Cat with Broken Jaw

[Snowfyre]

I need some advice or something. Yoda is my longhair siamese cat. When I came home from work last night, he was drooling all over. I took him to the vet this morning to hear what I didn't want to hear. Broken jaw. They wanted me to put him down right then and there. The jaw is broken back near the joint. The vet said that it would cost a minimum of one to 2000 dollars. There's no way I'll have that much money. They wouldnt' let me even take my cat home unless I had 51 dollars. Which I had to borrow. If you guys pray, I need all the help I can get. I've had this cat since he was born. He's only a year old. I don't want to lose him. He can open his mouth wider and move his tongue. He just can't close his mouth all the way. Do you know any ways to rig his mouth closed? I could see putting him down if he was cowering and stuff in pain. But he rubbed on me the entire way home and purred and tried to get me to pet him more. I don't want to give up on him. Here are two pics of what he usually looks like.

 

[Hurley]

I can't say specifically without seeing the fracture, but most caudal mandibular fractures/ramus fractures can be managed with a tape muzzle if you can rig one on the cat. The muscles in the area do a decent job keeping the fracture ends in the vicinity of each other and a young cat should go on to heal in 8 weeks or so. If you can't fixate the fracture (which yes, runs 2 grand, often times, but is the preferred option to avoid prolonged pain for the cat and to get good occlusion of the teeth), then you can either rig a tape muzzle with a band behind the ears and one from the muzzle up between the ears to try and keep it in place. Then feed the cat a gruel of watered down high calorie food (Science diet a/d or kitten food or Eukanuba recovery formula) so it can lap it up. Replace the muzzle as necessary and keep on for 6 to 8 weeks. Another alternative that is less costly than surgery, but more costly than 51 bucks is to have the canine teeth bonded temporarily or have the jaw wired in place with a 1 cm opening. Both options are much less costly and better than a tape muzzle, but they won't be less than a couple hundred dollars. If there's any way to swing this route and find a vet who can do it, you're better off.

 

[Hurley]

Disclaimer: (of course) Without surgical repair, you run the risk of healing with a malocclusion, but this is often just cosmetic and the cat can still eat. If it's maloccluded enough that one of the canines interferes with mouth closing, you can always step back and have the tooth shortened and capped if need be, but this outcome isn't as common.

 

[Hurley]

I apologize for the green, but it was St. Patty's day when I gave this presentation...

Here are some photos of composite bonding of the teeth that I spoke of, 2 of tape muzzles, the placement and it in place (I'd add another strip between the eyes for a cat and make the muzzle just tight enough to hold the jaw allowing a 1 cm (1/2 inch) opening), and of typical surgical repairs of ramus fractures.

 

[Hurley]

And last photo, of interarcade wiring (using a 1 cm bite block to keep the jaws the amount open you want) for stabilization while healing.

 

[snakers2486]

I am so sorry to hear about your cat... I am one of the biggest cat fans and I know my heart would be crushed if I were in your situation. I will definitely pray for your kitty and hopefully you will be able to get him some treatment.. Dont give up hope!

 

[Snowfyre]

Update

Yoda showed interest in eating some soft food. Not interested in drinking. Debating about adding more water to the food to help make up for that if I don't see him drink. I have to wait till tomorrow to wrap his jaw since the stuff I need is at a store that's closed. Hurley, thanks so much for hope. I don't want to lose my baby. And I'll give him a fighting chance if he wants it. Are there any signs I should be watching for to know if he's giving up and needs to be put down? I hate to ask this, but I need to be possibly prepared.

 

[Hurley]

Keep him hydrated. That's key. Add water to his soft food and keep the fluids going in. Spike with tuna juice if need be.

Just be careful with the tape muzzle. He must be monitored so he doesn't get it hung up or heaven forbid if he were to vomit (as cats do) since he can't open his mouth all the way. You have to leave him some breathing room. Leave him so you can put a finger under the muzzle where it goes around his nose. Yeah, I know how tough it is to keep these on cats, but you can't have it too tight and risk problems. Too bad they don't make comfy cat muzzles like they do dog muzzles. With a dog, you can just buy a size a little too big and use that.

If left without support at all, it may even go on to heal, but it will be a slow, painful recovery and he will very likely have a deviated jaw. A muzzle keeps his canines near each other and encourages better alignment, plus gives him some support.

Unless he simply won't eat/drink and gives up (which isn't like most young, healthy cats), I see no reason to euthanize him. He sounds like a fighter.

 

[desertanimal]

I don't think your cat will give up as long as it gets enough to eat and drink. However, if he does, he's your cat, and you will know. Good luck!

 

[ghosthousecorns]

I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty from another cat person, I know how devastated I would be if it happened to my Shadow, I will definitely say a prayer for Yoda and I am glad you are getting such good advice and hope here

 

[Plissken]

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. I have cats and I would be horrified if this happened to them!

If your kitty took some soft food, he's likely getting water from that. Not to say you can't offer him extra drinks, but cats rarely drink, they get most of their moisture from their food. I hardly ever see my cats drinking.

Good luck!

 

[kimbyra]

See if you can borrow money from friends/family, try a bank extension, vet payment plans, etc, for the surgery. My siamese, Sabine, got into some poison, and the three day vet bill was way more than I could afford. I got money from everywhere I could, including pawning some items. I hope everything works out!

 

[Kat]

Yikes, poor kitty... You didn't tell me it was a jaw break... how do you think it happened?

