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I NEED VET ADVICE. Hello Vets! I was asked to rescue a severely injured cat on Facebook on June 28th who had multiple deep wounds on her neck. Additionally, she had an eye injury. The lady who desperately sought assistance has since disappeared and has not even inquired whether the cat survived. The cat was taken to a clinic on an emergency basis at 10:30 at night. Multiple deep wounds were treated for 9 days, then eye surgery was performed, and sadly she lost one eye. Several of her teeth were decayed and needed to be extracted. She was also spayed. In one month, she had undergone two anesthesias. In the first surgery, she had eye surgery with spaying, teeth x-rays and then, after two weeks, she underwent another anesthesia with teeth extractions. During her first anesthesia, she had eye surgery and spaying. After eye surgery, she began SNEEZING. I was informed by the treating vet that sneezing was not a serious condition. A week later, he felt it was safe to perform a second anesthesia during which her teeth were extracted. However, she continued to sneeze. For an additional 10 days, the vet kept her "under observation" and every time I asked about her sneezing diagnosis and treatment, I was informed that she was "bright and alert" and that the sneezing would stop, but it did not. He was never able to diagnose and find the reason why she developed sneezing after eye surgery. He just wanted to keep her under observation for an INDEFINITE PERIOD of time. Obviously, the bill added up daily and the clinic kept asking to clear it. In the end, when the vet couldn't find the reason for her sneezing, he wanted to experiment with giving her antihistamines to mask and suppress her sneezing. He never recommended further investigation with further tests, scans or bloodwork to figure out the reason why she developed this sneezing. Every time I asked the vet when she could be vaccinated, he said she was still sneezing and let's give her a "couple" more days. Those couple of days turned into weeks. After a month and paying almost lots fo money for hospitalization and boarding, I wanted to move her from the clinic. The vet had NO TIMELINE for how long she needed to be "under his observation" and when she would stop sneezing. He also had NO further treatment for her except to put her on antihistamines. At this point with so many procedures done on her with 2 anesthesias in a month, her immunity was extremely low. He never suggested giving her immune-boosting vitamins or supplements either. When she was not improving, I decided to move her from the clinic, When I asked her to be discharged, literally all hell broke loose and the vet wanted me to sign a disclaimer that she was a "SICK" cat and she could even die and he does not recommend her getting discharged. According to the clinic a cat who was "bright and alert" on a daily basis suddenly became so sick that she could end up dying if I get her discharged. That's really something. This was shocking! How much longer was I supposed to keep her there with no diagnosis or treatment? I knew I had to take her out of there and moved her to a foster home. It has been weeks and the clinic never turned around to ask if she survived or died. Angel has been in the foster home for weeks but her sneezing has not stopped. She still sneezes on a daily basis to varying degrees. Angel has very LIMITED TIME in her foster home. I am totally lost! What should be done for her. How to diagnose why she is sneezing. No mucus, no discharge from her nose. Her eye is OK. She is eating n drinking water. I want to give her immune boosting supplements. She needs to get vaccinated. When can she get vaccinated. She cannot be around other cats until vaccinated. She has been through alot n i want her to be healthy n happy! Thank you Her eye surgery procedure information sent by her vet: SHOULD HER EYE SHOULD HAVE BEEN STITCHED OR LEFT OPEN? Transpalpebral enucleation in cats is a surgical procedure currently used to remove an eye under specific medical conditions where preservation of the eyelid structure is beneficial. Unlike traditional methods that involve cutting through the conjunctiva and surrounding tissues, transpalpebral enucleation involves making an incision through the upper eyelid to access and remove the eye. Procedure Overview: During transpalpebral enucleation: An incision is made in the upper eyelid to expose and remove the eyeball. This method aims to minimize trauma to surrounding tissues and preserve the integrity of the eyelid for improved post-operative comfort and cosmetic outcome. Indications for Use: Transpalpebral enucleation is typically recommended in cases such as: -Severe trauma or injury to the eye that cannot be repaired. -Untreatable eye infections or inflammation causing pain or risking spreading to other parts of the eye. -Advanced stages of certain eye tumors or cancers necessitating removal of the affected eye to prevent further health complications. Benefits: Reduced Surgical Trauma: By avoiding extensive tissue dissection, transpalpebral enucleation often leads to quicker recovery times and reduced post-operative discomfort. Preservation of Eyelid Structure: This method aims to maintain the natural appearance of the eyelid, potentially offering better cosmetic results after healing. Post-Operative Care: Following surgery, cats require careful monitoring and management to ensure proper healing and comfort. Veterinary instructions typically include: Administration of post-operative medications. Wound care to prevent infection and promote healing. Monitoring for any signs of complications such as excessive swelling or discharge.

