Last night we let our barn cats out of the barn to play, and about an hour later one of them came back covered in blood with her tongue hanging sideways out of her mouth. It had been mostly severed almost at the base of her tongue. She seemed alert and responsive, though she was obviously irritated by it. We rushed her to the vet. and he sewed it back on, but he is not sure if it will "take", and if it does how much mobility she will have lost in it.
She is about 2 years old and spayed.
If it is paralyzed, or if the tissues don't fuse back together and it must be amputated, how much chance does she have of survival? I don't think it will affect her eating as much as it will her ability to drink, since cats lap up water.
Anyone have any ideas that we could use to help her? Similar experiences?
Thank you in advance!
2006-12-12 00:19:51 · 7 answers · asked by ♥♥♥ Mommy to Two ♥♥♥ 5 in Pets ➔ Cats
I just spoke to the vet and he gave me some more details about the injury (my husband was the one who saw the injury and took her to the vet, I was at home with our baby).
He said that the injury started at the base of her tongue, and that it looked like she snagged it on something sharp, like a cat food can with a lid, and that it cut/ripped almost to the tip, but right now is only affecting one side of her tongue for the most part.
He said that the peices went back together well, but that even if she loses the part that was cut off, she should do alright with a little TLC since she will still have half of her tongue.
Thanks for your answers so far, and please keep the ideas, experiences and advise coming!
2006-12-12 01:11:37 · update #1
This is one of those times that you can only keep your fingers crossed and hope and pray. If it was a clean cut and there was hardly any time wasted to have it reattached, the chances may be pretty good that she will live a normal life after recovery.
Her own survival instincts wil also kick in especialy if she is an otherwise normal healthy feline.
Feed her with moist foods from now on so she can get water from her food as weel. Take a dropper and give her clean water to drink through those while she is still recovering As she gets better, retrain her to drink from a hanging bottle like those rodent water containers so that she can lap from above and drink that wat, using gravity to bring the water down to her throat. After a while she will adapt to getting water this way, not from the usual lapping from the saucer way.
2006-12-12 00:35:22 · answer #1 · answered by QuiteNewHere 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think she will survive. You know, cats don't need much water if they eat wet food (canned). You will give her canned food and mix a lttle water in it as well, and she'll be fine. Or you can give her a little additional water with a syringe (without a needle) every day. Anyway, don't ever consider putting her down for a tongue problem! You can even give her a quantity of water by IV under her skin every day, whatever it takes. But canned food+water will do the trick, I guess. I hope she gets well and you don't need to amputate.
2006-12-12 00:39:52 · answer #2 · answered by cpinatsi 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The cat will NOT bleed to death if you snip off its claw...sheesh.
It will be painful and bleed, but you can easily stop the bleeding.
ANYWAY, as far as the tongue thing. She should be okay. You will need to ask your vet about the complications. I am sure they would not have suggested surgery if the cat couldnt survive with out its tongue.
The worst that could happen is that you would have to hand feed it water...so the barn cat may have to become an inside cat for a bit.
I hope everything works out for your poor kitty, I couldnt imagine.
2006-12-12 00:27:57 · answer #3 · answered by Casey B 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Your vet would be the best one to answer this question. But as you asked, if the cat must lose it's entire tongue, I do not think it can live unless you are prepared to bottle feed it. Cats use their tongues for both eating and drinking. The quality of life for a cat with no tongue, if you are not prepared for it's full time feeding, would be slow starvation.
2006-12-12 00:28:34 · answer #4 · answered by c.s. 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on just how much that may not be saved.I know from experience that they will survive if a portion may be missing that they will survive.My dtr has a cat that his tongue was partically damaged and he survived
2006-12-12 00:41:39 · answer #5 · answered by mema 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No....has it gotten u yet? The bunny fur has gotten deep into the confinds of my throat and it itches....( no longer fairly, giving u humor) LOL..have a very good day...and that i visit reveal screen the video clips I actually have in my profile repeatedly.. Love~Nikki & Jojo
2016-10-18 04:01:04 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know, but did you know that like if you snip a cat's claws, they will bleed to death?
2006-12-12 00:22:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 8⤋