665. Follow up on the stray cat with FIV

"Do you know how to open the cat's mouth to check the gum ulcers?" I asked the Temasek Poly lady who was volunteering and had chosen "pneumonia" as her first case study. This was the stray cat with the FIV and she had to write a report and produce a video. No point just see like a tourist. Writing will bring vet medicine alive to a student and so I do insist on such recording. Her writing was excellent as I admire good handwriting. She had not come for the past 2 days and in that time, the stray cat made excellent progress.

I got the 3 students together. Got the cat out and demonstrated how to open a cat's mouth. The student tried while her male classmate was positioned to video the mouth. The cat swung out her right hand and claws came out. She withdrew to prevent scratching. "This is a gentle cat," I said. "Try again." She did not succeed 100%. The cat swung out her left hand and claws came out.

"Lift the upper lip at the side," I said. "You will see that the gum ulcers have healed a lot."

The cat should go home on Oct 10, 2011 i.e. at the 7th day after hospitalisation. Blood tests were normal. No immuno-suppression. The 2 months of yellow nasal discharge was gone. The two teenaged daughters visited this cat daily, brought the canned food.

This was an excellent case study for the lady student from the Poly. Learning is best when real cases are studied in detail and written up. Being an observer leads to superficial knowledge. I will see how she produces the video.