"Oliver" is Home!

"OLIVER"

Oliver is home! I received a call late Sunday afternoon from the Emergency Vet Clinic that he could come home for the night! He hadn't eaten anything since he got sick on Thursday, not even his own favorite food that I took to him myself. At the time of the call, I was about ready to leave to go visit him and take him some turkey, so I decided I'd better get my guest bathroom ready for him before I left. I figured he would need a few days rest at home before he mingled in with the others.

When I arrived at the clinic, I was told that they had given him a bath, but that he would have nothing to do with the hair dryer. So he was still wet and looked extremely scraggly. Poor boy! So I paid the bill and brought him home, with me crying the entire 10-mile drive. I was crying because I didn't know what I was going to do to get rid of that smell from his fur, other than to clip him down. It wasn't a very pleasant homecoming for him at first, either, as he needed a good bath, above all else.

He smelled "pithy" from the catheter. They can't really put a bag on a cat like they can a person, or so I was told, so the urine runs out of the catheter, with the cat lying in it, more or less! They had one of those perforated mats under him, but it still holds that smell. His personal vet had shaved his back end on Friday and bathed him, but he was a mess again last night and smelled really bad! So the first thing I had to do was give him a good bath! I used a box of baking soda first, mixed as a paste, and plastered it all over him. Rinsed that off and then gave him a good shampooing with Oatmeal Shampoo for Cats. He allowed me to dry him with the hair dryer on low speed. He smelled soooooo good and looked so fluffy again, once I got him all combed out. Poor little guy, I don't know how he stood the smell himself. His personal vet today told me that they do hook them up to a bag, so I don't know why they didn't do that at the emergency clinic. Anyhow, he is nice and clean now! He also ate very well after his bath. Animals are like people, in many ways...he was homesick!

Monday, it was back to his personal vet. His IV line was removed, thank goodness! And when that sticky tape was taken off, a piece of his skin came with it! So now I have to doctor that with peroxide and an antibiotic ointment. He has to go back for a recheck in 2 weeks and, at that time, will have another blood test to test his creatinine and PH levels again. All in all, he is recovering with pain med and antibiotics at present and doing quite well, thus far. He is on Prescription Diet CD but so far has refused to eat it, canned or dry, so he is eating his regular food yet. I will have to mix the two foods together and wean him off his old food gradually. He spent yesterday mingling in with the other cats, and all went well. Usually, the others smell the "vet smell" on them and they hiss at each other, but guess his bath took care of that little problem. So all went well. He slept with me last night, so he's back to his ole normal self once again!


"BUSTER"

Buster is doing well, too! Today, he was taken out of his crate and walked on a leash around the downstairs for about 10 minutes. My daughter thought it was going to be hard to get him to go back into the crate, but he actually wanted to go back in it. She said he flopped right down on his pillow! He was pooped out from his little walk! I told her it is going to take time for him to get his strength back. He is eating well, and his staples will come out a week from Tuesday, on the 8th. Tammy counted 23 staples. His incision looks to be about 7-8 inches long.

I am so glad this past week is behind us! I know with so many cats that I am going to face many medical crises, but it's something I will just have to face, one at a time.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of you who sent prayers up for these two little fellas! They both are on the road to recovery!