Fuck, /an/. I need some place to unload these feelings and maybe get some advice.
Here is my baby, Rin; my beautiful wild child.
I live in the country on a tiny lake and he's an inside/outside cat just like my others. I came home Thursday evening to find him unable to close his mouth and in obvious pain, so we went straight to the vet.
>Left side of jaw broken
>Right side dislocated/possibly broken
>abdominal laceration
He was either hit by a car (which is insane where I live. There's nobody out here!) or fell onto something. The vet kept him overnight then took all fucking day to get x-rays on him only to tell me later that evening that they didn't have the equipment necessary to fix him, but another vet in town did.
I moved him that same day (Friday) and the other vet is confidant that he'll be able to patch Rin up as long as there are no surprises. He has mentioned that he can't see the right side of the jaw well in the x-ray and that, if the joint is broken too badly, I will have no choice but to put him to sleep.
This is the part that's pissing me off. They won't do the surgery until Tuesday because the other vet needed to do the operation took a couple days off and it's the weekend. I get that they're people too and they have lives, but is it really okay to leave a cat with a broken face that requires surgery for 6 days? Is that standard procedure? Am I just freaking out?
I'm terrified that I'm going to go through this long wait only for them to keep pushing the surgery back, call me and tell me he died, or call to tell me the joint is destroyed and his quality of life won't be worth it. I'm a god damn wreck and I can't even see him again until Monday.
I know there's gonna be some of you who'll crawl up my ass for letting him outside, but he was born in a freaking barn. All of my cats are barn cats or taken off the street. I'm already down and doing a great job o kicking myself; I don't need your help. I'm just asking for some kind words or advice.
Looks like a bro cat. I hope all goes well.
>>2138707
Never had to deal with broken bones, but my indoor/outdoor cat has had some pretty horrific injuries and come out looking fine in the end. They heal amazingly well. The main issue is typically the cost of fixing them up.
>>2138715
Thank you, Anon. He is an absolute bro and all of my other cats are freaking out because he's gone.
>>2138733
>They heal amazingly well.
The vets have mentioned this but it's good to hear it again. I know I shouldn't be this scared of losing him, but he just turned 2 and there's still so many more years for him.
I've already put $900 into him and that's without surgery. I'm only thankful that I had a decent nest egg set aside and can afford anything the vet throws at me. Doesn't mean I want them to milk me dry, but the costs are not currently an issue.
do you plan to keep it indoors if it manages to survive?
>>2139001
>manages to survive
Seeing as how broken jaws are relatively common injuries in cats who take bad falls (inside or out), there's a slim chance he will die; the only way being if the joint of his jaw is ruined.
>Keep it indoors
Until he is healed he will have to suffer indoors. Once the vet says he's good to go, he can go back outside. I live on a lake in the middle of nowhere with next to no people around. Why would I deny him something he loves?
>it
Reading comprehension will have shown you that it is in fact a he.
>>2139009
>he can go back outside
even a donkey does not bump into the same stone twice.
you apparently do.
>I live on a lake in the middle of nowhere with next to no people around.
oh right, since it's so safe there why did you make this thread?
oh, it's because it's not safe.
>Why would I deny him something he loves?
it's a cat, it wants mental stimulation and that's about it.
you got exactly what you had coming.
>>2138707
Vet student here, I may be able to shine a bit of light on this.
> They won't do the surgery until Tuesday because the other vet needed to do the operation took a couple days off and it's the weekend. I get that they're people too and they have lives, but is it really okay to leave a cat with a broken face that requires surgery for 6 days? Is that standard procedure? Am I just freaking out?
The basic problem is that jaws are an absolute nightmare to operate on, it's an extremely thin and delicate bone: it's one thing pinning say a femur but another entirely to sort out a skull. It requires serious skill and experience.
Your cat will currently be doped up on painkillers and although he's not with you, will be as 'happy' as he could be. I'm sure the vet nurses there are showering him with gentle love. ALthough it feels like a long time, it is for the best, surgery is not something to be taken on lightly- the other vets at that practice are clearly not confident that they can perform this operation.
The far better scenario in this case is for the vets to keep him comfortable, give him the best possible shot at surgery and go from there compared to having someone go in with a scalpel that isn't sure what they are doing.
I understand it is hard OP, but hold on in there. Wishing you and your kitty all the best.
>>2139009
>Why would I deny him something he loves?
cause this is just going to happen again and if you bother to give your cat attention and playtime inside then they aren't "suffering" as you feel the childish need to call it. if anything the country can easily be MORE dangerous because of all the predators and shit. a fox or cyote can rip your cat to shreds. I grew up on 6 acres of woods in the middle of nowhere, and all the childhood cats we had died pretty bad deaths, or just disappeared. so now that I have my own cat she stays inside and she's very happy, because I take time to play with her and give her attention. and she won't end up as a road pancake, or eaten, or with severe injuries that didn't need to happen in the first place, and I'm not going to be shelling out money for expensive vet bills for those injuries and putting her through procedure after prodecure
just know next time your cat might not be so lucky, are you really going to take that chance? if he comes crawling up to your doorstep after he got fucked up by a wild animal a few days after you let him out again and is barely alive, are you going to be okay with that? if he has to be euthanized or go through several thousand dollars worth of treatment to potentially live because of an injury you let happen, are you really going to be okay with that? if he really is that important to you, why are you accepting that this is almost certainly what's going to happen? sorry to sound harsh, but it's reality
and I'm a CVT, what >>2139011 said is accurate
>>2139009
>Once the vet says he's good to go, he can go back outside. I live on a lake in the middle of nowhere with next to no people around. Why would I deny him something he loves?
Why? He could have died / could still die.
You live in the middle of no where. What happens the next time? He gets attacked by a fox and he drags himself home with his intestines hanging out, or just never returns? He makes a bad jump, breaks his leg, and either starves to death or gets eaten alive?
Keep him indoors man.
