The spiders have struck again :( (1 Viewer)

[Jenn]

I had to put my cat Whiskers down today because of a spider bite.

On Saturday, I found her in the bathtub (one of her favorite places) and when I took her out, she didn't walk out like she normally does. So I gave her a little nudge and she still didn't move. I noticed when she finally moved that she was limping, so I checked her out for a thorn or sticker and she hissed at me when I lifted her paw but didn't see anything.

I called around all the vets wanted extra money for coming in on a Saturday and I just couldn't afford it. One of the receptionist told me it was okay to give her baby tylonel for pain so I did. That helped and I was able to look her over really good on Sunday. I found NOTHING, no sticker, no thorns, no bumps, cuts, nothing. I went through with a comb to find something, and nothing. Monday she was walking around better but I still didn't have money for the vet so as prayer would have it, a vet came in needing a part and I made a deal for him to look over my cat in exchange. He didn't find anything either but noted tenderness around the shoulder.

Today, I noticed a spot on his leg that looked like clotted blood but she didn't let me look at it. Then my mom thought my cat was back to normal and brought in a mouse because something smelled. So she went to move Whiskers from her spot, and she smelled her. She was the one that smelled and when she checked her, she had an incredible abcess on her chest and paws. This time I had to take her to the vet and they recommended putting her down because the abcess was so far over her chest.

They can only guess it was a spider, possibly a brown recluse.

 

[Joker]

Sorry to hear that Jenn. Its always sad when you loose a pet.

 

[murdock]

I always hate to hear of someone losing a pet. Being a cat person makes it even worse. My wife and I send our condolences.

Don't know if it was a spider or not, but sometimes cats just get those abcesses. And man, to they stink when they burst. Never saw one a big as what your cat had, though.

Murdock.

 

[Jenn]

I always hate to hear of someone losing a pet. Being a cat person makes it even worse. My wife and I send our condolences.

Don't know if it was a spider or not, but sometimes cats just get those abcesses. And man, to they stink when they burst. Never saw one a big as what your cat had, though.

Murdock.

Can you spot the abcess before they burst? I mean, I was pretty satisfied with the way the vet treated Whiskers while he looked at him. Took about 20 minutes with her, checked her mouth, fur, palpatated her belly. She was all purrs with him.

 

[G'ginna]

Jenn, I am so sorry to hear about your cat. It's hard to lose a pet we love. For the abcess, it may not have been formed when the first vet saw her. At that point it may just have been a little sore around the bite sight. As the toxins ate away more tissue then the abcess could have formed pretty rapidly, possibly as fast as 24 hours. Even had you taken her to a vet the first time you noticed she wasn't walking well, they most likely would not have found it.

 

[rocketman]

I'm sorry to hear that Jenn. It probably was . A friend of mine almost lost his foot over a hobo. We recarpeted our house and I found that spider (I think) and I'm sure it was a hobo. A real mean looking SOB. You can bye traps for them.

 

[paoldtimer]

So sorry to hear about your pet. Is this common where you live? I'd never heard of anything like that around here.

 

[Suzie Q]

Jenn, I am soooo sorry to hear about Whiskers. I am sending you a big hug from Fort Worth right now.

 

[Jenn]

Jenn, I am so sorry to hear about your cat. It's hard to lose a pet we love. For the abcess, it may not have been formed when the first vet saw her. At that point it may just have been a little sore around the bite sight. As the toxins ate away more tissue then the abcess could have formed pretty rapidly, possibly as fast as 24 hours. Even had you taken her to a vet the first time you noticed she wasn't walking well, they most likely would not have found it.

That makes me feel a little better about not taking Whiskers on Saturday. I called around and every place wanted $150 just to see her on an emergency basis. The place that I usually take her for shots is the Humane Association.

And thanks for the hugs Suzie, it made me feel real bad this morning when I swore I felt the weight of her at the foot of my bed.

 

[G'ginna]

That makes me feel a little better about not taking Whiskers on Saturday. I called around and every place wanted $150 just to see her on an emergency basis. The place that I usually take her for shots is the Humane Association.

And thanks for the hugs Suzie, it made me feel real bad this morning when I swore I felt the weight of her at the foot of my bed.

I know it's hard and it's a lot of money for an emergency visit. But when I was working for vets in Nevada, we saw stuff like that once in awhile. They hate to admit it, but sometimes things can't be found until it's too late. When it's time, adopt yourself a sweet one and tell it all about your Whiskers.

 

[Jer]

Sorry about your cat,im a cat lover and it hurts when that happens.

 

[rocketman]

I have a pure Simease they are totally cool cats.

 

[Jenn]

I have a pure Simease they are totally cool cats.

Don't they have really weird meows?

