Not out of the woods
Mistress Meow, aka Fräulein Feline, aka Athena Cat is a pathetic little animal right now.
She came home on Saturday morning, and the vet made it very clear that she's not out of the woods yet. She'd pretty much slept the entire time she was at the vet's office, but they let us know that she'd eaten a little, with encouragement, while she was there. She'd been well rehydrated, having been on the IV for about 36 hours, but we needed to take her home. She's been off the antibiotics, and the vet thought that if they were going to kill the infection, they already would have by now. It's very likely that the antibiotics made her sick to her stomach in the first place. The vet told us that we could go back and learn how to administer subcutaneous fluids by injecting saline under her skin at home if the hydration issue comes back. We came home with two kinds of prescription cat food and some potassium pills. Still, she looked a little more alert than when we'd left her there.
We've gave her a room of her own. Fresh kitty litter in her box. Bowls of food and water on the ground, so she doesn't have to jump up. Graham even brought the scent diffuser from the other room into her room, so her area smelled nice. I opened one of the cans of cat food for her, and spooned out a little bit for her to eat.
She explored her room a little when we got home, and she checked out the litter box. And then she went to sleep. We weren't really expecting much from her, because this was a ridiculously stressful situation for her. Still, it was distressing to see that she's still a sick little kitty cat. She's so skinny now, when she used to be what Graham described "a nerf ball on stilts." Both arms got shaved at the vet's office, and you can really see how skinny she is. Her meow is a pathetic little sound that barely gets out. I assume it's because her throat is so dry and because she's so weak.
At any rate, we left her alone for a few hours so we could do the art car parade.
When we got home, she was under the coffee table, which is her new favorite place to hang out. I think she finds it to be relatively safe. She hadn't touched the food we left for her, and I was beginning to get worried.
We went to an art-car after party for a few hours.
Athena still hadn't touched her food, and I started searching the internet for recommendations on encouraging a cat to eat. I ended up going to the grocery store for some baby food, and I prepared her dishes of baby food, tuna fish juice, and two kinds of prescription cat food. Finally, after sending me into a near panic, she nibbled on the second variety of prescription cat food. She also drank some water.
Yesterday, Athena and I settled into a routine. I'd essentially force feed her a bit of the prescription cat food that she'd liked, and she'd decide to eat a little of it after having a bite or two. We did this three or four times over the course of the day, and I think she ate a little over a teaspoon total. It's not much, but she's not really capable of eating that much. Still, I'm hopeful that she'll get some of her energy back, and this particular cat food is the a/d food from Science Diet. It's supposed to be "for the Nutritional Management of Pets Recovering From Serious Illness, Accidents and Surgery." It's high calorie, and hopefully, she'll respond well to it over the next few days.
This morning, I found her next to a water bowl, and it looked like she'd been drinking quite a bit. I haven't seen any signs of her not being able to hold down her food. Athena and I went through our feeding ritual again. She wasn't particularly happy to see me, and I'm not too thrilled with the way we're having to do things now, but she ate a full half-teaspoon of food this morning. I think we'll be able to get her to eat a little more than she did yesterday.
Still, it breaks my heart that she can barely meow. It's hard to see her like this, when usually, she's wandering around, talking up a storm. She bugs Graham all the time, insisting on getting as much attention as possible from him, especially when he's on the computer.
We'll see. I suspect we'll know one way or another in a few days.
In other, "not out of the woods" news, I pulled something on Friday. Graham and I went to help out with the art car, and I chose the task that I thought was the least strenuous: stapling a cloth around the piano to make it look purty. I guess that was too much, because on the way home, I felt a twinge in my side that I hadn't felt in a few days. It persisted throughout the parade on Saturday and most of yesterday. I can still feel it today.
I think my healing will a lot easier than Athena's.
She came home on Saturday morning, and the vet made it very clear that she's not out of the woods yet. She'd pretty much slept the entire time she was at the vet's office, but they let us know that she'd eaten a little, with encouragement, while she was there. She'd been well rehydrated, having been on the IV for about 36 hours, but we needed to take her home. She's been off the antibiotics, and the vet thought that if they were going to kill the infection, they already would have by now. It's very likely that the antibiotics made her sick to her stomach in the first place. The vet told us that we could go back and learn how to administer subcutaneous fluids by injecting saline under her skin at home if the hydration issue comes back. We came home with two kinds of prescription cat food and some potassium pills. Still, she looked a little more alert than when we'd left her there.
We've gave her a room of her own. Fresh kitty litter in her box. Bowls of food and water on the ground, so she doesn't have to jump up. Graham even brought the scent diffuser from the other room into her room, so her area smelled nice. I opened one of the cans of cat food for her, and spooned out a little bit for her to eat.
She explored her room a little when we got home, and she checked out the litter box. And then she went to sleep. We weren't really expecting much from her, because this was a ridiculously stressful situation for her. Still, it was distressing to see that she's still a sick little kitty cat. She's so skinny now, when she used to be what Graham described "a nerf ball on stilts." Both arms got shaved at the vet's office, and you can really see how skinny she is. Her meow is a pathetic little sound that barely gets out. I assume it's because her throat is so dry and because she's so weak.
At any rate, we left her alone for a few hours so we could do the art car parade.
When we got home, she was under the coffee table, which is her new favorite place to hang out. I think she finds it to be relatively safe. She hadn't touched the food we left for her, and I was beginning to get worried.
We went to an art-car after party for a few hours.
Athena still hadn't touched her food, and I started searching the internet for recommendations on encouraging a cat to eat. I ended up going to the grocery store for some baby food, and I prepared her dishes of baby food, tuna fish juice, and two kinds of prescription cat food. Finally, after sending me into a near panic, she nibbled on the second variety of prescription cat food. She also drank some water.
Yesterday, Athena and I settled into a routine. I'd essentially force feed her a bit of the prescription cat food that she'd liked, and she'd decide to eat a little of it after having a bite or two. We did this three or four times over the course of the day, and I think she ate a little over a teaspoon total. It's not much, but she's not really capable of eating that much. Still, I'm hopeful that she'll get some of her energy back, and this particular cat food is the a/d food from Science Diet. It's supposed to be "for the Nutritional Management of Pets Recovering From Serious Illness, Accidents and Surgery." It's high calorie, and hopefully, she'll respond well to it over the next few days.
This morning, I found her next to a water bowl, and it looked like she'd been drinking quite a bit. I haven't seen any signs of her not being able to hold down her food. Athena and I went through our feeding ritual again. She wasn't particularly happy to see me, and I'm not too thrilled with the way we're having to do things now, but she ate a full half-teaspoon of food this morning. I think we'll be able to get her to eat a little more than she did yesterday.
Still, it breaks my heart that she can barely meow. It's hard to see her like this, when usually, she's wandering around, talking up a storm. She bugs Graham all the time, insisting on getting as much attention as possible from him, especially when he's on the computer.
We'll see. I suspect we'll know one way or another in a few days.
In other, "not out of the woods" news, I pulled something on Friday. Graham and I went to help out with the art car, and I chose the task that I thought was the least strenuous: stapling a cloth around the piano to make it look purty. I guess that was too much, because on the way home, I felt a twinge in my side that I hadn't felt in a few days. It persisted throughout the parade on Saturday and most of yesterday. I can still feel it today.
I think my healing will a lot easier than Athena's.