Monday, July 28, 2008

Did someone call for a doctor?

Poor, precious Nellie.
Yesterday, I was gazing into her big, soulful brown eyes, when I realized that something was staring back. A raised area on her right cornea. An ulceration? Foreign body? Oh, dear.
There have been very few times Nellie has given me cause to worry. The worse time...HERE. I thought she was going to die.

So, who ya gonna call? That's right...KatDoc.

A PSA for Kathi's vet practice: If you live in Cincinnati and are looking for a caring, fun vet, Kathi is the one to go to. The office is very clean (and smells great, if you can believe it), is staffed with nice personnel, and of course there's Kathi herself.
(I don't know how much info Kathi is comfortable with me sharing, so if you are interested, go to her blog and you can snag her email there)


Isabelle is becoming quite the photog. She has been practicing with my camera and she is responsible for the following photos:

Nellie waits for the doctor
Nellie waits impatiently for the doc to arrive.

The Good Doctor prepares her instruments
The good doctor prepares her instruments.


Nellies Eye boo boo
The boo boo is on this side....

Boo boo
Here's a close up...that whitish spot on the upper left quadrant of her eye.

After putting greenish stuff (I think that's the technical name for it) in Nellie's eye, first Dr. Kathi used a Wood lamp, then an eye shiner thingy (another technical name):
Holding Nellie in a bear hug
I had to grab Nellie in a bear hug (with both arms and one leg) to keep her still...

Looking at Nellie's eye
And here you can see the green stuff starting to leak out of her nose. Fun!

The diagnosis: A puncture of her cornea by something very thin (not Hooper's teeth, like I assumed) like a thorn or something in the yard (teasel, maybe? We have plenty of that). Treatment plan: Eye ointment, which should clear it up in 3 to 5 days. If no improvement, Nellie will need to be placed under sedation so Kathi can 'scrape' at the spot to see if there is a foreign body. Let's hope it improves!

Mommy Closeup!
Gratuitous picture of me....gee, Isabelle. That's not bad. At least my teeth look nice.

And not to leave this post with too much worry or "Eeew....I can't look at sick eye pictures!", here's a fun little bit:

After a program today, I dropped off the birds and a small white thing caught my eye.
The one who got away
Explanation: When a bird is preparing for release at RAPTOR, a "live-prey test" is performed. A bird is placed in a flight cage that is encased in steel around the bottom few feet near the ground, so nothing can get out. A handful of live mice are put in the cage. The next day, someone goes in and counts the mice. If some of the mice are gone, we know they are in the bird and the bird is ready to leave. Wellllll.....the cage either has a hole somewhere (that happens) or this is the cleverest, most determined mouse in the world.
I thought briefly about catching her, but after the ordeal she muse have gone through to escape, I think she deserves to be out.
Of course, she won't last long....with that new family of red-shouldered hawks that are hunting in the woods around RAPTOR. Enjoy that freedom as long as it lasts, little one!

8 comments:

Mary said...

Under the care of Kathi, you KNOW Nellie will be good as new. It's very upsetting when pets are ill. I e-mailed Kathi when Bella started Pred and it relieved me to hear Kathi's outlook. Bella is still on the mend, still of Pred, with a little "ouch" here and there. I think another round of x-rays might be in her future...

Go Isabelle! Great shots! Especially of Mom's teeth.

I guess you need to harden your heart for the mice...

NCmountainwoman said...

My goodness! Not only is she great in front of the camera, Isabelle is fantastic on the other side. She's got a future there.

RuthieJ said...

Poor Nellie! I hope she has a speedy recovery (thanks to Kathi's excellent diagnosis & treatment).

Anonymous said...

Hope Nellie is responding already! Yay for the escaped mousie.

Anonymous said...

There is nothing wrong with being proud of your daughter, but you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to pass off what are obviously highly professional photographs as being by Isabelle!

A. Leibowitz

Kathi said...

Susan:

Thanks for the nice post and the PSA. The staff works hard at keeping the clinic clean and fresh smelling, and they always appreciate the "It doesn't smell like a vet hospital" comment.

I don't use my blogging as an advertisement for the practice, in fact, I work hard at keeping my two lives separate. That's why I don't use my last name, the name of the practice, or specific locations - keeping my two worlds apart. The blog lets me say things that I can't always say IRL.

I'm really 3 people in one. There is ole Doc H, who works to pay the bills and there is Kathi, my personal birding/blogging/potting self. Then there is That Other Girl, the one we don't let out too much. (Get some alcohol in me in West Virginia next spring, and you might meet her!)

Isabel took some AWESOME photos! I'm really impressed. And, I must say, that one of you is the best picture I have ever seen of you - beautiful smile and eyes, and so perfectly composed. It should be your profile pic.

How's Nellie's eye?

~kathi

KGMom said...

Oh, I am so glad this Nellie story has a happy outcome. I always start reading these stories with trepidation.
Whew!
Nice pic of Nellie, and nice pic of you.
I can believe Katdoc is an excellent vet. And I enjoy her other self on her blogging site!

Anonymous said...

With the last photo you are overlooking the most logical explanation: the mouse was teleported outside the cage by aliens.

Jebidiah
Roswell, NM