Mostly whimsy and drivel of no consequence. And CHEESE.
BeBe has Eye Herpes (it does have a more scientific-sounding technically appropriate name – Rhinotracheitis, but “Eye Herpes” just gets straight to the point). The poor cat has already been through more medical trauma this year than any feline deserves. There was a long and extended spay reaction resulting in one additional emergency surgery and another emergency overnight stay and steroids and antibiotics and, what cats LOVE the best, special outfits. Suffice it to say I’d take her to the vet at that point and they’d say, “It could either be A or B,” and then it would be A and B. She had to have a tumor taken out at the same time and had the pleasure of having that needle aspirated previously – I think you get the point. I have pitiful pictures somewhere; I’ll try to locate and add them for the complete pathos they evoke.
Anyhoo, she has Eye Herpes. One eye got all goopy (very technical term) and increasingly swollen. She tried to clean it out, poor thing, and I tried to periodically cleanse it as well so she could keep her eye open as it became increasingly swollen. So I took her to the vet. They performed the absolutely COOLEST procedure I have ever seen at a vet. Mind you, I have seen the birth of wee puppy dogs and other darling animals and interesting medical procedures in person, and any number of really impressive surgeries on Emergency Vets, but this was the COOLEST thing I’d ever seen. After the rectal temperature and the weighing and special drops to numb her eye (she’s such a good girl!) he took a little slip of special paper (looked like one of those pH testing strips) and put it against her inside eyelid for a moment. It turned all her eye juice (another highly technical term) bright green!!! This way they can easily determine if the cornea is scratched (as the dye will concentrate in a scratched area). Have I mentioned how COOL it was? Apparently the vet uses these strips himself on Halloween – to great effect, no doubt.
But as patient as BeBe is with most veterinary procedures, she was really freaked out at the idea of having someone pull her eye open to take a close look and would not keep her eye open. Here’s where I need some real help – both the vet and eye both thought we saw something in her eye. He said, “It looks like a piece of “____________.” It is a botanical item with which I am familiar, but I can’t, for the life of me remember the name of it. Eventually they took BeBe in the back to give her a little gas to more easily extricate the any item that was there or make a further diagnosis. While I was in the waiting room I chatted with a couple whose very handsome Labrador had a paw wound from the very same plant. Horse weed? Cheeky grass? Wound plant? Chick grass? Pig plant? It’s been driving me crazy. If anyone has any guesses as to what the substance is, please submit them.
Anyhoo, it wasn’t “cow plant” or “Horsetail” (Horsetail? Is that it?) causing the problem; it was Eye Herpes. Ah, good ol’ Eye Herpes. It’s fun to say “Eye Herpes.” The EYE HERPES spread promptly to the other eye, but the drops are working wonderfully and BeBe’s eyes are almost as gorgeous as ever.
Grettir
October 10th, 2004 at 9:32 am
Horsetail or Equisetum. Pioneers called it Scouring Rush because of it’s highly abrasive qualities. (They actually used it to scrub their cooking pots.) This abrasiveness is due to an unusually high silica content, thus it would not be a good thing to have in one’s eye.
Equisetum has been around since prehistoric times, and has changed very little in millions of years. Because of this, you’ll often see it used as a prominent landscaping material in dinosaur movies.
danithew
October 11th, 2004 at 9:00 am
What an interesting post. I wonder how hard it would be to get some slips of paper like that for my eyes this Halloween. 🙂
Kate
October 11th, 2004 at 6:00 pm
Bless you, Grettir, Botany God of the Universe. I knew I could count on you for the answer. I am filled with a sense of relief (or re-leaf?).
herpes virus
October 13th, 2005 at 10:50 am
Poor cat! Is it dangerous for humans? Have you taken any precautions?
Kate
October 28th, 2005 at 2:55 pm
No, this particular virus cannot transfer to humans. It is infectious to other cats, but I’m not certain that other animals can get it at all.
The medication is extremely (and quickly) effective, luckily. Thanks for your concern!
HoB1KenOB
January 8th, 2006 at 1:01 am
Um, I’m only a few years late on this, but I believe that botanical object would be a foxtail… and I have access to large numbers of the magical flourescein strips… though I haven’t ever used them on myself, I may want to try now.