My cat was missing.
OK, DOC DOESN'T REALLY LIKE CATS, but my 26 toed cat, Yetti had been missing for a few weeks and we were all a little concerned. She's a basic tabby, but instead of stripes, she has bobcat spots and enormous feet due to her polydactyl nature. My daughter saw her gaunt form out by the trash cans. When she approached her, she loped away in a lopsided gait created by her collar that wrapped under one arm and around her neck. There was no way to know how long she had been caught somewhere by the collar or what had occured to have it slipall the way under one arm. I went out with the last can of catfood and a little patience. She was so light I think she lost half of her body weight on her little field trip.
"Yetti"
""meow"
At first I just tried to pull it over her head, but she growled fiercely when I tried. I turned her over to examine her and found a large wound under her arm and the collar was imbedded into her. There was no way to know how deep, how much pus, or anything. I just wanted scissors to cut the thing off. I thought it would be that easy. Part of the collar was scabbed over and oozy. It really stunk!
We fed her, Doc got his medic bag, and my daughter started calling UC Davis Emergency Vet Center.
I held her so as to control her claws and jaw. Doc opened two bags of saline and flushed the wound-collar site.
He used a scalpel to cut it away from her skin. We rinsed and rinsed and the stink made me gag. We turned her over, lifted her arm to see the damage and the entire underarm all the way to the neck was completely sawed through by the collar. You could see all the muscle. Anyway, the medic saved the day. He wanted to debride and suture her, but there was no way I was holding the kitty for that torture. I took her to the vet, they sedated her cleaned out the necrotic tissue and stiched her up. She is now in a dog crate in my room. I am glad Doc is home and Yetti too.
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