Hello - I'm a little unclear what you're asking me here. Transpalpebral ennucleation is a common, routine procedure for eye removal; the eyelids are usually sewn together and then used as a 'handle' to steady the eyeball, while it is removed from an incision around the outside of them (this is probably easier to look at in diagramatic form).  In normal circumstances, the incision is then sewn closed.   I have no way of knowing what 'should' have been done in your cat's case, but I would say that most vets probably default to this method unless there is some problem.   The trigeminal nerve runs in that area and is implicated in sneezing, although it's not a common complication.  It may be worth asking the vet what the possible causes of sneezing can be in this case and how to distinguish between them.  It is not generally thought to be a good idea to vaccinate a cat if it is thought that they might have a viral or bacterial infection.   You sound to be concerned about the hospital stays and why they were needed; you could ask your vet, who knows the case, directly to explain this; if these stays were optional, the benefit of them should have been discussed with you.  I hope that something here is helpful.

Hi. Thank you for your response. My question is why she started sneezing after the eye surgery. The vet has No clue. He indefinitely kept her in the clinic. He wanted to give her antihistamines to suppress the sneezing withoutfind the cause for it. He did not find out why she started sneezing after eye surgery after 3 weeks in the clinic so i took her home. Now my question is what tests we need to do to find out why is she sneezing. What kind of vet do i take her to? It is an extremely commercial indudtry here n vets play fear tactics to get as many tests done as possible.  I have rescued this cat n already paid alot of money. I want to know what route we should take to resolve this issue. She cannot travel to her permanent home abroad unless she gets vaccinated. She eats well. She plays as well. It is her sneezing that is sneezing issue. Kindly advice what tests i should get done as vets are clueless. Thank you

She has no discharge from eye or nose. How do we find out if she has any bacterial or viral infection? Kindly guide. Thank you

I'm afraid that I am a little confused; you haven't told me anything here (enucleation, sneezing, well in self) that obviously merits a three-week stay in hospital, so I wonder if there is some detail that I haven't understood.  You vet ought to be in the best position to explain this to you.

I will explain step by step. She went in with multiple wounds on neck. She had one damage eye. They kept her for 9 days treating her wounds. Then did her eye surgery with teeth x-rays. Found out she had few rotten teeth. At the same time she was spayed. After that she developed sneezing. The vet said sneezing will go away so we waited. She was under vet observation. Every day he said she is eating, ppooping n urinating n seems fine, except shr is sneezing. I kept on asking ehy she had developed sneezing but he had no answer. Then he said its OK we can do teeth extractions so he gave her another anesthesia n extracted few teeth. Her sneezing continued another 2 weeks under his observation. In the end, he says lets give her antihistamines for sneezing. I asked him to find out ehy she sneezing, not suppress her sneezing or mask the symptoms. By then it was evident he didn't know what he is doing so i brought her home. She was very unhappy in the hospital. At home she is happy. She eats well. She plays. But she still sneezes. Visibly there is no discharge or mucus or swelling but only sneezing. I want to find out what caused her sneezing after the eye surgery and what tests, blood work or snything we should do to find out the reason behind her sneezing. I cannot just ignore that she continue to sneeze. It is not continuous sneezing rather comes and goes. I cannot send her to her adopted family abroad without vaccinations and before vaccinations we must find reasons behind her sneezing. Its been 2 months already. She had her eye surgery in mid July. Kindly guide. PS: how can i attach her pictures and videos. 

