I had to take Fang to vet again today – I hate taking him to the vet! Even for minor blood work and X-Rays! His crying from the cat carrier makes me want to cry!
I’m going to be a terrible parent one day.
Anyway, we went to the vet for the pre-surgery checks to make sure that (1) he’s healthy enough for surgery, and (2) he doesn’t look like cancer has spread to his lungs. The blood-work comes back tomorrow, but I am happy to report that his lungs apparently look normal, and so does the rest of him. That’s the first bit of good news in a long while.
The Vet also gave us some Gabapentin to administer at home before the surgery to lessen the likelihood of phantom limb pain, which is really good. So, $500 later we are feeling better about Fang’s health all around.
Shopping Makes You Feel Better
In other news, now that we’ve pretty much made our decision to amputate (although I still have my roller-coaster moments – mostly when I watch videos of three-leggers and imagine Fang that way), I’ve been able to find a little piece of mind by getting the house ready for Fang’s recuperation time. I went to the store and bought:
(1) Gerber Onesies. (Hind sight: Lots of people say they need these, but I didn’t. Fang was totally uninterested in the staples.) Fang hates cones – they make him depressed. I’m sure onesies are no fun either, but I’m thinking their better than cones, and they’ll keep him away from his wounds. At the moment he’s too pissed at me to let me try one on him (I bought size 0 ones, and also size 0-3 months – it was hard to gauge at the store), so we’ll see which one’s fit better tomorrow. Then I’m going to sew up the left armhole, and cut the right armhole bigger on each one. Yep. He’s going to love it.
(2) A Soft Bed. Fang is an outdoor kitty, and I don’t have any cat beds around the house for him to lounge in. But, for the recoup time he will need to have one so I found the very softest one I could find and brought it home! I’m going to put it in the bed with us tonight so it smells more like us, because I just put him in it and he jumped right out. Not interested. Then again, he’s pissy right now anyway.
(3) A Big RubberMaid Container. (Hind sight: didn’t use it. He was fine with the regular litter box) Supposedly kitties have a hard time getting over the rims of regular sized litter boxes after the surgery, so one of the wonderful people who shared their three-legged cat stories with me told me that this worked well for her as a replacement litter-box until kitty got more accustomed to walking and balancing. It’s about the same size as a litter box, just with lower edges.
(4) Corn Litter. Fang is an outdoor cat, and he’s never used the litter box – he just waits at the door like a dog. Obviously that’s not going to work out for the first couple of weeks, so I figured maybe this natural litter would bother him less because it smells more… well, natural. I’m going to mix some dirt in as well, per suggestions.
(5) New Toys. Fang has toys – and those are living creatures that squeak and die at his pleasure. However, while he is recuperating inside I will have to somehow hold his attention and keep him from getting bored and depressed. I bought some toy’s that squeak when you hit them, and some feathery sticks… you know, the regular stuff. I’m not sure how interested he’ll be with things that don’t bleed, but hey, it’s the best I can do.
(6) Baby-Stopping Door Blocker Things. (Hind sight: buy two of these. He jumped over one on day 1) These have real names, but I’m too lazy to go to the other room to read them. You know what I’m talking about though – those fences that go in the doorway that are meant to stop kids from going into rooms where they’re not supposed to go. I’m hoping these will keep my other cats at bay while Fang recuperates in the bedroom. It will also allow him to see the other cats when he wants to, and flee into the depths of the room when he doesn’t.
(7) Liquids he will want to drink. I keep hearing that the pain medications make kitties constipated, and they don’t always drink enough water to fix that issue. Therefore, it is best to buy stuff that they’ll want to drink because it’s yummy. So, I bought some cat-milk (milk designed to be digestible for cats without lactose), low-sodium organic chicken broth (Hind sight: He totally didn’t drink this), tuna in water (so he can drink the tuna-y water), natural cat food from the refrigerated section of the supermarket that has a lot of juice in it, canned cat food, and baby food (Hind sight: Only buy baby food with NO ONION POWDER in it. Onion powder makes them dehydrated. Your best bet is to get baby food with only meat, or only meat and broth as ingredients).
I probably need some other things, but it feels much better to actually have something to DO to make this better for him, rather than just sit and cry and worry. So, bring on the shopping!
Enjoyed your post (LOL – “I’m not sure how interested he’ll be with things that don’t bleed, but hey, it’s the best I can do.”) and wanted to let you know my thoughts are with you. My Shan dog and I are working through the adjustment to Tripawd life and I can only imagine trying to deal if it were one of my crazy cats (who are not as motivated to work with me on anything as my dog is). But cats are just as “in the moment” as dogs and certainly have as much personal fortitude so I’m betting Fang will do just fine – especially since he seems to have a really loving home! Just wanted to let you know that I had to turn a 6 year in/out cat into a in-only when a feral bully moved into our neighborhood. Tango was ticked off at me for several weeks, but he got over it with some bribes – kitty jungle gym, great new bed, lots of toys, a kitty playmate, and extra attention. Tango is 11 now and a very contented and still rambunctious indoor cat. Even cats that seem awfully set in their ways usually adjust if you give them a little time. Fang is gorgeous – good luck and keep us posted!
I so appreciate your thoughts! I’m thinking I will try to let him stay an outside cat as a tripod, but will obviously keep him in if it seems like he’s not safe. I think you’re right though – he could likely get used to living indoors, if I stuck to it for a while!
Hi again,
Sorry, I accidentally logged off, LOL Anyways, my husband and I have to make the same decision for Holly, our beloved feral cat. She is 7 years old and was just diagnosed with a soft tissue sarcoma on her rear hock. Because of the placement, amputation is the only true cure and I don’t want to see her die from lung cancer, so tonight we made the decision to have her leg amputated. Your Blog was the deciding factor and we are so grateful for your brave story about Fang and his journey. I will blog as well and use the advice to hopefully successfully navigate this difficult process. Both my husband, and I have been devastated with this choice and now we have some direction. I believe that the universe lead me to you and for that I have some small sense of peace. Please email me if you can, since this is the hardest point of the journey. I promise to pay it forward when I can. With gratitude and warmth, Karen and Al