Continued directly from previous post…
The vet knocked on the car window and we wound it down. Nando wasn’t with him. He cut straight to the point, telling us that her leg was broken and she needed surgery. He was certain of a tarsal fracture, and suspected additional breaks in her metatarsals. Apart from the administration of pain relief, he informed us that there was nothing else that could be done that night. Orthopaedic procedures aren’t classed as emergencies, so we would have to take Nando to our usual vet on Monday. It was Saturday night.
There was also no point in X-raying the leg as whoever carried out the surgery would take the same X-ray, meaning we would pay for the same scan twice.
After confirming we understood and were happy, the vet went back inside to give Nando the drugs. She received one opioid injection that was to last 6 hours, and one NSAID that was to last 24.
Nando’s leg was broken
At this point my mind was so busy it seemed blank, and I was at a loss. I wasn’t prepared for the fact that Nando’s leg was broken, and realised I had subconsciously been telling myself that I was overreacting. Now I had to tell myself something else: Okay. So Nando’s leg is broken. This isn’t a big deal, cats probably break their legs all the time. Monday will come, Nando will have surgery, and everything will go back to normal.
We paid, and the amount was justifiable. We had done the right thing. It was a good thing we didn’t wait till morning. Nando had been in a lot of pain, and now that pain was relieved.
When Nando returned to us, she was very still and sleepy. She didn’t seem awake for the entire journey.
When we arrived home, we set up our bedroom so that it would have all she needed. It was important to keep her separate from the other cats and limit her movements. We set Nando down in the room, and she was happy to be home. She settled down for an uneventful night, whilst I stayed awake, thoughts racing.
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Here is a picture that I found on google, depicting the tarsals and metatarsals of a cat. I have included a video on instagram that shows Nando’s broken leg; it can be found in the ‘Blog: Nando’ highlight.
