We took Bentley to the Vet for his yearly Wellness check up and to have his double FHO post op hips looked at. Bentley got a clean bill of health. Both of his hips have healed completely! Bentley can walk, run and jump with no problems. He is one happy boy ;)
I however, have another interesting fact I like to make my Blog readers aware of....Vaccinations!!!
We decided not to give any more booster vaccines to Bentley. He had all of his kitten core vaccinations and his 1 year boosters. He should have enough immunity by now... to last him a lifetime. We live in southern California... so by law we will have to give him the Rabies Vaccine...but not every year! We opted for every 3 years on the Rabies but no further Feline Distemper or Feline Leukemia Vaccines.
Bentley is at a very low risk in contacting any of these diseases. He only is allowed outside on supervised leash walks in our yard. He does not roam freely and he does not come in contact with unknown cats. His chances of catching any of these diseases are very slim.
I provided 5 YouTube links below, where you can listen to 2 Veterinarians talking about the dangers of over vaccinating your pets.
Dr Karen Becker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3P7FnSTcC8
Dr. Karen Becker Interviews Dr. Schultz (Expert on Animal Vaccines) (Part 1 of 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC--bGthNN8
Dr. Karen Becker Interviews Dr. Schultz (Part 2 of 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Zvg8tIxeY
Dr. Karen Becker Interviews Dr. Schultz (Part 3 of 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc-6exZcbJ4
Dr. Karen Becker Interviews Dr. Schultz (Part 4 of 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdPhj8Vq9ck
We are glad to have found these Interviews!
Happy Easter to you and yours :)
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. We are considering double FHO for our 13 year old kitty, Winky. She has severe hip dysplasia and the pain meds are no longer helping like they once did, so it looks like this is our last option.
ReplyDeleteWe are going away on vacation in September for 3 weeks, so after reading your blog, I think we will hold off until we are home so we can keep a close eye on her recovery and rehab.
I hope Bentley stays well for many more years!
Nikki
Hi Nikki
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear about Winky's hip dysplasia. It is so heartbreaking having to watch your Baby in pain! However, she will feel much better after she has fully recovered. I don't know were you are located but if you are anywhere near us here in Los Angeles/CA, than I can recommend an excellent surgeon. In Bentley's case it made a huge difference with his recovery! His second FHO surgery was done by an Orthopedic Vet Specialist and his recovery went so much smoother!!!Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions that we can help answering.
Bentley and I wish you and Winky the best of luck for pain free years to come :)
Hi Barbara, I am so happy to have fund this blog. Up until today, I have felt so alone and uninformed. I have two sister kittens (14 months old). Cali fractured her left hip. We just discovered her limping one day. 13 days ago she had the femoral ostectomy surgery. They said it was successful. She had a 9 day post-op and the doctor said she can resume normal activity like walking and doing stairs. Cali will do nothing. She can climb the stairs to get to food or go down to the basement to the litter box, but otherwise she lays down all day. She is not playing but mostly resting or sleeping. Is this normal? I have no guidelines form the surgeons at all. How long until she gets back her energy. I am continuing with the leg extension rehab which she allows me to do a few times a day. But, she is still limping a ton. Help Barbara. Will she recover. The vet said it should not happen again, but now I'm thinking I better get pet insurance quick. Love your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteBentley is so beautiful!
Liz
Hi Liz
DeleteBentley and I are sorry to hear about Cali's slow progress. Bentley took a long time too, before he started to move more. He too laid around a lot and limped for quiet some time post op. Ask your Vet if Cali needs extra pain meds to help her move better. Don't hesitate to call your Vet....I called there almost daily when we went through this. The recovery for a FHO takes a long time. Every cat is different. Don't get discouraged!!! Cali will be fine;)
XXXX
Feel better Cali
Hi Barbara and Bentley,
DeleteCali jumped up on a couch today. Yeah! But, she still cries out for me to carry her upstairs to the bedroom area at night. She seems too tired or scared to try the big staircase. I do not have a vet as part of the stress of all this has been realizing I had to leave my vet practice. They misdiagnosed Cali three times and then once they sent her off to a surgeon, they never a called or followed up. Awful. I will not be returning to them. I am trying to stay positive and let Cali lead the way in her own recovery. I am shopping around for a new vet presently too. Thank you for all your words of encouragement. I will keep in touch. Liz and Cali
Hi Liz and Cali
DeleteYeah....good job Cali keep up the good work and you will be running up and down those steps in no time!:)
Good luck to you in finding a new Vet! It is so important to have a Vet you can trust. Keep us posted how things are coming along with Cali.
