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Emergency Surgery for Jackson Galaxy (the cat)!

WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTOS, BELOW.

Last night foster mama-Maria, called me, worried about Jackson Galaxy, the cat we rescued last week who was named after the uber-cat-listener-of the same name. We'd already discussed that Jackson has been aggressive, biting Maria's hands and clawing her legs. Because he was just neutered a week ago, we thought we'd give it time and Maria was going to adjust how she approached him. Jackson had almost 2 years of being an intact male and probably had plenty of hormones still working through his body. We needed to give him time to adjust and get rid of all that testosterone.

Because Jackson's in a small bathroom I also asked Maria to be observant about where she is in relationship to the cat. Did he feel cornered? Was he attacking out of fear?

Very slowly Maria saw some improvements. Jackson could be petted and he did purr, but last night something was not right with Jackson-not right at all. Jackson was lying in the bathtub, pale smears of pink-BLOOD-were on the porcelain. Jackson was licking at his scrotum and when she looked at it, it was red, slightly inflamed and she saw some blood. She called “Doc” Thomas, who runs the Spay/Neuter clinic at Noah's Ark and asked her what to do. Doc said to bring him in in the morning.

before.jpg
©2012 Maria. S. Jackson, last night.

Jackson wouldn't eat. Maria had to force feed him after trying many different tempting options. I asked if she could take his temp, but she said he didn't feel hot. She tested his blood sugar and it was normal. I thought he was getting an infection or brewing the dread shelter-virus, but his eyes were not watery, only his coat looked unkempt.

Maria took the day off so she could rush Jackson to Noah's Ark, where Jackson was neutered. Jackson's temp. had risen to 104.4°F-high normal is 101°F. Jackson's scrotum was enlarged-an obvious infection was brewing. In four years of doing neuters, Doc had only seen this happen ONE other time.

Jackson needed surgery right NOW.

on table at Noah's.jpg
©2012 Maria. S. Jackson getting prepped for surgery.

Jackson was sedated and Doc opened up his scrotum. She said it was good to see blood, that it meant the tissue was not dead. She could drain it, then give him a course of strong antibiotics and he should recover. I asked Maria if he'd have to wear “the cone of shame” (an Elizabethan collar), but she said no.

incision.jpg
©2012 Maria. S. It's tough to look at, but now his painful, swollen scrotum will be healing up and feeling better very soon..

Jackson's waking up from the procedure as I write this. He's already gotten antibiotics. Hopefully this was just a bump in the road and from here out he'll not only be feeling better, but perhaps acting more calm with Maria, too. It's possible he's been in pain, first from the surgery and then from the infection—and what guy wouldn't lash out if his scrotum hurt?!

Another reminder to all of us that if your cat's behavior changes you should get him or her to the Vet, first. You never know what may be going on and it's important to rule out illness when you discover a behavioral problem.

As for Jackson, I see a lot of treats in his future!

Tomorrow is Bobette's orthopedic surgery. I'm thinking the theme for this weeks' blog may be "graphic photo warning-week." I hope it will also be, “cats who were feeling lousy but are on the road to recovery week”, too.

Comments

yes, even though the pix are graphic and the kitties have experienced pain, the wonderful part is there are loving, caring people taking care of these precious creatures. With all the sad animal news we read, it's great to read a story that ends in hope.  <3

I'm sorry Jackson was in such pain, but I hope he is feeling much better now!

I'm glad that Jackson got the attention he needed ASAP! I was worried when I read your post that he needed surgery. What a yucky thing. Poor boy, hope he heals up really soon!

poor boy....we hope he is feeling better soon.....and good advice - call the vet!!!
 

I've had several cats go through knee-fixing/pinning surgery. It's very painful post-surgery for them. Please make sure your vet gives Bobette a pain patch and/or some other pain medication for those first 3 - 4 days. Also, keep Bobette in a small condo for a few days so she can't move around much, if she'll allow the restraint.

I just bought Bobette a big plush heated cat bed to rest on and she will be in a BIG dog crate for 3 weeks while she recovers. I plan on giving her dasquin to soothe her joints and whatever pain meds (not metacam!) my vet will provide. Hopefully she will be all right. It's going to be the start of a long road..i hope she will be comfortable in a few weeks time.

Poor baby! I hope he heals easily and feels better real soon.

This makes me so nervous. My big love bug Lebowski just got neutered yesterday and this makes me nervous...

So sorry to read this news about Jackson.  Just wanted to write a note to send my best wishes.  I'll be pulling for him and hoping for a fast and full recovery.

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