It isn't what you think. I am talking about the Emergecy Animal Hospital. About eight o'clock Saturday evening Dave called out to me that my cat, Lucay,a was under our bed and wouldn't come out. I heard him telling her to get out and he told me that he couldn't reach her but nudged her with a backpack that was under the bed to "encourage" her out but it didn't work. (Dave is allergic to my cats and they are not allowed in our room.) I knew when he said that she didn't move that something was wrong.
I went in the bedroom and found that she had moved to the far side of the bed to where I could reach her. I asked, "You OK Lucaya?" She just looked at me and I could tell something wasn't right. I took hold of her scruff and slid her toward me so that I could pick her up. It was so weird, I could tell she was uncomfortable, maybe even in pain but she wasn't hollering like you would expect a pained animal to be. When I set her down in the dinning room I noticed her front right paw was folded under. I thought that looked weird, so reached down to feel it and she really didn't do anything. I told Dave, "I think something is wrong. Do you think she broke her foot? leg?" Again, wouldn't she be screaming in pain?
I called my mom for her thoughts and said that I should take her in to the ER, that it sounded like she broke her leg.
Dave went to go get the carrier and I started trying to find someone to come sit at the house with the kiddos. I did not want to go by myself. Unfortunately, no one we tried was available. As it worked out Dave's family was at the movie accross the street from the hospital and Ashley and Ralph met me over there when the movie was over.
I walked into the hospital and told them I thought my cat had broken her leg. Then sat down to wait our turn. I am so glad Ashley was there. She was so calming to me and Lucaya in the moments to come.
I took Lucaya out of the carrier in the exam room and the technician instead of saying yup it looks like she has broken her leg asked if she had ever been diagnosed with a heart murmur. I answered, "Nope." and thought what a funny question. Ashley and I talked about how usually when a cat hurts their leg or foot they lift it up and hers was just dragging limp. That is when we thought maybe she dislocated her shoulder jumping off the cat tower.
The doctor came in and did her exam and said that Lucaya had not broken her leg but suspected that she had heart disease and had thrown a blood clot to her front right leg. What? I asked, "Are you sure?" She said that Lucaya had a galloping heart rate and that her heart was beating so fast that she could even count her beats, she said that the pads of her limp foot were pale in color and that the foot itself was cool to the touch.
My mind is swirling. I knew something was wrong. I wish I had been right with the broken leg. I am not prepared to make any life discisions in regards to Lucaya. Now all of a sudden people are throwing terms like Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Congestive Heart Failure, and Aortic Thromboembolism. What is happening?
The doctor confirmed with X-Ray that her right and left atrium were enlarged and her lungs were "dirty" suggesting that she was in the early stages of Congestive Heart Failure. The doctor told me to give her 24 hours to try and pass the clot and regain circulation to her front leg. She said that they would put her on pain killers and medication to prevent further clots from forming. She said the likelyhood that she would throw another clot was high.
I got home around 1 in the morning. Num. Scared. Worried.
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