I got Whiskers from my cousin's mother in law who adopted her but decided she was too much trouble and kept her in the garage.

Yesterday I called the Humane Association where I'd taken Whiskers to get shots and they told me to bring her in but then the other vet called me back and said they could get her right away I just took her to the place that was closest. After they put her down I called the Humane Association to let them know that they could take Whiskers off the list, the receptionist told me I could adopt another one within a few days, but I don't think I'm ready for another cat just yet.

We sprayed the house for spiders again today.

 

[Kelly]

So sorry about your furbaby, Jenn. Your comment makes me feel guilty for pushing my 70 lb Laila off the bed when she crowds me at night.

Hug your pets, y'all.....you never know!

 

[G'ginna]

Right now I have two indoors and 3 semi-feral outdoors. The two inside were bottle-fed babies that animal control had picked up. They don't have enough staff to bottle feed, so they got rescued off the truck... My three semi-feral outside started life as completely feral cats. I saw their mom walking across to my horses water tank one day and she was soooooo skinny and obviously feeding babies, so I started putting out dry food. She has long since disappeared but her three babies still get food out by the horse trailer twice a day. They are 2 now all neutered and let me pet them. One of them will even meet me at my car when I come home from work.

Before I got my two inside kitties (Cici & Budda) It was over a year since I had to put my last old cat to sleep. When it's time, you will know.

 

[murdock]

Yesterday I called the Humane Association where I'd taken Whiskers to get shots and they told me to bring her in but then the other vet called me back and said they could get her right away I just took her to the place that was closest. After they put her down I called the Humane Association to let them know that they could take Whiskers off the list, the receptionist told me I could adopt another one within a few days, but I don't think I'm ready for another cat just yet.

I am a big proponent of rescuing cats (I've got 5!), but I also believe in not rushing into an adoption for the sake of having a cat. I waited almost 2 1/2 years after my beloved Hot Rod (see my avatar) left me to find the right one. Then one day for no reason I walked into Petsmart and there he was. Almost the splitting image of Hot Rod, even having a smudge of white on the left side of his lip where Hot Rod had the curl of white. Signed the papers with the local humane society and introduced him to his 4 sisters. He is precious beyond words. So I firmly belive that when the right one comes along, you will know it.

Murdock and "Buddy"

 

[Jenn]

Whiskers was an amazing cat. I had a sinus/respiratory infection combo that I absolutely could not kick. The doctor put me on this antibiotic that I had to take every 4 hours, NO exceptions. I'd have to take it at midnight, 4 am, 8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm and 8 pm for a month. That cat would wake me up at midnight and 4 am EVERY night to take that pill. If I left her out of my room she'd paw until I'd wake up and let her in. If I fell asleep on the couch, she'd jump on me till I woke up. Prior to the Rx, she never woke up in the middle of the night, and after the Rx was finished, she wouldn't wake me again.

She'd let the kids play with her and would lick them if got close to her face. Never snapped or hissed at anybody until last Saturday when I was trying to check out her paw. She couldn't let you pet her without her licking you.
We had a sign that said "Warning, our cat can't hold her licker"

 

[downtime]

I am sorry to hear about your cat. My family always had dogs and cats when I was younger and once I went away to school I got a parakeet and since then have had many different pets, primarily birds, due to their not needing to be let in and out, and no litter box.

About six months ago my current parakeet of 5 years started having seizures which I first attributed to "night fright" as they only happened in the dark. night fright is when a bird is startled by a noise but since they do not fly at night they panic and sometimes end up flopping around...

Anyway, once it happened during the day a vet visit was in oreder and come to find out my little green friend has epilepsy and requires two beak fulls of "birdie valium" each morning and night.

It is the "not knowing" that is especialy difficult with any pet as the communication we have with our animals may impart the result of a problem but not the details or the cause. Pets often become part of our family and it sounds like your cat was very much loved and well cared for.

 

[murdock]

Our Luci (see my avatar) is the washwoman in our household. Sometime around 4:00 AM most any night she thinks my face need washing, and I'll let her wash until I'm afraid that I'm losing too many layers of skin. I found her laying in the highway at the top of our street, she'd been hit by a car and knocked silly, I thought she was dead until I saw that she had her head picked up just slightly off of the road, bleeding from the mouth. I thought I was wasting my time but couldn't just leave her laying there, so I scooped her up and headed to the vet, just a mile up the road. Come to find out she had just broken the upper left canine tooth and that's where the bleeding was coming from. By that afternoon she was romping around like nothing had happened. She is by far the sweetest cat that I have ever had. Sometimes they just find you.

Murdock.

 

[.]

Jenn, sorry about your kitty cat.

I am sure you gave Whiskers a happy life.

Even tho I have slight allergies to the dander, I am a big fan of both dogs and cats.