If you said, "I'll take "Who Slept Last Night" for $200, Alex," you get 30 bonus points. (Jeopardy reference)
Yeah, nobody slept last night. Of course, Joan and I were concerned about Stella. The surgery recovery suit made her less crazy than the cone or the donut. Everything I read about it said that it is just as effective as the cone, and less traumatizing than the cone. Glad we had that as an option.
Early on, Joan chose to go out on the couch - Stella would cry if someone wasn't in the room. That left Murphy and I in the bedroom... until he started yakking up a furball about 2:00 am. That sound is more potent than any alarm clock.
Stella pulled her water dish over several times. After the 3rd time, she had to go without water for the rest of what was left of the night.
By 5:00 am, we all cashed it in and said we're up for the day.
When I opened the crate that Stella is in, she ran right out. Murphy said, "Whoo, baby!" and I had to chase them apart. Apparently, cutting out the reproductive bits on Stella wasn't an immediate end to her randiness or the pheromones she is putting out to make Murphy crazy. Which makes us all crazy.
We are all going to need a nap today.
But, first, I have a doctor's appointment this morning. Which I have to go in fasting. This will be the end of my 5 years of blood tests to check for any recurrence of cancer. As well as the usual things they check for to tell you what you don't get to eat anymore. And, re-up on prescriptions. They will only write prescriptions for 6 months, so you have to go see them twice a year. It's a racket.
So, tired and cranky.
We're trying to keep Stella "calm." She seems plenty ready to be active this morning. The vet gave us two pills for pain... not sure how we're going to get that down her, but we have a couple hours to figure that out.
Right now, we have her out of the crate, wrapped in a soft blanket, and being held...
For now, she is calm. Purring. Murphy is in "time out" in the bedroom. When I get back from the doctor, I plan to put myself in time out.
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The first full day after surgery went well. Stella got a pain pill as prescribed around noon. We tried hiding it in a treat - she was too smart for that. Then, she licked it off Joan's finger... and spit it out. I put it in her soft food for lunch, but she ate all her hard and ignored the soft. For a while; eventually she gave in, ate the soft, and had a nice peaceful nap this afternoon.
While she was napping, Murphy and I took a nap, too. Joan laid down with us for a bit, but went back to the living room to keep an eye on Stella. She may have gotten a little shut-eye during Stella's quiet time.
We checked Stella's incision: looks good. It's a little cut, but she is a little girl. Stella is doing good. We got a text from the vet's office today, asking about her - nice of them to follow up the next day. All good.
And, a quiet evening so far. Very different (and better) than yesterday evening. There is hope!
4 comments:
It is an "adventure", but you should be past the worst of it now that she is home again. I have never heard of a surgical suit before, but what a great idea. Far better then the Cone of Shame. It will take a few days for the hormones to dissipate from her system, so Murphy will be crazed a bit longer. I hope everyone survives. Fingers crossed emoji.
I have fingers and toes crossed, Earl. I am hoping for survival. Not used to seeing my good boy being a horn-dog. Still moderately stunned at Stella's behavior.
The surgical recovery suit has been great. Joan ordered another one this morning, with same day delivery. Stella isn't delighted with her pretty pink "outfit," but she is not flailing like she did with the cone and the donut.
It has been said: "The difference between adventure and ordeal is attitude." Maybe it's the lack of sleep; or the raging feline hormones? This is feeling more like an ordeal to me. I'll work on my attitude.
You don't know how well you had it being able to put on the cone, the donut and the suit. When we traveled from Montana to our home in Ramona, CA, we couldn't put on a harness on Chip, our black cat. We took him to the vet. They couldn't put the harness on unless they put him to sleep. The vet gave us some pills to give him when we go back to Montana in the summer. It is supposed to sedate him enough to take away the wildcat in him so we can put on the harness without both of us on life support for blood loss.
Hi Jeff. Six cats now (one at a time, until this new girl), and all have been compliant enough to let us put a harness on them. Izzy and Rufus would go to the door and wait to get a harness on so we could go for a walk. Murphy started that way, but we have traveled less with him, and he has the 6' walls around our home in Phoenix, so he and I walk without a leash. We did put a harness on Stella as a test fit - she was not a happy girl. I will work with her as she gets a little older.
Pound for pound, cats can be formidable. People sometimes said Rufus looked "intimidating" when he and I were out for walks. That sweet boy? ;-)
Stella is definitely scrappy - probably how she survived while living in a parking lot. Her demeanor has mellowed, a month into her new living situation. She sounds vicious with her growls and hisses, but is quite sweet. After she heals, we will put the harness on her for short times so she can get used to it.
Did the pills for Chip actually work on him? The vet gave us a couple gabapentin for Rufus so we could trim his nails - didn't seem to have any effect on him. Joan made a "hanging suit" so we could suspend him with his legs sticking out.
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