…oh yeah. A LEG! And about a dozen updates!
But seriously…you know those teen movies where the parents come home and look everywhere for something…anything…out of place? A beer bottle? A broken vase? A missing Fabergé egg? That was me today.
Day 5 = Day one of Xerox flying solo. It KILLED me to leave him alone this morning and go in to work (although after 4 days in the house I was more than ready for human interaction).
I woke up earlier than usual so I could have plenty of time to give him his antibiotics (which entails cutting the pill in half and squishing it into a moist Whisker Lickens treatie so he has no idea what he’s gobbling down – greedy kitty doesn’t chew, heh heh), clean his stitches, and move his heating pad downstairs for the day.
Taking the pill was easy peasy. Cleaning the wound was a whole other fight. Apparently the site has become so tender (aka meds have worn off so much) that it hurts to clean no matter how gentle I try to be. Not having any Neosporin on there doesn’t help matters either. I managed to get through it with only a couple of hundred complaints from him though (mostly whining and flinching) and only one attempt to get up off of the towel I had him laid out on and take off my hand (eye for an eye!)
Then I oozed on the Vitamin E oil. I was surprised at how thick and easy to apply it was. I was expecting a slick, runny mess (hence the towel), but it was cake AND it didn’t annoy him as much as applying the Neosporin did, so Yay! 🙂
Finally it came time to move him downstairs. Yeah…that didn’t happen. He just looked so comfy and peaceful that I couldn’t bear to move him! So I didn’t. I left him right there on his heating pad on the bed. (Don’t worry – It’s one of those weaker ones that only turns on when there’s weight on it)
About 10 hours later (long day!) I come home and find him – guess where? – Right where I left him. No stitches were pulled. No signs of further trauma. No cracks in the crystal egg.
He was even in a good enough mood to rub his face against my hand for a scratch. 🙂 Yay, only mild misery! (OMG, I just realized I’ve hobbled my cat like uber-crazy-fan-girl Cathy Bates!)
I rewarded him by leaving him be and myself with sushi for dinner and Thanksgiving shopping. Did you know that if you go to the grocery store at 9pm on a Monday night, it’s pretty much empty even on Turkey Day Week? 🙂
Okay- now it’s gonna get really lame – like a Cliff’s notes of Xerox’s week. Ready?
Day 5: I went to work a little easier and when I got home he let me clean his incision with Vitamin E oil and really seemed to like it.
Day 6: Improved mood – played a bit, purred and nuzzled for attention which is a happy change from being Mr. Grumpy Pants.
Day 7: Grumpy Cat is Grumpy. Good note: He started lying on his stumpy side! Yay!! And treaties transform him into a purry happy cat. Bad note: HE HAS LICKED THE WOUND! All of the dried blood that was there is GONE. It’s much prettier now though and there’s no sign of him tugging at the stitches though so I’m gonna leave him alone.
When my mom (who I affectionately call Ninja Mom) saw him (fam’s in for Turkey Day) she said “He look like he loss weight!” Me: “Yeah…you know how much a leg weighs? He lost about that much.” *I* thought it was funny. 🙂 Also – have you ever tried to make a bed without moving the cat? I did that. I’m freaking David Copperfield over here. 😉 It was like the tablecloth trick, only in reverse. He didn’t even flinch.
Day 8: HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I was sick of Grumpy Cat being grumpy so I picked him up, carried him downstairs and put him in the sun. He was like a whole new cat. Much more active and even a bit lovey. He got a happy treat of turkey with gravy which Fawkes completely ignored (He never goes for treats of any kind – it’s really weird). Afters, both kitties passed out in adorable bliss.
After all of that, he went right back to bed but also managed to make a trip to the closet (which he loves for some reason- yes, my cat is a closet case) and got some power petting in (that’s where you start at the head and run both hands down the back and tail progressively faster until your hands are a blur and your cat is a puddle of purr). Overall, a pretty good day. 🙂
(Note: Eating and litters and activity is all in the range of normal and I am one happy tripawd owner)
Day 9: He spent a little more time in the sun but he kept going back to bed so I let him. His incision got a good cleaning again with the warm washcloth which he liked. As soon as I was done he streeettched his legs (what’s left of them anyway- stub wiggle!) and was purring. Then he got dinner and went right back to bed.
Day 10 (Sat): BUSY DAY – Spent the whole day making chili for a party we were having (Carolina/Clemson game! Go Cocks!) so Xerox pretty much stayed in his bed all day. That evening, he wanted to come down but he ended up wandering around avoiding people instead which warranted a pity-closet power pet. 🙂 Poor lil’ guy. There was also a moment when Fawkes was all up in the basket of choice and I thought there was going to be a showdown (insert whistle here) but Xerox is no match for the big bully so he got to snuggle on the couch with me instead. 🙂
I have stopped using the Vitamin E oil but I’m keeping things clean and the stumpy lump doesn’t seem to be bothering him anymore. I think the stitches are ready to come out.
Day 11: Lazy grumpy cat is grumpy. It’s rainy and gross and cold and he doesn’t want to move off of his heating pad. He did come downstairs and snuggled on the couch with me a little bit, walked around a bit – things seem to be getting back to normal. 🙂
Day 12: Back to work again. 🙁 Not much to report except that he’s a bit grumpier than normal and doesn’t respond much to attention which kind of sucks. Oh! Except that the stictches came out today! YAY! The vet said everything looks really good and they’re going to order me some supplements for his joint health. 🙂
Day 13/14: Sometime Tuesday night, he started making little grunty/groany/whiney noises as he exhaled. This is NOT good. That shadow on the Xray of his lungs is threatening to be a problem I think and I’m terrified of what’s to come. He doesn’t want to leave his pad and when I make him – try to get him out and about – he just whines/groans…not like he’s in pain, but like he’s really annoyed.
His heart is maybe a little fast, but his breathing sounds ok (not rattle-y or panting) – he doesn’t seem to be in pain – nothing on his body seems to hurt when I massage it but there’s something wrong. I was up from 2-3am trying to figure out what it is. 🙁
WEEK TWO:
Seriously? Two weeks after cutting off his leg and just as things were getting to be somewhat normal, I think his lungs are starting to bother him.
Wednesday morning was hopeful – he purred and got closet-power-petting love and I went to work thinking he might be ok. I come home to find him groanier and whinier and his breathing is off just enough to make me start googling everything I can think of.
The oncologist had told me that chemo was pretty much our only option but that it doesn’t really do much for lung cancers that haven’t been removed. I don’t see it as an option at all.
Right now I’m faced with just making him comfortable until it gets to be too much for him. But how long will that be? I’m hoping to pick up some prednisone tomorrow to see if it helps.
Sorry to end this really long update on such a downer. 🙁 Anyone have any tricks to keep a cancer kitty comfy?
