Keep the prayers coming for Doc - UPDATE OCT 24th

[Tina B and crew]

No tap for my kitties here. They get filtered bottled water, so I'd have to heat it. With Doc I've been adding some room temp water to it after I heat it. I only heat it for like 5 seconds.

His belly just makes me smile...it looks so pitiful right now. Poor boy.

[Traci]

I know, but it's only cosmetic, it will be normal again You are going to have to take more pics tho of his belly when his feathers come back, I just want to tickle him!

[Tina B and crew]

I've noticed that while his sneezing seems to be better he seems to sneeze most when I put the evil-collar on him. Not sure why that is. I clean it every time I take it off and wipe it down with alcohol. But he does tend to sneeze a lot when I put it back on him. Overall he is sneezing less and does not sound congested like he did the other day. Eating still seems to take a lot of energy from him. I'm still feeding him small amounts often and will continue to do so. He only seems to want to take in about 1/4 can of wet at a time. I tried giving him a little more (about 1/3 can) this morning figuring he might eat more but he didn't. I don't push it. As long as he's eating I'm happy. He is quite a bit thinner than he was 3 weeks ago and I am so happy he did not develop liver issues!

I let him out into the bedroom this morning and it took a while for him to come out. It was after he ate. He just seems to want to rest after eating. He finally ventured out, looked out the window and then got curious about one of the cats peeking under the door. It was Lucy and for the first time I heard her hiss at him when he peeked back. I think she's kind of upset that he is in her territory, so I went out and gave her some catnip to distract her. When she hissed Doc looked at me like "what did I do?!" Bless his heart.

I think his presence is slightly upsetting the balance between Lucy and Chunk. I'm seeing a bit more hissing and growling between them. I'll try to give them a bit more extra attention and play time too. I haven't been ignoring them by any stretch of the imagination but they are probably wondering what is going on, especially with Doc being more mobile and wanting to come out more. I still won't introduce them until he's had his staples out. They can continue to peek under the door though.

As you can see on the belly picture up there his incision looks great!! I am pleased with how well it has healed. I will be glad when we can take off the damn evil collar though!! I do leave it off when I am with him and won't allow him to lick it. I know it has to itch with the healing and the fur growing back. He gets mad at me and gives me this "stop it woman!" look when I stop him.

[Tina B and crew]

It might be the weather, or we might have overdid it yesterday, I don't know, but Doc seems to be a bit more interested in sleep today. He seems to feel OK otherwise. So I'm going to just let him sleep and not bother him until later this afternoon unless I see that he is stirring. It's kind of cool and cloudy...the kind of day that my cats usually prefer to curl up in a comfy spot and sleep the day away. Wish I could.

[Traci]

Due to his prior condition before surgery, it could be that he needs extra GI transit time to digest his food, so he may be self-limiting the amounts he eats. Inflammation is most likely still present, so this also slows transit time to some degree. As long as he's eating, drinking, and having normal stools, this should improve in time. Just remember that his body has to adjust to the surgical correction, the GI tract has to adjust, this can take time. Again, keep that daily log of the amounts he eats.

Also, I really hate that he has the feeding tube in because the bandaging is sort of restricting - it takes up most of his neck and he probably feels uncomfortable with that. So, it could just be a combination of these things that will eventually be resolved.

I don't think it's necessary to clean the e-collar with alcohol, just use a damp cloth that doesn't contain lint (don't use paper towels), and make sure it's completely dry before putting it back on. The alcohol or lint could be making him sneeze. There's also the possibility he is reacting to the plastic of the e-collar, so anytime you can be with him and leave it off would be good. Ask your vet if he has a soft e-collar instead. If not, try not to worry too much, it will not be necessary to use once his staples are removed - but you also don't want him scratching at the bandaging/feeding tube area.

[Tina B and crew]

I let him have a good 3 hours of undisturbed peace and he seemed more himself after that. He ate, came out, explored, looked out the window, tried to get into my closet when I opened the door. Silly boy. I gave him the EN kibble this time and he didn't seem to get that feeling after eating it.

I always air the e-collar off before I put it back. I usually clean it when I take it off and don't put it back until I'm ready to leave him unattended.

[k9Karen]

I love the way he looks in the pictures - such a pretty boy!

[Tina B and crew]

We have had a GREAT evening here! I pretty much let Doc rest most of the day because he just seemed like he needed it, plus I had things I needed to take care of around here. I went to feed him his evening meal before I gave him his medicine and he ate pretty much all of it and didn't do his usual behavior of wanting to go back to sleep after eating. So I opened the bedroom door and let him come out. He had a blast watching Chunk paw under the door. He'd sit there and kind of tilt his head to the side and look at Chunk's paw like "what's his problem?" At one point they kind of pawed at each other lightly. Then Doc decided he was done with that and I put him up on the bed to give him his meds. After that I got a string and started playing with him and I actually saw the old "pre-sick" Doc come out and play! I made sure I stayed gentle so he wouldn't have to move much but he was so excited and it was so good to see him want to play. He didn't want to stop but after about 10 minutes I decided he needed to go to bed and not over do it. He wasn't happy to see the evil-collar! I hope this keeps up!

[Cleo]

That all sounds so encouraging! I hope it keeps up too!! Way to go Doc!

[Traci]

Next time, take alittle xtra time playing on the bed, then let him take at least a short nap beside YOU on the bed. I'll bet that would be so comforting and content for him and you both. (I do that all the time, my cats love it when I take naps with them)

I'm SO happy to hear he is feeling better, he truly is improving every day!!