Pets May Be Cute But…

Why a blog called ‘Pets May be Cute But’? Because we have a large number of pets and that brings with it various health problems. Let me elaborate.

Pets May Be Cute But

Spuddy McSpudface and His Leg

Spud, or Spuddy McSpudFace as Barnet Boy calls him, had to have major surgery on his leg when he was only eleven months old. We got him as a rescue with his brother Ringo (of whom more later) and they were three and a half months old and in a dreadful state when they came to us.

We overcame malnutrition, skin problems, intestinal parasites, all of which go with having rescue dogs that had been totally neglected and abandoned by the road side. All was going well.

Elbow Dysplasia

Then Spud started to limp quite noticeably. I couldn’t find anything obvious wrong with his paw, it seemed to be higher up his leg. Following a visit to our long suffering vet, x-rays revealed a problem with the knee joint in his right front leg. He had elbow dysplasia. Unfortunately this involved surgery.

The vet deliberately broke one of the bones in Spud’s leg and created a gap so bone would grow and fill it. All of this was supported by a metal rod. Cue six weeks of cage rest (nightmare) followed by two weeks of gradual introduction of walking on a lead. Eventually he had further surgery to remove the metal rod and we gradually expanded his activities.

Getting Over It

We were all exhausted by the end of it. Spud was so traumatized by being confined to the cage that he developed a sort of claustrophobia and would get hysterical if put in the cage at all. He had also forgotten a lot of his training. His distrust of people, not good to start with, was even worse! I wrote about the whole experience in my blog Overcoming Elbow Dysplasia – Spud’s Story. Now five years old, there have been no further problems with Spud’s leg thank goodness!

Ringo, Anal Glands and a Suspicious Lump

Spud’s brother Ringo has a mild hip dysplasia but the vet hopes that will not develop into something serious. He is five years old now, so far so good. What he has got is anal glands that keep blocking and so I now have to drain those regularly – lovely job, repeat after me – pets are cute, but… We tried adjusting his diet to grain free as recommended by the vet but that didn’t make any difference. Never mind, luckily I don’t have to drain them on a daily basis!

Then we discovered a lump on Ringo’s side. Our first thought was ‘what next?’. Luckily this turned out to be a cyst that burst while the vet was examining it. It cleared up without any further problems thank goodness.

Cat Snuffles

I have talked before about the health issues with our cats Stevie Mouse, Lucy, Malteser and Treacle. What with having one partially sighted and another with asthma we have our hands full. Emmy died a couple of years ago, but she was epileptic which added a whole new trauma to the mix. You can read her story here.

But we also have 12 outdoor cats. They have their own room with a sofa, armchair and warm cat beds as well as a snug area under the outside stairs with a cat house.

Having so many cats there is always one with a snuffle that needs checking or a tick that needs removing. Occasionally there is a ‘war wound’ that needs tending to if they have been fighting. Oh yes, and the occasional abscess!

We have a special room set aside so any sick cat can be brought inside for treatment as they do occasionally get sick. For example, Rabby jumped down out of a tree and hurt his shoulder and had to be rested indoors to allow it to heal. Tippy had got some sort of infection from eating something and had to be kept in on antibiotics and special food for ten days.

Scruff has been brought inside several times over the years with various health problems. She had a growth in her eye  and nose that needed surgery, for example. Then she developed stomatitis and eventually had to have all but two teeth removed!

So, like I said, pets may be cute but…

An earlier version of this article was originally posted 9 December 2016, this updated post was published 24 February 2022.

Before you go

My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.

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Thank you for reading!