I got there early and helped draw the three in one vaccines before the clinic started. The three in ones had to be done differently then the rabies. The sterile dilutent was drawn into the syringe and then squirted into the powdered vaccine before being drawn back into the syringe.
Annika was involuntarily volunteered to be the one to sedate the cats. It was amusing to watch her because everytime a cat moved, she would almost shriek. It was entertaining. Kim got there later to give the anesthesia.
I opted to be the one who transferred them from the sedation room into the room where everything was going on. I think I like that area the most because I can see the cat's personalities. Some come in scared stiff to the point where injecting the anesthesia is incredibly easy. Others come in angry at the world and angry at us for taking them from their angry world. Others come in as stray pets that simply miss being loved and rub against fingers and syringes. Two came in with collars but no name tags. One had a microchip but it hadn't been registered. We checked for ear tips to show that some cats had already been through this trauma once already.
This time there were really little babies. They looked so tiny in the feral cat traps. Their personalities were so different from the adults. They seemed scared but inquisitive, as if they hadn't learned not to trust humans yet. They accepted it as an adventure.
Three had been sedated and surgery performed on but it was difficult bringing them out. So three others about the same side weren't done. It was risky. Because we couldn't guarantee that they would be caught to have a second chance.
It was an extremely long clinic. Last month, we did four hundred and nine cats over both Saturday and Sunday. But this time, we had four hundred and eleven dropped off. And we were doing them all in one day.
There weren't as many veterinarians as there were last month. For most of the day there were four but at one time there were only three. It was definitely daunting because last month there were like six. Dr. Henderson, Dr. Lalor, Dr. Wagner, and Dr. Goodman were performing the surgeries.
Most of the other volunteers and Kim left at four but I had decided that I would see it through to the end. I took over the bookkeeping aspect, logging down the genders of each of the remaining hundred or more cats, writing down which vet performed the spay on the females, and any medical conditions.
The genders were being shouted out by two other volunteers, Debbie and Rich, once the cats were sedated enough to be removed from the cage. Some had already been fixed.
Males were able to be done quickly because neutering is almost completely non-invasive. The scrotum was slit open and the testicle was squeezed out. Knots were tied in the tube and then the tube was cut. The knots were tucked back into the empty scrotum and stitches were done. Ocassionally there were some interesting neuters like undescended testicles which the doctors refered to as high flanking.
Females weren't as easy or quick. The surgery was delicate. An inch long slit was placed through the skin and abdominal wall. A hook was used to withdraw the fallopian tubes and ovaries. The pedicel was tied off and cut first. The uterus was drawn out and a knot was placed around the cervix. Once knotted, the entire uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries were removed. Stitches were placed in the abdominal wall followed by subcutaneous stitches. A small line of Vetbond was glued over the stitches. One female had a torn pedical. Another female had something called uteran unicornus which meant that the female only had one ovary.
Once down with the respective surgeries temperatures, breathing rates, and membrane colors were checked. The vaccines were distributed. Females and males with undescended testicles were given Buprenorphine for the pain post-op. Medical conditions were looked for and noted during that stage. Ears were tipped to show that they had been surgically sterilized to reduce the feral cat population's growth.
It is a myth that fleas can't occur in Vegas. But for some reason, they aren't seen in the pet population only the feral population. One of the kittens that I was warming back up after coming out of surgery had a flea on her.
Fleas were treated with Frontline, ear mites were treated with Ivermectin, and if they needed to be reversed out of anesthesia it was done withe Yobine.
The cats were then taken to another room where they were bathed and brushed. Some required some extra attention as they woke up. Ideally, they should be twitching their ears, blinking, or licking at their lips when placed back in the traps. But then again with so many cats, it was hard. So some volunteers watched them while they woke up in their traps to ensure everything was going okay.
It was alot of fun and exciting.
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