Silver is now home from his surgery!

[ThomCat]

Now all three of us are messed up! :P

Silver has a huge section of his back shaved and he has about 5" of staples. His front paw is still bandaged from the IV, and I've got a funnel collar I might have to put on him if he starts picking at stuff. :(

He was incredibly hungry, and now sprawling, totally spaced out. I can't pick him up and hold him like a baby, the way I usually do, because that would put pressure directly on the stitches.

But the vet says the mass was entirely removed. There were no complications. I have painkillers to give him later if he needs them. Silver will be perfectly fine once the staples come out in two weeks.

Gray is hissing at Silver because he smells different now. Anyone have any tips for getting past this quickly?

Millie thinks that all this drama has bypassed her. She thinks she's the lucky cat in the back of the apartment. I don't have the heart to tell her that she's going in for dental work next month.

[malta blue]

1. yay Silver is home...

I'm so glad your baby is home with you :loveya:

Gray will get used to Silver smelling different, with all the stiches, etc., I cannot recommend the tuna juice remedy :P

:hug::hug:

[ThomCat]

9. Silver's favorite is the juice from the Mixed Grill canned food.

So I poured that directly into a shallow bowl for him and put some of the food on the side. :loveya:

[LostinVA]

2. Gray will get over it in just a little while

As soon as the other trained possum gets his usual scent back.

[ThomCat]

10. I just hope they don't fight.

now that I see that long row of staples I'm worried about any of them coming out. :(

[LostinVA]

36. I doubt they will -- they're too close

[YDogg]

3. Good news!

:thumbsup:

[ThomCat]

12. Yes! If I can get them to get along

and keep Silver from worrying at the staples, and make sure he stays medicated long enough so he's not in pain early in the morning...

I'm a worrier, and it's all just started to him me. Tonight will be a test.

[hippywife]

4. Your such a good daddy!

And at least, so far, neither of you has to wear the collar. Maybe put it on Gray so he'll get over the hissing thing. :rofl:

[ThomCat]

13. I hope I'm a competent daddy.

I have to change my own bandages now (and my hands suck) and keep them occupied and entained because they're both feeling needy right now.

It's a lot right now. :(

[hippywife]

24. Maybe you all should

just cuddle up and get some sleep. It's been a long, hard day for you all. :hug:

[lost-in-nj]

5. to Thom, Silver and Gray and Millie

:hug:



lost

[ThomCat]

14. Thank you so much!

I really need that right now! :hug:

Everyone was okay and manageable until just a little while ago and now I'm worrying. :(

I will manage this. x(

[lost-in-nj]

18. I know you will be ok.....

give them time


:hug:


lost

[stuntcat]

6. entirely removed!!??

omg, that sounds good! :hug: :hug: :hug: If you're gonna take your eyes off him for even a second PUT THE COLLAR ON, I've heard enough horror stories about cats tearing up their stitches. I've kinda wondered why they always send cats home so drugged up, like aren't they scared they'll hurt themselves? but cats are malleable I think.
This made me sad last week, I'm glad things look better!!

[ThomCat]

15. I think you're right. I think the collar will be a necessary precaution.

:(

And I'm going to have to sleep out here on the couch with them. They don't sleep in my room with Millie and me, but I think I need to be nearby where I'll hear Silver if he's in pain.

:hug:
Tonight is going to be a test. Wish me luck.

[lost-in-nj]

7. sorry Thomcat I HAVE to do this...

HI HO SILVER AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



:hi:


lost

[ThomCat]

16. LOL!

That's okay. I'm sure he'd approve if he wasn't drugged up. He's a high-spirited galloping beast at times. :P

[fizzgig]

8. excellent news, thom

i'm glad he's home and everything went well

[ThomCat]

17. It is.

:)

I hope the recovery goes well now that he's home.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

11. Hooray! So glad he came through it with flying colors

I don't know of any way to get past the "vet smell" - it should just take a day or two before they're back to loving each other. At least it works that way in our house.

[ThomCat]

19. That's what I figure.

Tonight will be a test to see if he needs painkillers and the funnel collar. Tomorrow while I'm at work will be a test of how well the boys are getting along. :(

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

26. I doubt you'll find any blood, guts or even fur on the floor

Probably Silver will just chill somewhere and Gray may hiss at him and retire to his quarters!

[shaniqua6392]

20. I am so glad you are both done with this stuff.

Now you can both begin healing. I would suggest petting Silver all over for a while with your hands so he will at least get your familiar scent on him. That should make Gray feel a bit better. I hope he will leave the staples alone. They are really much stronger than stitches though and can take a lot of movement. Cats really hate those cones and can sometimes freak out a bit. If he seems to be bothering his surgical area, try to have someone get you some Bitter Apple from a pet store. It is pretty inexpensive. I don't squirt it directly on the staples, but you can put some on your fingers and put it on the skin around the staples. It tastes really horrible and can keep them from licking. That way he can feel "normal" and walk around without the cone. I hope you can get some rest tonight. I know how it can be with a pet after surgery though!! You will feel better about him by tomorrow evening. They recover and heal so fast it is amazing. Don't forget to take care of yourself too. I will add you both to my prayer list before I go to sleep.

