because of her history, though, we took her to the vet the night before so he could give her lots of fluids before the dental procedure. She also stayed the whole day after for more fluids. She came through great. We were very relieved.

Then weird things started to happen.

On Thursday afternoon, Chloe was sitting on my lap and as I was petting her head, her skin crackled. It felt as if she had cellophane under her skin. It was all around her head and neck. When I searched the symptoms online I found out it was subcutaneous emphysema. Only one entry came up for cats—about a malpractice suit against a veterinarian. Most everything else was about the condition in humans, all of which was pretty scary. So I called the vet on the emergency after-hours phone, and she agreed to see me first thing the next morning.

We're not exactly sure how it happened. Either the tube they put down her throat for the procedure made a little tear, or when they drew blood from her neck before the procedure Chloe squirmed and the needle punctured her trachea. Either way, when she took a breath, not all of the air went into her lungs. Some escaped into surrounding areas and made its way up under the skin. Chloe's case was not severe. The vet had seen cases before where cats had air pockets all over their body. It is painful though, so she gave me some pain medication, and told me to check the skin on her back and belly often to make sure it didn't spread. Also, she told me to call if Chloe started to breathe through her mouth or sounded like she was wheezing. If the tear or puncture was small, it would heal on its own.

Then, the next scare. Saturday evening Chloe was sitting upright on the bed (you know how cats do sometimes, like they are little humans sitting in a chair) and there was a huge, bright read spot on her side the size of the palm of my hand (the vet later measured it at 10 cm). I freaked out! I went to get T and he freaked out. Her fur was gone. We called the emergency after-hours phone again, and talked to the vet. The vet was very calm. We were packing for the move; maybe Chloe was stressed and pulling her hair out. Cats do that when they are stressed. But it was so red! She asked us if it could be a burn; did she she lay on an exposed wire, come in contact with any chemicals, lean against something very hot? No, no, no. Was she ok; breathing, eating, in any pain? Yes, yes, no. The vet told us that as long as she appears to be fine, not to worry. Call back in the morning if there is any change.

The next morning we took a closer, less freaked-out look at the area. It did appear to be a burn. Some of her fur looked as if it was melted into her skin. There were blisters. We couldn't find anything in the house that she could have burned herself on. We called the vet again, and took her in. The vet hadn't seen anything like it before. The only possibility she thought it could be was during the dental procedure, Chloe was on a heating pad. That is standard procedures for animals who go under anesthesia. It's to prevent their body temperature from falling too low. Since it had hardened over, sort of like a big bandage, she said it looked to be healing ok. She gave us an antibiotic to prevent infection and told us to come back the next day. Well the next day was moving day, so we agreed on Tuesday morning.

At Tuesday's appointment, we gained some insight. The vet had talked with the other doctor who performed the dental procedure, and the tech who monitored Chloe as she woke up. Chloe was very slow to come back up to her normal temperature. She was still at 98 degrees when she should have been up to 101. They had put a warm disc under the heating pad (under a towel) to help conduct a little more heat. The disc was only under Chloe for five to ten minutes. The vet thinks that maybe the disc had a hot spot; an area that maybe conducted more heat than it should have. (They have since thrown out all of their discs, to make sure this doesn't happen to any other animal.)

Burns like this aren't noticeable right away. They are like sunburn. They take a few days to develop. That's why we didn't notice anything right away. Even as we were feeling around her back and belly for the emphysema, I had questioned a little dry patch on her skin, but nothing this big. Confused, and not sure what to think, I called our vet back in Maryland. He confirmed that both of these could be side effects of the procedure, and though very rare, are possible. Chloe just happened to have some really bad luck to get them both. The only heating pad burns he had ever seen were during a spay or neuter procedure, when the cat is on its back, and the backbone puts too much pressure on the heating pad and skin. He couldn't understand how it could happen on the side, but the disc explains that.

How is Chloe doing? Great actually. The bubbles under her skin are only on her head now, and she no longer crackles around her neck or under her chin. She seems unaffected by the burn, and handled the move like a champ. She is a little hyper—on sensory overload—checking out the empty house while we cleaned it up, and all of the new rooms, smells, and boxes in the new house. How are we? Tired. Emotionally drained. Confused about our feelings, actually. We've been so concerned about whether Chloe would be ok, we didn't stop to think, "Should we be angry? We took her in for a cavity, and she came out with painful bubbles of air in her neck and a huge burn on her side. It just doesn't seem right!" But what can you say to a doctor who knew her condition, and took special precautions to make sure she'd be ok? There are always risks with going under anesthesia. These just weren't the risks we had considered. And they are so rare! The tech who was monitoring Chloe's temperature did everything right, and under doctor's supervision. The vet who helped us with all of these things was not actually the vet who performed the procedure, but who happened to be on call at the time. She apologized to me today with tears in her eyes. She also assured me that cats are tough, resilient animals. I asked her if Chloe used up any of her nine lives with all of this, and she said absolutely not!

So, when all is said and done, Chloe should be fine, minus one tooth. And I hope this post serves as some source of information in an otherwise lacking subject on the internet for anyone having similar problems with their cat.

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House Update
5.14 - Trim is finished, cabinets are stained, three walls have been painted. Driveway and walkway have been paved.
5.04 - We have brick and siding. Cabinet bases are in, trimwork is almost finished.
4.09 - We have drywall. Finishing tile, paint and carpet selections.
4.03 - Have shingles on the roof, a basement floor, plumbing, electricity and doors.
3.15 - Choosing countertops.
3.4 - We have windows.
2.29 - We have a roof.
2.26 - We have walls.
2.19 - Framing begins.
1.31 - Planning the kitchen.
1.22 - Foundation gets brick.
1.15 - Exteriors are ordered.
1.6 - We're waiting for power.
1.3 - Foundation is poured.
12.28 - Hole digging has begun.

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