My recent surgery

Hello effurrybody!

I received so many sweet well wishes on my recent emergency surgery, thanks to every kitty. All your purrs and kindness surely helped me recover much sooner.

First, let me tell you that I am all better now, all healed up and even beginning to grow back my hair, so all is well.

I am a bit embarrassed about all this, but wanted to update my diary in the hopes all my friends see it and maybe can be spared or helped in case this ever happens to them.

Here's what happened to me. On Tuesday, June 8th, one of my anal glands ruptured. That morning, Momma saw that I was not behaving like my normal little self, and when she checked me out, she found bright red blood under my tail. OMC! She called our vet and they were able to take me in right away.

Momma didn't know what had gone wrong, she only knew I needed medical attention right away. She was very, very scared that it would turn out to be something much worse. She and I are both very grateful that it was "only" my anal gland.

I gave almost no signs that anything had been the matter with me. There was no visible swelling under my tail or anything, and I was not scooting around. Momma feels just terrible that she did not know my glands were blocked at all! It makes her heart hurt to think how much pain I must have been in to have that gland rupture like that.

Of course, the vet knew immediately upon examining me what had happened. Our vet told us that it is not as common in kitties as it is for doggies, but it DOES happen. Often the only sign that we may be blocked is that a kitty may seem to be cleaning his bottom a bit more than usual. Looking back, Momma thinks I MAY have been doing that, but not so much that you'd really think anything was the matter.

Here is the embarrassing part. He also told Momma that it just might have happened because I am...err...a bit overweight. Momma knows that is all her fault. You see, after I was so sick when I was younger, she had to coax me to eat more. I was SO skinny after I was sick, she nearly lost me. She even fed me from her fingers for awhile, just to get me to gain weight. Well, she did too good of a job, and sort of has been overfeeding me for years, ever since.

I need to lose a couple pounds. So the first thing Momma said is "no more treats, sweetie." Oh well.

I went in for surgery right away on Tuesday. The vet removed both my anal glands. My surgery went very well, and I was able to come home the next day with stitches and a shaved behind. Momma made sure to let the vet do extra blood work before my surgery, and approved the extra pain meds I could have afterwards (of course!).

Boy, was Momma glad to bring me home. I was pretty tired that first day, and the stitches were a bit itchy, but overall I felt pretty good. By the following morning, I was pretty much back to my usual self.

This week, I went back and got my stitches out, and got the all clear from the vet! I don't have to go back again till it's time for my regular annual checkup. Hurray! And my hair is growing back already.

Momma is feeding me a little less, so I can lose my weight slowly, like a kitty should. And we are trying to get in more playtime, although it is hard because my little Buster always horns in on the games! That's not such a bad thing, because Buster is a little bigger than he needs to be, too.

The best part is that since my surgery, why, I am happier and more playful than I have been in quite sometime! I am usually a pretty mellow fellow, and always up for a game, but this is different. I am feeling extremely perky now, and am having a blast getting into everything around the house and jumping all over the place. Why, I have even been tumbling around with Chumley and romping. It's been a while since I've felt this active.

So take care, my friends. Even what seems like just a bit of extra weight can cause problems for us. I sure don't want any of you to have this happen.

Love and purrs,
Tommy

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Purred by: Ka - zar The Aussie Meowster (Catster Member)

June 26th 2010 at 5:26 pm

Purred by: Wally away from catster (Catster Member)

June 27th 2010 at 4:49 am

Purred by: dixie (Catster Member)

March 18th 2011 at 11:38 pm