A Veterinary Journal by Claire Poole
February
Chapter 2 - Page 7
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Saturday 21 February
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Saturday 21 February
Will this week never end? An emergency call at 7 a.m. starts the day ... ‘Cat collapsed and frothing from the mouth’ – doesn’t sound good. It only takes 15 minutes to get here but the cat is dead on arrival. This is a worry - a year ago, there was a spate of deliberate poisonings in this cat’s neighbourhood. Tests at the lab detected a toxic chemical used on farms - it was no accident that the victims managed to eat some. No culprit was ever found. Nothing obvious shows up on post-mortem today and our client does not want further tests performed. She will mention the tragedy to her friend the local policeman. Hopefully, his presence will scare off anyone with malicious intent. It is frustrating not to have a definite diagnosis, but I can understand my client not wanting to spend more money when the cat is already dead.
My first task in Clayfern is put yet another old cat to sleep. Two dead cats already and the day is still young. Fighting off feelings of impending doom, I lose myself in the reassuring routine of examining sore ears, emptying blocked anal glands and other mundane tasks ... Not very glamorous perhaps, but the backbone of the job. A elderly vet once told me that a vet will ease more animal pain and suffering by effectively diagnosing and treating ear mites and impacted anal glands than by performing the most sophisticated surgery. What a wise man he was.
Our last patient scotches any hopes of a prompt finish and escape up the hill. Horace the cat has been gradually losing condition and is now completely off his food. A miserable, scraggy creature stands hunched on the table, visibly tensing when I gently palpate his abdomen. My fingers close on a large, knobbly mass which should not be there. His owner and I discuss the next move. We could take x-rays and blood samples to gain more information first, but the owners opt for immediate exploratory surgery. Poor Horace is so miserable that he raises no objection to the insertion of a canula into his vein; the anaesthetic seems like a blessed relief. Opening into his abdomen, the diagnosis is immediately clear - his liver is a mass of tumour tissue; there is scarcely any normal tissue to be seen. We will not be bringing him round to face pain again.
I suppose it was inevitable that this week should also see the end of Cassie. She has been in the surgery all week while we attempt to cure her unexplained vomiting. She has had exploratory surgery, endoscopy, radiography, biopsies, several blood samples and a faeces sample, none of which has given us a diagnosis. She has had intravenous fluids, nasogastric feeding (feeding through a tube threaded through her nostril directly into her stomach), and every imaginable combination of drugs, all to no avail. After much discussion, her owners have decided to call it a day. It has been particularly sad in Cassie’s case that we have not been able to comfort her. Apparently, she spent the first two years of her life shut in a shed before being rescued by her present owner. In the time she has been with us, she has scarcely shown any emotion - ‘Lights on but no one home’ as my nurse suggested. She was put to sleep in her owner’s arms, the only person she showed any response to. What a sad episode, and what a sad, wasted little life.
It was to prevent pups from growing up like Cassie that led us to start puppy classes at the surgery. Although Cassie was an extreme case, it is known that the way in which pups and kittens are treated in the first months of life has a profound effect on how they behave as adults. The chances are that any dog or cat scared of say, children, has not been exposed to them during this golden period. At the puppy classes which are run by Gillian, the pups meet other dogs and their owners, and the owners are encouraged to expose the pups to as many novel experiences as possible ... children, cats, traffic, cars etc., are all grist to the mill. They must also accustom the pups to having their teeth cleaned, and their ears, feet and other parts examined. If the pups get used to this as babies, it is accepted as normal when they get older and makes life much easier for all concerned. Gillian also teaches some basic obedience. The ‘pupils’ have a wonderful time thundering around the waiting room and learn to associate the surgery (and nurse and vet) with pleasant times. I like to think that our former pupils enjoy coming to see us, and are well equipped for their adult life.
Copyright Claire Poole 2005
