Mr. Tumnus and Rosie

Mr. Tumnus was referred to me as he was suffering with Feline Orofacial Pain Syndrome (FOPS)  after a dental procedure. This caused him to incessantly cause himself harm by tearing at his face on a regular basis.

His owner, Rosie, could not leave him unsupervised for over three months while he healed from his operation.

We are two relatively young and healthy professionals that love our pets as family. One of our cats, a Burmese cross, has suffered very badly with FOPS following a dental procedure. It caused him to tear at his face, damaging the tissue inside his mouth badly. At its works, we could not leave him alone in a room without supervision for three months or he would tear at his face. We have since got his condition under control to a very satisfactory level using a couple of different medications. Any stress can exacerbate his symptoms though and, compounded with the difficulty of giving him his pills, we have been nervous about leaving him with cat-sitters to go away since this condition began.

We booked our wedding abroad when he seemed to be improving and was being weaned off his pills, however, his discomfort began to increase as we got closer to the wedding date. When enquiring at our vets about whether they could recommend anybody reliable to come and feed our cat and make sure he got the correct dosage of his medication, Carla Finzel, District Veterinary Nurse, was recommended to us, and we booked her in.

A week before we were due to fly, our cat fell ill and was diagnosed with carcinoma in the large bowel. Surgery was successfully performed at Fitzpatrick Referrals the following day and, the evening after that he was discharged. The surgeon felt that he would recover best at home, due to stress exacerbating his other conditions (including FOPS and FIC.) If we had not been put in touch with Carla Finzel, I have no doubt that we would have cancelled our wedding.

Fortunately, we had and she went out of her way to visit us in the days before our flights to ensure that our cat was healing well. We left knowing that he was in excellent hands. Knowing that if anything was a bit questionable that our cat would be taken straight to the vet. Carla also supported my teenaged sister, who was house-sitting and providing extra company for the cat, making sure that she wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the responsibility.

We always want to do everything right for our beloved pets but the recommended care can sometimes be incredibly daunting. I have no doubt that we would have hired a District Veterinary Nurse on previous occasions, had we known it was an option.

Carla has continued to support us when we have had minor concerns about our cat’s chemotherapy side effects but haven’t wanted to just haul him straight into the vets as this can set off his other conditions. This caring, in-house service has felt very appropriate for our nervous pet and we are so grateful to have had this available to us.

We would like to express our support for Carla’s campaign for District Veterinary Nursing. We hope that, in the near future, this level of in-home support will be available to all who need it, for whatever reason.

Rosie, Mr Tumnus’ Owner

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