Like everyone else, our hearts went out to all of those affected by the "suspicious" brush fire in Golden Gate Estates last week. It is fortunate that no one was physically hurt by the fire, sadly, the same cannot be said for many animals caught in the blaze. As veterinarians we were particularly touched by the account of "Scotty", the neighborhood stray that ran from the woods engulfed in flames and doused by Mr. Glen Nichols. After reading the story, we contacted the Nichols' and offered to care the for kitty until he was able to literally get back on his feet. Mr. & Mrs. Nichols brought Scotty to us on Saturday. Because of all the interest generated in his welfare, we will be keeping everyone updated on his progress through this web site. Dr. Reiff & the staff of Naples Safari Animal Hospital & Pet Resort |
5/31/2008 When Scotty came in on Saturday, it was evident that his most
severe visible injuries were burns to all four of his feet. The tips of his ears were
blistered and the flaps themselves were very warm and swollen. Scotty appears
to be lucky in that there were only a few other charred areas of skin on the
rest of his body where his long hair had burned off. His whiskers were gone,
and his corneas were irritated. Our first concern ,after assessing his stability on
day one, was pain management. Scotty has been receiving medications for
pain daily. Because he is an unvaccinated, outdoor, unneutered, male,
adult with old fight scars, he was at high risk for being infected with FIV (Kitty
AIDS), which might have complicated recovery. Fortunately, Scotty tested
negative for both FIV and Feline Leukemia Virus. His lungs and kidneys, two
systems often affected by fire injuries, were assessed and found to be working
normally. In addition to pain control, we are treating Scotty with antibiotics and
daily burn treatments and bandage changes. We are also medicating his eyes.
Scotty is a very sweet cat and is tolerating the treatments very well. His appetite
is good, and he enjoys a good chin scratch while being handled. We will keep
everyone updated on his progress on this site.
severe visible injuries were burns to all four of his feet. The tips of his ears were
blistered and the flaps themselves were very warm and swollen. Scotty appears
to be lucky in that there were only a few other charred areas of skin on the
rest of his body where his long hair had burned off. His whiskers were gone,
and his corneas were irritated. Our first concern ,after assessing his stability on
day one, was pain management. Scotty has been receiving medications for
pain daily. Because he is an unvaccinated, outdoor, unneutered, male,
adult with old fight scars, he was at high risk for being infected with FIV (Kitty
AIDS), which might have complicated recovery. Fortunately, Scotty tested
negative for both FIV and Feline Leukemia Virus. His lungs and kidneys, two
systems often affected by fire injuries, were assessed and found to be working
normally. In addition to pain control, we are treating Scotty with antibiotics and
daily burn treatments and bandage changes. We are also medicating his eyes.
Scotty is a very sweet cat and is tolerating the treatments very well. His appetite
is good, and he enjoys a good chin scratch while being handled. We will keep
everyone updated on his progress on this site.
| Scotty on Saturday |
| 6/3/2008 Scotty continues to improve and did very well over the weekend. His feet are healing and the tissue is becoming pinker and more healthy daily. He is actually moving around a little on his bandaged feet. The swelling of his ears is much reduced although the tips are still ragged. Scotty is more comfortable keeping his eyes opened, and the ulcers on his corneas are getting smaller. Mr. Nichols visited Scotty yesterday, and the two really seem to have a bond. The Naples Daily News came by to do a follow up story that will be in Wednesday's Paper. They also shot some video that can be seen on their Studio55 section. If you would like to see their footage click Scotty Video. |
6/5/2008 Scotty has become quite the celebrity. After appearing on the front
page of the paper, Wink News asked to do a follow up story. All of the fame has
not gone to his head, although he does seem to enjoy the all of the attention.
The reporter even came back to get a shot of him holding Scotty. Mrs. Nichols
also stopped by for a visit so it was a full day. His attitude and appetite remain
great. If he continues, we hope to send him home next week. Here is a shot of
what Scotty's feet looked like on Monday.
page of the paper, Wink News asked to do a follow up story. All of the fame has
not gone to his head, although he does seem to enjoy the all of the attention.
The reporter even came back to get a shot of him holding Scotty. Mrs. Nichols
also stopped by for a visit so it was a full day. His attitude and appetite remain
great. If he continues, we hope to send him home next week. Here is a shot of
what Scotty's feet looked like on Monday.