[ThomCat]

22. Thank you very much!

That is all awesome advice. I'm going to do my best to see that we all heal as best we can. :)

:hug:
I've been procrastinating on changing my own bandages and I've bled through this one. So it's time to take your advice and take care of me. :P

[Skittles]

21. kick Gray's butt

cats act strange around injured animals, even if it's their usual companions. :o

[ThomCat]

23. I think it's more that Silver smells really weird and antiseptic.

Not so much that he's sick.

I've been petting Silver a lot, a lot, a lot. And now that Silver smells like me Gray doesn't seem to mind. :)

[hyphenate]

25. Take an unused towel

And rub one of the other cats with it fairly well. Then lightly rub Silver with the towel. The scent from the other cat will be on Silver masking the vet smells. It might confuse the others because it will smell like one of them, not all the other "sick" smells. The other one similar to this is to put baby powder on a towel, shake it out until only the smell is on the towels and then rub all the animals with it. It again confuses them, but nicely so.

Animals have way better sense of smell than we do. They can detect smells that we would never be able to smell.

[ThomCat]

29. Thank you!

I think petting silver enough to make him smell like me has done the trick, but I'll try that towel idea later if it looks necessary. :)

[musette_sf]

27. to get them to get over the smell thing

take a towel

rub non-vet-smelling kitteh with it

rub vet-smelling kitteh with it

repeat several times.

this technique usually works in my multi-cat household. once everyone smells somewhat like everyone else, the anxiety seems to be quelled.

and re Millie: if you want any info whatsoever about cat dental work, let me know. my George recently had **10** teeth extracted due to resorptive lesions (what the vet might call "cavities" - they are not cavities, but that's the term lots of vets use). if Millie's problem is resorptive lesions, i can relate the following:

1. it was formerly thought that they were caused by puking up hairballs, from the stomach acid eroding the teeth.
2. this was found to not be true.
3. the current theory is that they may be caused by some cats not being able to properly metabolize "excessive" Vitamin D in pet food.
4. #3 is only a theory, and has not been proven.

$2300 to one of the top veterinary dentists in the country, ask me anything you want. :-)

ps, sending healing vibes to everyone on St Marks Place!!!

[ThomCat]

30. I will definitely remember this.

:)

I hope she has little or no problems. I really hope one of these three doesn't need anything done.

[musette_sf]

28. ps on the collar:

they now make them out of cloth, which i think is more tolerable to animals than the traditional plastic. if you get desperate you can get one overnighted from here:

http://www.entirelypets.com/elizacollars.html

i couldn't find one locally after George's dental work so did a little research. fortunately we ended up not needing it, but i think i may order a few to keep in abeyance. you never know....

[ThomCat]

31. Thank you!

That's awesome. I am surprised that cloth ones aren't common.

[Flaxbee]

32. wow - glad to hear his surgery went so well!

And by the way - how was your trip to the hospital, Thom? You OK?


Our beloved kittyboy Tommy spent 5 days at the vet a few weeks back, he had to be diuresed (given fluids) for kidney issues. His weird vet smell went away within 24 hours. When I visited him they had a collar on him, too, because of the IVs and he looked pitiful but I had to steel myself - it was what he needed, and really, there was no lasting trauma at all - once it was off, it was as if it had never been on him.

So, it's hard to do things that we know make our babies uncomfortable, but in the long run, it'll be better for Silver if he doesn't f*ck with his stitches...

:hug: to the ThomCat household!

[ThomCat]

33. Hi Flaxbee!

:hi:

I had two (2!) abscesses. x(
One on my throat and one in my left ear. So I'm now seeping and bleeding from both. :(

They've both been cleaned out, and I see my doctor on Wednesday to have them checked out again. I still have to see an ENT specialist to have the ear checked out in more detail. And then I have to see a dermatologist to see about preventing any more of these. That's all good but right now I just have to sit here and let them seep and bleed. Fun. I'm cleaning my ear every hour, and I'm changing my bandage on my throat whenever I bleed through it.

It sucks. A lot. But it hurts a lot less already and it's what I have to deal with this week. So, that's how I'm doing. Hopefully you're having a much better week than I am. :P

[Tuesday Afternoon]

34. Good to hear. ~ Sending more healing and peaceful vibes~

:grouphug:

[ThomCat]

35. Thank you!

Both cats are sleeping peacefully, so those vibes have been received. :hug:

[Callalily]

37. Glad to hear all is going

well and hope that you all had a restful night.

Will continue to send healing vibes to all, and an extra does of strength for you.

It takes a lot of effort to care for sick cats.

:hug: :hug: :hug: