Feeling Great

I am so happy that she is eating the prescription canned food she got. We are halfway through the last can, and I think that she has gained a little weight back. She is walking around beautifully. She hasn't jumped on my bed or the couch yet, but walks briskly and wanders around more. My favorite thing: the litter box usage.

I used the pro-collar (inflatable) because Fiona seemed less stressed. She only has to wear it a a day more and then she is free at last.

Kitty History

I 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.

In the Pooper

The vet visit went well. Since it is 10 days after her surgery (as opposed to 2 days), there isn't any danger. I just have to keep the E-collar/cone of shame on her. She is "happy" to have it on.

For the first time since these kitties had surgery, I thought it was okay to run some errands, have lunch with family. When I got home, she was sitting without her cone. I looked everywhere for it. I found it....in the litter box, under a giant present. It is a good thing I had an extra collar for Chloe.

REALLY??????!!!!

It is a good thing that I am suffering from insomnia. I caught Fiona trying to pull out her staples. I didn't have a cone on for a while because she was too weak to clean herself, but now that she is better, she tries to pull her staples out. As far as I can see, it looks like she pulled out one or two. Luckily, I have a vet appt at 10:20am to take off her Fentanyl patch. I am not mad at her, just disappointed because I want her to get better faster and I am afraid that this will delay that. If she licks too much or pulls out too many stitches, she runs the risk of infection or having to have surgery all over again.

good things

I am so happy that Fiona is feeling better. It is really nice to hear her our. Before surgery, Fiona had this REALLY loud purr, but surgery has made her hoarse. She finally purred today! It wasn't her deep purr, but it is progress. She let me pet her and didn't hiss. Yay!

Urine Luck

She was weak yesterday, so when she peed on the bed, I reintroduced her to the litter box and let it go. She has been walking around just fine, so I was not happy to see that she peed in front of my door. I am grateful I didn't step in it (barefoot on carpets), but I reintroduced her to the litter box IMMEDIATELY after. I have an enzymatic spray that i am using, but it is just annoying.

I have been cooped up in the house and I think that I just need to treat myself to a movie tonight.

She is very mobile right now. It surprised me last night. I stepped out of the room for a moment and she wasn't in the same place that I left her!

So here it is.

When Fiona was originally discharged, the pain medication prescription wasn't enough or frequent enough. While it is sad she had to suffer in pain (shaking, sad, etc), the situation has been rectified and we can move on. She lost a pound and so I have prescription canned food. She doesn't seek food and water, and I have to spoon feed her/use a wide syringe. Her mood is better, but she is still recovering. This surgery has been hard on her and she is doing the best she can. Unfortunately, she either peed or wet herself today. I am worried. I haven't slept much, but I am trying really hard to keep her fed/medicated/comfortable. Chloe is getting her stitches out in a couple days, so I will update him then. I

Fiona is good

She was in pain, couldn't walk, but the vet has seen her and she is doing better.

Sometimes I speak to Soon

I thought that moving Fiona around would help clear the fluid in her lungs. Nope. She feels worse today. She also is a stressed kitty that likes to lick herself sore, so I had to put the cone on. She fought me all night. I feel so bad for her. I am just trying to keep her comfortable until I can get her to the vet tomorrow (vet closed today because it is Sunday).

one foot after the other...and a little whining.

Fiona is walking really well....except when she walks farther away from me than she'd like, and she starts calling me, crying. since it's the fourth day, I am trying to be strong and make her come to me instead of 'rescuing her' (unless she is REALLY cornered). I need her to walk because she still has a bit of liquid in her lungs (we don't want her to get sick). The more she moves, the quicker she gets better. If not, I will have to take her to the vet.