Bentley and I are sending healing thoughts for Cali
Hi Liz, I just read your note now. Had been to Barbara's story blog pages before and went right to the bottom to add my Comment/Questions. Is your cat doing a little better over the past 2 weeks or same yet? My cat is 13 and underwent a bilateral FHO 9/16...she had other serious issues crop up but with medications keeping else stable for now, her FHO is the big thing we deal with on a daily basis. I'm kind of going out of my mind for same reasons you said - it's soooo hard to get details on what to expect here. It does seem from Barbara's 7 week and 6 month report, that somewhere inbetween there is when things got noticeable better. As my Sparkley is such a trooper, I am really hoping to maybe see more progress by the Holidays, and at least at that point I can guage how she's doing to how Barbara's Bentley was doing at 6 months and how much more we need to go. Hope this helps. If nothing else, knowing others are struggling through the same thing somehow at least says to me, this is just how this surgery goes - it's a toughy. BTW - I have my Sparkley on Gabapentin - she still gets sleepy and wobbly too, but it's 1000 times better than Bupenorphine or other narcotics - for her, she went straight to the moon and never got up. My vet and her PT dr both give me inputs (min/max doses), but I need to guage the quantities and times per day that seem to be best for her...it's hard and changes weekly it seems. I have her on .5 ml 3 times a day right now - fingers crossed. Trying to get as much activity as I can out of her, without her showing signs of aggravating pain (to touch or when cleaning herself, etc.) Hope this helps. Good luck and best wishes to you and Cali. Phyllis and Sparkley Girl
DeleteHello Barbara,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you are still checking this block or not. I hope you are. First, let me say that I am very appreciate of your documenting all this as there is really insufficient information and it's hard to pin down all the sorted details with your vet, radiologist, surgeon etc as good as they are at what they do. I can't thank you enough. My cat is much more elderly than your Bentley and just underwent a bilateral FHO surgery September 16 and we have undergone all the same crisis as you and Bentley and more I'm afraid. At her age, she had some underlying heart condition that didn't take well to the anesthesia so unfortunately, now she is a heart failure survivor kitty also. But she is stable on her medication for that thankfully.
So, I am writing to learn any more from you that you can recall during the time period for your Bentley between 7 weeks and 6 months, as you didn't seem to post during that timeframe...and that's where my Sparkley Girl is going to approaching early November. Anything you can elaborate on would be helpful. Specifically, I'd like to ask if the pain and atrophy (resting often) took much closer to the 6 month timeframe or just somewhere inbetween. I might have other questions, but this comment is already long, so this will get the ball rolling anyway if you are still checking this blog. Again, many thanks to you from Sparkley Girl and I for sharing your story and Bentley's treatment and recovery ordeal, albeit successful at last! Phyllis in upstate NY
Dear Phyllis and Sparkley
DeleteI am still actively checking this blog and I am happy to see, that people are finding it!
To help with your concern... Bentley's recovery from his first FHO went really slowly too. He too laid around more then anything for what seemed like a very long time. As far as I remember he finally started to pick up the pace at about 9 month post op. When Bentley had his second FHO his recovery went much faster. However, I did have to take him in again for a post op check up and he did not like his legs to be touched at all. Our Vet suggested to have an X-Ray taken to see if maybe any scar-tissue could be causing an impingement that would be the cause of his discomfort.The X-Rays showed that Bentley had quit a bit of new bone growth but nothing was growing in a spot to cause him pain. His Vet told us, that his discomfort stemmed from the atrophy in his legs. I was supposed to exercise him more to help him loosen up and build up his muscle. Easier said than done....! I think I did report on this in the Blog....
When it comes to your little girl Sparkley and her current heart condition I don't know how much exercise she is allowed to do safely! I however also think that any animal by instinct alone knows exactly what they can and can't do. Give Sparkley some time....I think she will come around. Every cat is different and I am sure that age also plays a big role in her recovery speed. Bentley was practically a baby when he went through his experience still full of energy he couldn't use.
