Cat scratched Jack in the eye With Update x 2
Update 09/11/12: Just back from the vet. Everything looks good. The scratch appears healed, so his cone is off and no more eye drops. He celebrated with a nice roll in the grass.
Help! It's almost 11:30 at night on a work night. We were getting ready for bed. Jack was lying on the tile at the foot of the stairs, literally with his chin on the ground minding his own business, when the cat apparently went up and scratched him in the face for no reason. He yipped and chased her away a bit, then started face-diving in the carpet. He was squinting one eye.
I got some treats and some good light and had him move his eyes for me and he seems to have a small spot of bright red (blood, presumably) on the white of his eye, right where it joins the colored bit.
Emergency? Call the vet during normal hours? Watch it and see what happens? I know one dog here lost an eye over a scratch, but I believe that was a corneal one.
I swear that cat will be out on her head. She's a bully who routinely swats the dogs for no reason, though it's usually Maddie and not Jack. Jack NEVER once has harassed the cat. I'm presuming Her Majesty was annoyed about something else and took it out on him. But this is the first time she's used her claws that I can tell.
:-( I am NOT happy. Her Ladyship just got locked in the room that has her water dish and litter box.
Update 09/11/12
Jack is no longer face-diving or squinting, and he can move the eye normally. Just not sure what to do.
Update 09/05/12:
Jack's eye looks pretty good. The pupil was dilated with drops, so that looks odd, but while you can still see the scratch, so far no heavy discharge or bright red areas that are spreading.
The cone, ah the cone! Last night was a long night because he just stood in the kitchen and barked for awhile, but he's getting used to it now. He won't move much around the house unless someone goes with him; he's bumped into Maddie or furniture or us so many times he just waits for someone to tell him it's ok. He did actually chase his large Jolly Ball a few times (his idea) and managed to pick it up while wearing the cone. And he's lying down with it on. He needs it off to eat (he cannot reach his dish with it on). And he still won't potty with it on, so we take it off a couple times outside so he has a chance to go.
A friend at work gave me a brilliant idea for walks: loop a string through the little hole on top of the cone (or put a hole there) and hold the cone up while the dog walks. It keeps him from hitting it on the ground. That and a few treats helped us walk two blocks tonight, which made Jack a happy pup!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Well, I'm at work after about an hour and a half of sleep. Feeling a bit wilted.
We did take Jack to the emergency vet and it's a good thing because it was a corneal ulcer. He started squinting again right after my first post and so I took him. He was pawing at it in the waiting room. I must say the emergency vet was fabulous. I started to tell them he doesn't like being restrained and the tech said "He's a Corgi, we know!" and trotted him back. I didn't go with him into the back but I did catch a peek and they had him sitting on the floor on a loose leash, chattering away to him in high, happy voices. Very nice!
They put a stain on it and showed me the scratch. So we have a follow-up with the regular vet in a week. He has to wear the cone and get antibiotic drops 3x a day. We can't do a soft cone because the idea is to keep him from rubbing his face on the couch or with a paw. He hates the cone. He can't eat or drink with it. I held his bowl so he can eat and we had him drink from the travel bottle with the flip-down tray we use when we hike.
My regular vet said we can take the cone off briefly for him to eat and drink as long as we watch him. We had to take it off for him to potty because he refused to go with it on.
I think it will be a long week! He is not the easiest patient. He's soldiering on but last night he stood in the middle of the kitchen floor panting heavily. I think the cone bothers him more than the eye. They put in a 24-hour numbing drop but said after that it will probably itch a lot. They can't keep the numbing drop in all the time; it dilates the pupil so he can't be in bright light.
My poor guy! The cat keeps staring at him with the cone on and her tail gets really big. Must say I am not pleased with her at all. Thank goodness I just cut her claws blunt a few days ago.
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Permalink Reply by Lois B. Allen on
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Poor Jack. I'm glad you know exactly what it is and what to do. Give him every reward that isn't too ridiculous and of course lots of love and affection. Lots of love from the corgi world.
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Permalink Reply by Ludi on
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I'm glad Jack is coping with the cone well (or better than expected). I hope he recovers quickly. Poor guy didn't deserve any of this!
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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Glad it's going OK...the week will go fast hopefully!!
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Oh Jack...hope you heal and can get that cone off soon...you look so sad!
Is the cat that did this deaf???? I am thinking that you got her and she had some problem...
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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on
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Oh no!! So sorry Jacks eye got scratched!!!! Hope his recovery continues to go well!!
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Permalink Reply by Chloe's parent Liz on
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Can you get another cone? Chloe has a cone that is adjustable and somehow she is able to drink and eat. She doesn't like hers either. I hope your poor guy gets better soon. I have had a few cornea scratches myself and they are painful.
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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The traditional kind of e-collar dig into carpet / grass / dirt, the NEW reinforced edge type are better. Here's a link. Jack is adapting fast tho, what a trooper! Speedy recovery!
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Thanks everyone! Jack's eye continues to look good, as far as I can tell. Last night he jumped up to cuddle by me on the couch, something he never does, and dozed off with his chin (cone and all) resting on my arm. So cute! Then this morning he tried to go up the stairs and apparently that was a bit of a fiasco. We have him baby-gated when we are not home but had him loose in the house while we were there.
Jane, yes we were told the cat is deaf, though I think she has some hearing. She is for the most part a good cat, but she has a low frustration threshold and does the displaced aggression thing that some cats do. In this case I think she had been hunting a moth and could not get to it. Normally when she swats a dog, her claws are completely in so I will attribute this to accident on her part.
My husband cut about an inch off the front of the cone and said that he seemed to get around better that way. I hesitate to go out trying to find a better cone for him at this point because it needs to be long enough to keep him from pushing his face against anything, and a lot of them are more designed to keep them from biting stuff. At least it's clear so he can see! Yesterday I saw him lying down on his side all sprawled out, and another time in the flying squirrel position, so I think he's adapting to it well enough. He still doesn't like to move unless I cheer him on, but that might not be such a bad thing...
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Glad to hear he's adjusting...bet some good treat would help him adjust even more!
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Permalink Reply by Bax & Zigs & Rosie on
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Aww! Poor Jack!! It sounds like he's adjusting to life in the cone. =) Hope he gets better soon!
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