-Kat

 

[Snowfyre]

I would if I could

If I could find the money to get my cat's jaw fixed from friends and family, I'd have asked them to help me with my rent long ago. I'm 2 months behind as it is. And Kat, I wish I knew how it happened. I really do. Cause I would do everything I could to keep it from happening again. I've worked on taping him today, We're using part of a spray bottle cap as support. He is NOT happy. I'm trying to figure a way to go over the muzzle since its so shallow. I might have to cut the tape in half horizontally to get it OVER the muzzle. Right now he's resting between tape sessions. He freaked out for a bit and I don't want him hurting himself worse.I'm so stressed. And now I dont even have enough to try going to another vet for a second opinion. The first vet charged me fifty dollars for a vet visit and DAY CARE. The only reason he was there that long was because they told me to leave him there until the vet showed up. I could have brought him back if that was the case.

 

[kimbyra]

Not to bug ya, but did you try discussing the bill with them? They aren't allowed to charge you for services you didn't agree to (daycare) or to tell you that you can't pick up your pet until you pay. From what I've been told, thats illegal. But I guess this isn't helping your current situation. I'm so sorry that you're going through this.

 

[Hurley]

Best thing to use is 1/2 inch athletic tape for the piece around the muzzle. Measure how big the ring needs to be and make it off the cat if need be. Make sure you stick sticky side to sticky side so it's not sticking to the cat. Then make tape tabs on the sides by folding the tape around the muzzle ring part and sticking it to itself so you have two pieces longer than they need to be. Then put the ring over his nose like you're haltering a horse, bring the tabs back behind his head and adjust til they are snug, then tape or tie them together behind his head. You may have another tab prestrung on the muzzle part that will go between his eyes that you can then affix to the part going around the back of his head. That tab helps hold the ring up on their short muzzle.

And I feel for you. Cats hate being messed with when they hurt and they hate bandages and splints, but they do get used to them. The reason for the splint is support and to try and have the jaw heal as straight as possible. If you can just get it in place and let him calm down, he'll adjust. (And if I have my preferences, I obviously place these with an animals sedated. ) If he's bad about getting his front feet in the way, sometimes wrapping them snuggly in a towel like a kitty-burrito helps keep the feet out of the way while you try to get the muzzle on.

Quite honestly and admittedly, it's not an easy thing to do (which is why I do them, not have my clients do it) but that's the best advice I've got for you if you can't get him in to get help. If all else fails and you absolutely can't get a good muzzle in place, you're left with euthanasia (which I think is excessive at this point) or "benign neglect"...leave the cat to heal as it will and pray it heals in a position that allows it to close its mouth and eat and function normally. Feed it a slurry of wet kitten food, the consistancy of baby food. NO CHEWING. Give him 8 weeks and pray and watch that his jaws are lining up (where the big canine teeth meet is the easiest way to judge this). Given the location of the fracture, the muscle bellies keep the bones someone together, so it's one of the few places you can get away with that.

 

[rhinecat]

I would get a credit card or apply for CareCredit to pay for the surgery, myself. Also, I would "vet-shop" and see if other vets can treat him for less. Often, vets in smaller towns or inner city areas will charge less so their clients can afford vet care. Additionally, some vets will work out a payment plan with their regular or previous clients, though this is becoming more rare.

I'm sorry you and your cat are going through this.

 

[desertanimal]

Would it work to buy an actual cat muzzle and modify it? Cut out the front of it so he could eat and drink with it on and cut out the top so that he could still see with it on? Or does that not actually support the muzzle at all? It's been so long since I've seen one in person that I can't recall.

 

[Snowfyre]

My credit is too bad for credit care. I tried talking to them and they tried getting me to put my cat down. They charged me for DAYCARE for my cat for BLEEP's sake. I only left my cat there because they told me to. The other vet refused to see Yoda because they were 'full'. This place sucks when it comes to vets. They care more about their money. I sorta stuck the tape directly to him. errr...oops. I didn't think of sticking sticky to sticky. Of course he would have gotten it off. His jaw section comes off easier since I made it so that I can cut the tape to it and replace it since he's still drooling terribly. How often should I be changing bandanges. And guys, thank you for everything. Haven't eaten well in two days due to this. I wish I had a vet around like buttonlip does.

Well, at least he'll be used to the bandages when I redo it. His haircut sucks.

 

[Hurley]

You change the splint as it needs to be changed.

(great answer, huh?)

Seriously, though. You watch for skin irritation from being wet from the drooling, watch for the muzzle to start slipping, change it when need be. (On average every 3 to 7 days, but some will wear them better and can go 2 weeks.) I generally have any splint recheck weekly for monitoring and changing if needed. They come back more often if skin irritation/infection is a problem.

He is going to lose some hair to muzzle rub. He is going to get some dermatitis (irritated, inflamed skin) where the muzzle is wet from drool. It's a given. BUT, it's better to support him now and ease some pain as well as encourage proper tooth alignment than to just let him dangle, but have pretty hair and good skin. He will be feeling much better within 10 days or so. He'll have a nice bone callus forming and the fracture will feel more stable since it isn't moving about. As his jaw feels better, he'll drool less and less, but it's going to take time. Just because he feels better in 2 weeks, don't stop the muzzle use for a good 6 to 8, especially if (I'm assuming here) you aren't going to follow up for radiographs to see if it's fully healed. Though a rostral (towards the front of the mouth) fracture can heal in 3 to 4 weeks, the further back you go and the less stability you provide (muzzle vs. surgery), the longer it takes for full healing...up to 16 weeks in some cases. Just FYI. Most will clinically (meaning functionally) be healed in 8 weeks, give or take.

Is he eating his gruel/slurry ok?