It has been a LONG time

Choe is doing wonderfully...until she licks this part on her paw and no hair is growing back. It is red, so I had to put the e-collar on. I really hate it, and she is a good sport. She is a good kitty.

My aunt told me she 'would never spend that kind of money on cats' (concerning the surgery). Long story short, I told her, they are my family and my family needed surgery so they wouldn't suffer. (they are barely two years old). It makes me angry when people don't even try to help their LOYAL, LOVING, CARING pets when they are in pain. They are not 'things to have'. I would hope that people would show more mercy and understanding.

good kitty

I saw Chloe climb up her kitty condo pole! That makes me so happy because they loved racing up the kitty condo.

For some reason, Chloe's stitches haven't dissolved. She keeps pulling at some sort of strand and I keep cutting the strands off.

pouncer

I love watching her 'hunt'. She runs, tackles, pounces just as usual. I haven't seen her climb yet....

hair!

She has half an inch of hair. I am so happy!

She is licking her wound still, but it is not as angry. I will have to ask the vet what is good and what is bad. I am thankful for cameras on cell phones because I can show the vet how things look.

I am proud that she is hopping up and down her kitty trees. She jumps really well. She is playing and crouching.

slimy olive oil

I took the bandage off. It was quite the adventure. I hate causing discomfort or pain and i nearly bathed Chloe in olive oil even though it was only her paw that had the bandage. She was the cutest and most slippery mess ever! Anyway, it's off, she is cleaning. I have this irrational fear in my mind that I slopped so much olive oil on that it will mess her digestive system up (or ruin her feline sensibility). I never liked olives, and I rarely cook, so this would really make me anti-olive anything.

*side note: Even though I am nearly middle aged, it's nice to know that you can always call your mom and find out if you can pour olive oil down the sink or not. I make a mean peanut butter a jelly toast with milk a la carte.

Club foot

Chloe's vet appointment went really well. She got a shot of antibiotics to help her paw heal. They also dressed her paw and I will stake the dressing off Saturday. For now, it is shamefully (on my part) funny to watch her walk. She salutes to the sky each time she uses that foot and twitches. If I am not careful, she smacks me in the face.

What, no cartoon bandaid?

Tisk, tisk, tisk. Chloe found a new yoga pose to lick her paw. I put Vetericyn on it, and she would run to lick it off. I had to get creative and put a human bandaid after applying more vetericyn until I get vet advice. I tried wrapping with pet gauze, but it came off with a fling of the wrist.

Chloe's Paw and Kitty History

Someone asked me what was wrong with her paw and I thought I should elaborate. After her surgery, she had an area on the top of her knuckles that is shaved. Because it is a common area to clean multiple times (1-to clean after litter box, 2-to clean face, 3- clean paw before nap). She has licked it raw! I had the cone on the whole day to let it heal until she needed to eat. Shortly after, she licked off the scab and it started bleeding. I am going to go to the pet store today to see if there is anything I can get to help.

I also received an email that inspired me to share my story of the kitties and their adoptions, so here it is:

I have had two cats before this--I got them when I was eight years old as a gift from a parent in my mom's classroom (she is a teacher). They lived 19 years before I had to put them down due to old age and health complications. They were healthy kitties born from a cat that was well cared for, and we never took them to the vet because the couple times we did take them to different vets, the experience was horrible. I am more educated now, knowing what declawing the front claws entails. My heart was broken after they were gone, and I missed the companionship.
My mom and I knew we were going to adopt kitties and filled out the paperwork online before we got there. We bought food, a kitty condo, and a litter box. It was the best day I had in a long time. These kitties were tiny, malnourished, but they had a lot of spiritIt turns out that because these kitties were in a shelter, they were pretty sick. I nursed them back to health through more than several rounds of medication for each--pill form, liquid form, lysine treats, lysine powder. I stayed up late holding Fiona & Chloe when they didn't feel well. After a year, we found that Fiona has a food allergy and has to have a special diet along with liquid prednisone every now and then so that she wouldn't have itchy skin on the back of her legs and bite, creating holes and risking infection. Chloe has Feline Herpes, and it took a while to get that under control, it is manageable. The wikipedia pages show the worse of cases, not the everyday symptoms. These kitties are my family, and because of all of their health issues, I watch them closely. The second they started limping, I knew I needed to help them. I have a good relationship with the vet hospital I go to and they have been on the spot with their diagnosis and very helpful. The FHO surgery hasn't been the easiest, or the cheapest, but it was worth while. I didn't want the kitties to be in pain all of the time, grinding bones in the wrong places, and other painful symptoms. They are far better off going through this surgery. The reason I have posted this diary in both kitty pages is because this site has been helpful answering basic questions about health and behavior. I thought that if I could post information and help others with issues from behavior to health problems, I can help other kitty families as well.

Paw and effect

Chloe has licked the top of her paw to the point in which it is raw. I had to put the cone back on her. I even sprayed Neosporin to help.

My kitty family--attack of the cones.

Yay, 5 o'clock kitty shadow

Chloe is doing well and her hair is starting to gradually come in. She runs, jumps, and is still playful. It might be a while before she does her infamous ninja roll. She crouches and pounces. I am happy to see her so energetic and playful again.

I shouldn't laugh, but when Fiona growls (because she had surgery), Chloe turns and goes into a different room.