I read in your post that Sparkley does not do well on Pain-meds but that she is currently on Gabapentin which is a drug my husband used to take to control his Trigeminal Neuralgia Pain. As far as I know they also use Gabapentin for cats with feline hyperesthesia syndrome! Go to the cat Forums (Caster) or Google Feline Hyperersthesia and you see about the dosages and peoples experiences with their cat on that specific drug.
Bentley is giving us trouble again too since last July...he has been suffering from terrible Allergies. We just went to see a Dermatologist with him and are now on an elimination diet to see if it is Food, Environmental, Parasites or stress causing his constant licking, biting, shaking his head and twitching his ears. I hope it's not some hidden aftermath from his FHO's. Bentley is currently taking Zyrtec. He too is one droopy guy:(
We hope all goes well for Sparkley girl...please keep us posted! I'll keep checking.
Healing wishes from Bentley and myself from sunny California
Barbara Thank you so much for providing this level of detail - it is quite helpful! Sparkley has a check-up this Wednesday and I might ask for an Xray to at least know if we are dealing with anything more. If it ends up there are bone spurs or anything growing that are causing her pain, unfortunately for my Sparkley she cannot undergo anymore anesthesia. We would have to modify her pain management. I'll report back any new news. Definitely will try and be more patient!! You did show some significant progress in your Bentley at 6 months, so I'll shoot for that, but remember that you also said Bentley didn't really pick up the pace of things until 9 months out. Everything in your email is so very helpful. I too wonder about the extent of discomfort to due the atrophy. Sparkley had gone many months if not a year before we figured out we needed to do the FHO surgery...combined with her age, she has much more atrophy than average. But she is a trooper - so strong and determined when she gets up and walks. As I said, will update here anything signficant uncovered or things I think others might find interesting. Many thanks again to you!! Phyllis & Sparkley Girl
ReplyDeleteDear Phyllis and Sparkley
DeleteBentley and I hope that all goes well for you this coming Wednesday. I just had a thought....have you ever considered Veterinary acupuncture to help alleviate Sparkley's pain? I heard that acupuncture does wonders for some pets with chronic pain and it is quit safe too.
Good luck at the Vet's and please keep us updated.
Barbara and Bentley
Barbara, thank you! I know it's been a while but I had a minor mishap of my own in the meantime. We are both stable, but just 'still' getting used to new routines. Her visit end of October was so-so, but since then she's been great! Xrays shows she's just is likely to be slower to recover her muscle than other kitties. I don't know if I previously mentioned, but Sparkly has a Physical Therapist come to the house twice a week...she is doing Laser therapy for her pain as well as healing, and it's working! (Thank you for your continued suggestions. I do believe her PT doc selected it over Acupuncture since it theoretically can do both, depending on the cat and conditions of course.) Last Sunday was the very best day yet - she used the new step I made her to get up on the couch, and was up there 4 times in 1 day -- total first!!! Even better, now it is a regular thing. So great to see that. And it will help her do more PT on her own! Keeping stable for now, thank you SO much for your support and caring. Take care for now, Phyllis & Sparkley Girl
DeletePS. If Liz and Cali are reading, how are things going for the two of you?? We wish you the best recovery together!
Dear Phyllis, thank you for the update on Sparkley! It sounds like that the PT sessions are really helping her recovery along. I am so happy to hear this!!! No more mishaps for the two of you from now on ;)
DeleteTake care you two
Best wishes From Bentley and me
Barbara thank you for your updates! I saw that you were able to gain coverage for your cats other hip? How were you able to do so? Thanks! We just went through one surgery and fear another in the future!
ReplyDeleteHi
DeleteI hope that you do not have to go through it again! To help clarify Bentley's insurance coverage. At the time of Bentley's first FHO on his right side we had no Pet Insurance and had to pay the full amount. Our Vet warned us that these fractures will happen in most cases to both sides. Since Bentley had no indication at this point that anything was wrong with his left hip, we took out the insurance(Healthy Paws) just in case and to be on the safe side. Thank God we did because less than 3 month later he did fracture the left hip which was than thankfully covered by his insurance. The Insurance however will not cover anything in regards with his right hip because of the pre- existing condition prior to the outtake. I hope this helps.....
Best regards
Barbara