2. Charlotte is a 13 year old female
DSH feline. She weights 4.62kgs and has a
Body condition score of 2/5
3. CASE SUMMARY
• Charlotte will be recovering from a non elective
surgery/anaesthesia, and will be hospitalised with a
non-infectious medical disease (cancer).
• Charlotte has a history of developing cancerous
tumours on her nose. In December 2013 she had one
tumour frozen off with liquid nitrogen. This tumour
has grown back along with another smaller one.
• The biggest tumour of the two has to be surgically
removed and the second can be frozen with Liquid
Nitrogen.
4. What is the treatment plan for Charlotte???
The biggest tumour will be removed and then sutured closing off only a small
fraction of the Rt nostril. The smaller tumour will be frozen to hopefully kill
the cancerous cells. This will take about 5 cycles of the liquid lasting about 10
seconds for each cycle. Charlotte will go home with an Elizabethan collar only.
This area would be too difficult to dress and expect the cat to leave it on!!!
5. Care plan/INTERVENTION PLAN
What problems do I need to be aware of??
• 1.) Charlotte is 13 years old and therefore classed as a
Geriatric. Careful monitoring must be taken whilst she is
under Anaesthesia and post surgery.
• 2.) When the procedure is finished the Rt nostril will be closed
slightly otherwise there will be a hole left from where one of
the tumours was. Can she breathe normally??? Do I need to
monitor her nose in case of a blockage of secretions???
• 3.) Will Charlotte start pulling the stitches out once she is
awake??? If so should I put the Elizabethan collar on her
before she fully wakes up?
6. Care plan Cont:
• 4.) I must monitor her temperature as Geriatrics are prone to
feeling the cold. I will place a heat pad in her recovery cage
along with wool blankets.
• 5.) Risk of infection. Do I need to organise some antibiotics
and pain relief to take home? Will the owners be able to give
tablets? Should I give an antibiotic injection instead?
7. Why is Charlotte so special??
• Charlotte as previously stated is a Geriatric and so that
automatically makes her extra special. With regards to the
holistic approach for my patient I ensured she was kept warm
and in a quiet area of the hospitalisation ward. She was
slightly nervous and therefore I didn’t want to exacerbate that
by placing her near other animals.
9. Nursing observations for Charlotte
Charlotte was placed in a quiet area where there wasn’t any noise or distractions. Whilst under
Anaesthesia I administered Metacam and Clavulox injections for pain relief and infection. Whilst
recovering she immediately started licking her nose so I monitored her closely to see if the cone
of shame needed to go on!!! Thankfully she stopped once she was satisfied and didn’t attempt to
pull the sutures out. She was sneezing slightly which I put down to secretions in her nostrils after
the procedure. This didn’t continue for long so I wasn’t concerned.
Once fully awake I offered her
some water which she didn’t drink. Instead
she burrowed under the blankets. I didn’t
need to be concerned with physiotherapy or
pressure point care. I was concerned however
with making sure she didn’t have any problems
Breathing. The vet stated that he wanted me to
make sure the owners didn’t wash the surgical site
and that they brought Charlotte back in to the clinic
In three days time.
10. Case outcome
Charlotte recovered well from the anaesthesia and didn’t need the e-collar to
be placed on her until she was discharged. Hopefully the procedure and using
the Liquid Nitrogen has finally removed all the cancerous cells. If it hasn’t I
fear I may be seeing her again!!
