Orange Boy showed up at our backdoor tonight meowing and covered in dirt. Upon taking a closer look at him, I noticed the whole right side of his face was swollen. His chin was swollen as well. He did not have any noticeable puncture or bite marks, so I tried cleaning him up as best I could. During the process of cleaning up Orange Boy it became evident that the swelling was worse than originally thought. Concerned, I rushed Orange Boy to the ER vet. Upon taking one look at Orange Boy's face they immediately concluded that he had been bitten by a rattle snake. At the moment we believe the bite may have been a dry bite, being as his red blood cells have not been affected, but cannot be certain. His bloodwork as of tonight looks good. His face however is extremely swollen. We just got back from the ER and it is now two in the morning. Orange Boy is hear with us. We do not know if he will make it through the night, and I am therefore staying up all night with him. If his condition changes in any way before our regular vet's office opens in the morning, I have orders to rush him back to the ER. The bite wound occurred at the top of his head and missed his right eye by less than an inch. Orange Boy has been Moki's closest friend, so we ask that everyone please say a little prayer for him. We will update everyone the next chance that we get.
Update: Orange Boy is still with us. His face is still badly swollen and he is very warm to the touch. I think he is probably running a fairly high temperature. We have been giving him Metacam to help with the pain and Clavamox to help with the swelling. We will be seeing our regular vet this afternoon at 3:00. We will let everyone know what our regular vet has to say upon our return. Thanks everyone for your continued prayers.
P.S.
(This is the most recent picture taken of Orange Boy and shows the full extent to which he can open his eyes. His face is not puffy because he is looking down. This is the actual size of his face do to the swelling...)