Waiting for reply. Thank you

Hello - yes, sorry for the delay there.  You don't explain why it became evident that the vet 'didn't know what they were doing so I brought her home.'  As GP vets, we work with every major body system in at least five domestic species;  we are not - nor do we expect to be - experts on everything.  However, if your vet doesn't know something then they have several routes open to them.  One of these is to consult a specialist, although it might be quite difficult to ascertain what area of the body a specialist is needed in at this moment - perhaps one in general medicine, or a hospital with multiple experts.  If this is not possible, we would write a differentials list (perhaps your vet will do this anyway) - a list of things that could possibly be causing the sneezing in the case, and then aim to rule possibilities out, one by one.  Reasons I can think of include a) a lump, inflammatory polyp, other inflammatory lesions or tissue damage in the nasal cavities, throat or upper airways  b) neurological damage to the area, c) a cancer or foreign body.  A lot of these differentials might be found by radiography or endoscopy or neurological tests, so depending what I suspected most, I might propose tests along these lines (this may require a referral, depending on your vets' personal skillset).    Another question for your vets may be whether there are any tests that could ascertain whether your cats' inflammatory system is stable enough to risk a vaccination.  These questions sound to be a good place to start.

A possibility d) might be infectious disease, for example Herpesvirus, mycoplasma or Chlamydia.  Occasionally, an infection etc. could cause chronic (ongoing) sneezing. A case review with your vet sounds to be a good idea.  What have they ruled out?  What is the next thing to rule out? - and so on.

Thank you so much. I highly appreciate your response. Yes it is extremely sad n disturbing that after spay n eye surgery she developed the sneezing n the vet initially didn't take it seriously n went ahead with second anesthesia n dud teeth extractions. He continued saying it will go away. But it didn't. In the end, all he said was lets give her antihistamines. I know I'm disturbing you but i feel hopeless consulting doctors here. It is an extremely commercial industry here n its mostly come down to money. Can you please tell me what tests are required? Whst blood tests? What other tests? I don't want to stress her by taking her to different vets. The vets are extremely expensive here. Can you please guide me what tests should i run? Is it only blood tests? Does she require any CT scan? Waiting for your reply. Were you able to see her picture? Thank you  

"Inflammatory lesions or tissue damage in the nasal cavities, throat or upper airways, neurological damage to the area..." would these be caused by the eye surgery? Which of the list of A to D would be a result of the Eye Surgery performed on her. Or even Spaying or any other treatment? This is crucial for us. I Thank you

You mentioned neurological? Are there any visible signs of that i should check in the cat? Behavior or physically in the body? She is eating, urinates n poops fine. She plays. Physically there is nothing we can see.  

Kindly reply. Thank you

Hi Emmie.  Is your cat still sneezing?  I am no expert in this and have a disadvantage over your vet in that I cannot examine or image the patient.  The nerves of the face may be impacted by local trauma, swelling etc, of which your cat has been through a lot, particularly having had surgery in that area.  I wondered whether this, or the swelling or other local abnormalities could have impacted the local cranial nerves resulting in a persistant sneeze.  This would be neurology (to do with nerves) and I wonder whether your vet could chat with a neurologist in order to identify whether there are investigations easier than an MRI scan that might help.  A cranial nerve examination was one thing I thought of - if there is pressure on one of the nerves to the face, it may affect how a local nerve works and sneezing could conceivably be a consequence of nerve over-stimulation or damage.  So a cranial nerve examination may show something.   I am curious that the whiskers look different from one side to the other in the picture for example.  Could you ask the vet to review again with a view to coming up with a plan or a second opinion?