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| 6/7/08 Scotty had a little bit of an elevated temperature on Thursday so we made some adjustments to his antibiotic regimen and it came back down to normal. His whiskers are starting to grow back and the burned areas around his eyes are improving. ABC news came to interviiew him too for the 6:00 news. His story can be accessed from here. We tentatively have him scheduled for surgery on Monday. The tips of his ears will need to be removed, and we will be doing the final removal of tissue from his feet. It is great that so many people have expressed concern for him and all of the victims of the brush fires this season. |
| 6/9/2008 Scotty's face looks better and we will be taking him to surgery today to remove the tips of his ears and asess what the tips of his toes look like. We'll have a better idea of how long he will be with us after today. 6/11/2008 Scotty did well for surgery . We trimmed the dead tissue from the tips of his ears. Although we decided that the ends of his toes did not need to be amputated, the tissue damage from the fire was extensive and it will probably take a little longer than we originally thought before he will be walking comfortably. All non- viable tissue was removed, and there did not seem to be much sign of infection, although Dr. Mettley took a culture just to make sure. We also neutered him. Scotty was a little disoriented after recovery from his first anesthesia, but was back to himself on Tuesday. |
| Scotty before surgery |
| Dr. Mettley getting Scotty ready for surgery |
| Scotty with "new ears" and a pink nose |
| 6/16/2008 Scotty continues to do well . We tend to his feet daily; the back feet still need bandaging, but we have left the bandages off of the front feet for the last couple of days as the pads have finally scabbed over. We are keeping Scotty on layers of soft padding and he is beginning to stand and move around on all fours, something that he has been reluctant to do so far. The Nichols are anxious to take him home and we are sure he is looking forward to going with him. Our goal is to get his feet healed enough for him to stand and move around comfortably on rough ground without risk of infection. We have also started weaning him off of the pain medication slowly, monitoring him to insure that he remains comfortable. He is still delightful to work with, and has started "kneading" with the front feet and purring if you scratch him in the right places. |
| 6/21/2008 Scotty is heading down the homestretch. His feet are no longer oozing and have scabbed over, so we are leaving the bandages off. He is doing his own physical therapy by stretching his toes. We will be taking the sutures out of his ears on Monday, and he is almost completely off of pain medications. Scotty has been vaccinated and microchipped in preparation for going home with the Nichols - we are shooting for Thursday. In the meantime he enjoys one of the cat videos that our feline boarders are entertained with on his private DVD player. |
6/25/2008 Going Home! Scotty is going home with Mr. &
Mrs.Nichols tomorrow. The sutures have been removed from his
ears and they look great. His feet have almost finished healing
and, although they may be a little tender, should do fine. His
eyes are healed , his fur is starting to feel soft instead of rough
and his whiskers are coming back. Scotty is a gentle and
affectionate cat and we will all miss him. We would like to thank
everyone who expressed interest in his welfare. We hope to
keep in touch .
Mrs.Nichols tomorrow. The sutures have been removed from his
ears and they look great. His feet have almost finished healing
and, although they may be a little tender, should do fine. His
eyes are healed , his fur is starting to feel soft instead of rough
and his whiskers are coming back. Scotty is a gentle and
affectionate cat and we will all miss him. We would like to thank
everyone who expressed interest in his welfare. We hope to
keep in touch .
| 6/26/2008 Scotty went home with Mr. Nichols today. It was quite a party with the media people who had been reporting his story this past month on hand to wish them well. Hopefully this will be his last brush with fame and the rest of his life will be quiet and uneventful. |
| 7/12/2008 Scotty came in to have one of his vaccines boostered. He is sticking close to the Nichols' and often sleeps in their bed. His recovery is just about complete. Our thoughts go out to all the people and furry ones that are being affected by the California fires. We hope that they can find happy endings too. |
| 9/13/2008 Scotty is enjoying being an indoor kitty and loves snoozing in bed and interacting with the other cats in the Nichols household. He came in to get an application of "Soft Paws" which are acrylic nail tips for cats. These are a non painful alternative to declawing. Scotty will retain all of his toes , but will not be able to scratch the furniture. This is a great option for him - he is such a mellow guy that the tips were easy to put on, and they probably can be replaced at home when needed, We all enjoyed seeing him again - he has tufts of hair growing out of his ears and the hair on his face is filling out. |
| 12/25/2008 Naples Daily News updated all about the victims of the Golden Gate Estates fires - including Scotty and the Nichols family. Click http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/dec/24/golden-gate-estate-residents-try-rebuild-physicall/ to read the story and for a great picture of our friends!! |
| 7/1/09 - Unfortunately, Mr. Nichols is finding it necessary to move and cannot take Scotty with him. Please let us know if you can provide a forever home for this sweet cat. |