Isla Mae's Ears
Donation protected
I started volunteering at the Richmond SPCA in 2013 and since then have adopted or foster many elderly cats with health issues. In all of those cases I knew what I was getting. There was a cat there, Madeline, that had kidney disease. She was next on my list, but I waited too long and Maddie passed away at the shelter. The lesson I learned from her was not to wait.
About a month later a childhood friend posted a photo of a cat at a private shelter in Virginia Beach. Her name was Tara and she looked just like Madeline. My heart stopped and before I knew it I was on the road to pick her up. Tara came from a shelter in Isle of Wight county and so I named her Isla Mae (it is also the name of my mother’s favorite cousin). Isla Mae had been shaved since she had gotten matted and came home with a sweater. She settled into her room and rarely moved except to eat and use the litter box. I took her to the vet and it was determined that she had something going on in her ears. She coughed and shook her head/ears a lot. Soafter months and months of medicine and ear drops and teeth extraction Isla wasn’t much better. The next step was to have an MRI and additional blood tests. From that we learned that she has an inner ear infection that would require surgery. She had a difficult time coming out of the anesthesia and the specialist surmised she may have asthma. They did not want to perform any surgery until the asthma was under control. So….we put Isla on Prednisilone, a steroid, hoping that would help with the cough. It has some, but she still coughs and continues to shake her head.
I recently followed up with the specialist and learned that she and the surgeon recommended that Isla have a Total Ear Canal Ablation (TECA). This is a total removal of her ear canal. She needs to have the surgery in order to live a more comfortable life. But the coughing lingers.
My Vet ordered another test to rule out her heart being the culprit....and guess what? it's her heart that may the cause of the cough. So another Echocardiogram has been scheduled to see what sort of damage there is to her heart. Once we figure that out and manage it we can consider the surgery.
In the meantime, if you can donate, thanks! And if not, please share Isla Mae’s story with others.
About a month later a childhood friend posted a photo of a cat at a private shelter in Virginia Beach. Her name was Tara and she looked just like Madeline. My heart stopped and before I knew it I was on the road to pick her up. Tara came from a shelter in Isle of Wight county and so I named her Isla Mae (it is also the name of my mother’s favorite cousin). Isla Mae had been shaved since she had gotten matted and came home with a sweater. She settled into her room and rarely moved except to eat and use the litter box. I took her to the vet and it was determined that she had something going on in her ears. She coughed and shook her head/ears a lot. Soafter months and months of medicine and ear drops and teeth extraction Isla wasn’t much better. The next step was to have an MRI and additional blood tests. From that we learned that she has an inner ear infection that would require surgery. She had a difficult time coming out of the anesthesia and the specialist surmised she may have asthma. They did not want to perform any surgery until the asthma was under control. So….we put Isla on Prednisilone, a steroid, hoping that would help with the cough. It has some, but she still coughs and continues to shake her head.
I recently followed up with the specialist and learned that she and the surgeon recommended that Isla have a Total Ear Canal Ablation (TECA). This is a total removal of her ear canal. She needs to have the surgery in order to live a more comfortable life. But the coughing lingers.
My Vet ordered another test to rule out her heart being the culprit....and guess what? it's her heart that may the cause of the cough. So another Echocardiogram has been scheduled to see what sort of damage there is to her heart. Once we figure that out and manage it we can consider the surgery.
In the meantime, if you can donate, thanks! And if not, please share Isla Mae’s story with others.
Organizer
Janene Elmer Charbeneau
Organizer
Richmond, VA