Welcome Back! I decided to tell Angel's Story in two parts, one because of the length of the story and two to see if there is genuine interest in the subject of Cat's Fighting and the horrendous results that can occur when a Cat Bite is left undetected and untreated.
If you are just finding this story, read the first post below and then return back here.
As I picked up the phone, I was dreading the decision that I might have to make. Angel had not been in surgery that long, but the news was cautiously optimistic. She was still in surgery but her Vet had his technician call me to let me know that she had enough tissue to re-build her rump area. The next hurdle would be to see if Angel could have a bowel movement on her own. She was certainly not out of danger yet, but this was a huge step towards saving her life. She would have to stay at the hospital until this happened.
The surgery was on a Wednesday, and when I called first thing Thursday morning - No Poop,I called late Thursday afternoon - No Poop, she would have to stay another night. She was given several different post-operative medications (Baytril, Cispride, Lactulose and poor thing mineral oil - yuk!) to assist her and of course to heal the infection.
After a sleepless night, (me) I called first thing Friday Morning - No Poop!, this was not a good sign and I knew that she must be missing me and very confused and afraid to be away from me for so long. With permission I went to the hospital to ease her stress and to see if my presence might calm her enough that she might want to have a bowel movement. My reasoning was flawed as Cats do not poop on command! Anyhow, I cuddled her in my arms and she just purred and looked at me with her beautiful eyes, it was as if she was saying, "I'm glad your here Mommy, I don't know why I'm here but thank you for loving me" When I handed her back to the technician, I don't know who was more stressed, Angel or me. In the back of my mind, I was thinking that this might be our last special time together. Cue tears.
Another restless night, I called first thing Saturday morning, still No Poop! THings were looking dire, we were going into a three day weekend (civic holiday in our part of the world) and I knew that if she didn't have a bowel movement we would be facing the decision.
The phone rang around 11ish, I jumped six feet high, I was wound so tightly and I braced myself. The happiest words in the world came from the Technicians mouth - ANGEL POOPED, SHE WAS COMING HOME!! I cannot express the words to describe my relief, my joy - cue tears.
The next couple of days would be critical, she had to take medication twice a day, she was put on a high fibre food diet (for the rest of her life) and we had to make sure that the rebuilding would hold.
This is a picture of her surgical stitches
It took her a couple of days but by Monday she was able to have a bowel movement. We have her in our bedroom isolated from the other cats, and she just sticks to me like clue. She is so loving, the second she sees me she just purrs her little heart out.
She has been home a full week and progressing very well. She will have her stitches out next week and fingers crossed her infection will be cleared up. Our next hurdle is to keep her from tearing at her stiches, they are starting to bother her. If you have any suggestions to keep her from licking and pulling at her stiches, please send me an email or leave a comment. I would be grateful.
Considering everything that we have been thru, we are very, very lucky and very, very thankful that our Vet had the expertise to do this type of surgery.
Check back on Wednesday for ANgel's progess report after her stiches come out.
If you have stayed with me, Angel and I thank you. I hope that our story has touched you but more importantly, I hope that if you have a multi-cat family or let your cats outside the likelyhood of a serious cat bite is very high. You should thoroughly check your cats periodically and if you find a small lump or even worse an open sour, if you take action, you can probably treat with a couple days of anti-biotics.
I would hate for your family to have to go thru the emotional and physical stress and of course the very high financial bill that you will need to pay.
Please pass this story to all of your family and friends. If you would like to send me a story about your feline family member, send it to me at: AngelTheCat@Bell.net (no attachments please, just type it into the body of the email) a picture is okay. I will add your story to this blog. Comments are also most welcome.
Angels Mommy
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