Oh my goodness people, what a day I had today. My Max came through the surgery well. Although when we came to pick him up and she went to take the IV out of his little leg he made the most horrible screams I’ve never heard come out of him. I thought it was someone else’s cat! DH and I just felt so badly for ‘that cat’ and it turns out it was Max! I’ve heard him Hiss at our other cat and growl at the vet. He was just carrying on and on, it was so sad.
He’s been sleeping quite uncomfortably since we got home. He peed in his carrier! He’s never done that before. His eye looks just awful. I knew it wouldn’t look good, but I wasn’t prepared for how swollen it is, I think I was secretly hoping it would already look healed and beautiful. Yeah, I like to live in dreamland when I’m dealing with a stressful situation. :teehee: You can see he’s in so much discomfort and on top of that we have to give him an antibiotic for the next 10 days. Not cool. Normally we can do that alone, but since we have to pry open his mouth it’ll be a 2-man job. I’m just afraid of hurting him even more by prying open his mouth.
I know he’ll feel better in a few days, but boy did this day just creep along at a snails pace. I cried when I dropped him off, I knew I was upset (obviously) but I wasn’t prepared for the tears. And my vet actually shocked me by coming across as rather impatient with me for being upset. It’s not like I stood there for 10 minutes with tears streaming down my face. His tech was so sympathetic and even went and got me some tissue. Bless her heart. I gave her a hug when we picked Max up. She is such a sweet person. You can tell she loves animals.
I feel like I have to keep reminding the vet that I don’t deal with removing body parts on a daily basis like they do, so it’s a hell of a lot more traumatic for me than it is them, plus it’s not even their animal!
Thank you all for your warm wishes and prayers. We find out in a week if it’s cancer or not. God I hope it isn’t. This is all taking so long to finish. The first week we saw 2 vets, the second week we saw the eye doctor, the 3rd week we set up the pre-op and this week we did the surgery and now one more week until - God willing - the final end of it all. I’ll let you know when I know something. You know, I’ve gained almost 5 lbs during this whole debacle! I’m eating every piece of junk food I can get my hands on…oy vey. I hate stress.
Sending you positive thoughts and hoping Max will come through BTW, cats have no control over their pee after anesthetics, so that’s the reason he peed in the carrier, not because of the stress. The antibiotics are a hard task, but remember it’s for his own good and don’t give up:hug:. We’re praying for you:hug:
oh poor ickle fella. but as i said before i used to ride a horse taht had one eye, th elady that had him when he had his eye removed said it looked exactly like you have described. she said it took a week to even start to settle down again. after 4 weeks she said it looked ok. now 20+ years later he looks normal just without an eye there!
as for youer vet, what an idiot. dosent he get that people skills ARE part of his job as well, not just caring for poorly animals.
as for anti biotics, prehaps you could inject an antibiotic instead? its less stressful (thats if you are ok with needles, they arent hard to do if you havent done it before). i always go for an injection over tablets even though i HATE needles, its usually better for the animals.
also, i’ve always used arnica on animals after an opp as it helps with swelling and brusing, so helps recovery etc. you get tablets that are easy for them to take as they are sweet and really tiny, they sdont notice they are taking them in a bit of cheese or something.
sorry i know you weren’t after that info, but i have had a afir few opps done over the years on my lot and thought it may help, feel free to tell me to shut up lol
After Max is all healed, I’d dump that vet but fast!! what an idiot! He’ll be ok, my pekingese was sort of “out of it” for maybe 2 days, but then seemed to have a miraculous recovery. Hugs to you and Max. Let us know how he’s doing (and you too!!)
Sending to you. Our pets are like our children and it is so hard to watch them suffer in anyway. You are doing the best for him and tomorrow he should be much better, Sending healing thoughts to both of you.
Sending positive thoughts for your little Max. It is easier to be sick or hurting yourself than to see your little four-legged kids going through pain.
Poor little kitty! I hope he heals up soon. I’m sorry your vet was so insensitive. Vets are not usually like that, in my experience with many pet and vets. Maybe he was having a bad day.
Ditto that peeing in the carrier was due to the anesthetic wearing off slowly in cats, so forget about it.
And the vet WAS an idiot…forget him too.
I’m sure Max will be uncomfortable for a couple-three days, and likely will not like the antibiotics. But give him lots of love while giving the meds–my cat doesn’t like baths, but the last 2 times I washed him I kept rubbing all the right places and crooning to him and was careful not to splash and he actually was pretty good. And remember that after those tough ten days, he will be well on the road to recovery because of the surgery and antibiotics. Animals don’t dwell on things tha way people do–remember them, yes, but not dwell on them. As the discomfort fades he’ll be back to his old self in no time at all.
Thanks everyone! Max seems to be a little better this morning. DH even gave him his pill with no problems, so that’s good. He’s eating and up and walking around - brief walks I should say. DH brought him to bed with me before he left for work and he laid on my lap for a half hour!! It was wonderful. He was purring and licking me and it never felt so good to feel that sandpaper tongue on my hand. Then he went to his cat bed. One of many. I bought him a new one to. :teehee: Heck, I’d buy him a tuna factory if I could afford it. :teehee:
As for the peeing in his carrier, I wasn’t upset about it, just surprised. I actually felt bad for him, because I know he didn’t want to do it in there. I washed it out and it’s drying in this horrible heat we’re having today.
As for our vet, yes, he was a jerk (with me, not Max) through this whole process and I’m still quite surprised by his attitude. We’ve been going to him for about 5 years now and he’s been great every time, so I guess I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, but it’s a little hard at the moment. I know people have bad days and what not, but sometimes (IMO) you have to push it aside and be there for your clients. I mean it’s not like I spent 20 minutes with the guy, maybe 2-3 minutes. That’s it. I think he could have sucked it up for my benefit. Oh well, I guess if it happens again then we’ll have to look for another vet.
And I welcome any and all advice that you all have for me. Even if I’ve heard it before, sometimes we forget when we’re in the middle of a crisis and being reminded - gently - is a good thing to help us stop and think a little more clearly.
Then he went to his cat bed. One of many. I bought him a new one to. :teehee: Heck, I’d buy him a tuna factory if I could afford it. :teehee: