Welcome home Doc!!

[Tina B and crew]

He's doing great! He's home, staples are gone. Incision had healed well and looked great.

We did in the end decide to leave the e-tube in until after his first chemo treatment. Vet checked it out said it looked good, was clean, healed, no sign of any funky stuff etc. It's there so if we have a problem we don't have to go through the trouble and expense to place another one. I am confident in the decision and trust my vet's advice. He has his appointment next week so if it turns out the chemo doesn't affect him we can remove it. It has only been in two weeks tomorrow.

He's eating now and seemed happy to be home. His energy is coming back for sure. He's acting much more himself now - greeting me at the door, getting excited and playing with his old toys etc. I'm just thrilled to see the old Doc back! He's also not sneezing nearly as much and just looks brighter.

[Traci]

That's because he has a wonderful mommy taking care of him

Thank you so much for the update, I'm so happy he has those staples out, and the surgery site looks good!!

[k9Karen]

Such a pretty boy! He looks very good in those latest pictures - so bright-eyed and alert. It definitely looks like he is feeling better!

[Tina B and crew]

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see such progress. I'm still guarded, naturally, but I am so happy to see him enjoy life again.

And, we had another success tonight! Chunk, cute little (yea, right) curious Chunk has felt rather left out since I have let Lucy in to see Doc. Chunk sits at the door an just peeks underneath. It's so cute. So I've opened the door a few times to a crack and let him and Doc just peek at each other. Uneventful. Today I opened the door wider and let Chunk and Doc kind of see each other in full. Chunk ran away, but cautiously came back. Doc just sat there like "why ya runnin'?!" At any rate, I finally left the door open and gave both Chunk and Doc a treat about 2 feet apart. Chunk, bless his heart, wouldn't eat his that close so I put it further away and he did. Then I started playing with them and the three cats had a nice gentle little play session. No hissing, no encounters, just a little quiet and gentle play. When Chunk isn't distracted he still seems kind of nervous about Doc, but he's showing no aggression at all. I finally corralled Chunk and Lucy out after about 5 minutes and let Doc play by himself. He's very curious about Chunk and Lucy and really looks like he just wants a friend.

Lucy on the other hand will walk into the room, take one look at Doc, sniff at him, and then turn around and walk out as if she's saying "pffft...another boy?!"

I will keep doing these little short play sessions. It is going to be a while before I let them be together for any extended period of time. But I'm happy that I can count the hisses on only one hand!! Oh, and no flattened ears or swats at all so far!

[Traci]

I feel all warm and fuzzy inside just reading your posts about Doc and the introductions to Chunk and Lucy - what wonderful progress!! I had a good feeling that introductions (if careful and slow) would be just fine.

You may be right, Doc is most likely wanting a friend - of the feline persuasion. Not that mommy isn't just the most wonderful creature on earth, but there's also something very special about cats forming bonds with each other

Please keep updating!

[Tina B and crew]

We had another great play session with the three cats tonight. The only "contact" they made was when Chunk stumbled a little too close and Doc batted at him playfully. Chunk is still kind of afraid of Doc and will only get close if I'm distracting him with a toy or treats. But he still doesn't fluff up his tail or show any signs of aggression. Lucy and Doc played on the bed about a foot apart and really seemed to enjoy each other. Then when I stopped playing Lucy crept ever so slowly toward Doc, who wasn't paying attention, and stretched out as far as she could to sniff at his hind quarters. After about a 15 second sniff she ever so slowly backed away with this look on her face like "he smells funny mom!!" But again, no tail fluffs or hackles raised, just a bit of uncertainty.

Doc is starting to get rambunctious again! But like a very good boy he goes to his bed at night and is perfectly quite for the most part. I'm so proud of him.

[Traci]

Wow, introductions are going great!!! Lucy sounds like a little sweetie, she probably understands Doc has had a rough time (and maybe feels Doc might be a good ally!). Chunk will come around, he's a boy, so naturally, he wants it known he was there first, LOL. The fact Chunk is going slow at this, is a good sign

[Tina B and crew]

I'm very pleased, but don't want to get too confident. That is why I am taking it very, very slowly. I think even when I get to the point that I'm letting Doc out I will probably still separate them when I'm not home. I guess I'm a bit protective of Doc. <3

Lucy is a sweetie. Even after all the trouble Chunk gives her she will still walk over to him and give him a pressie. I hope she takes to Doc too. He could use a feline friend.

[Traci]

I do that too, separate the new addition when I'm not home.

It's entirely possible that Doc has had feline siblings before (and maybe even a doggy sibling!) - it sounds like he is very easy going and relaxed, which might make for a perfect and harmonious sibling-ship between all three.

[Tina B and crew]

We had another introduction experiment today. My mom was gone for a while so I opened the bedroom door and watched to see what Doc would do. Once he got out and explored from one end to the other he was determined to not have to go back! He ran from me! I finally got him herded back in but the exploration of the rest of the house was uneventful. He sat in front of different windows, sniffed at a variety of things, ignored Chunk but wanted to get close to Lucy (who is still showing a bit of aloofness toward him). Chunk came out and saw him and puffed his tail up at first but once he was reassured by Lucy that all was well he eased up.

I won't do that when my mom is home, at least not for a while. She still hasn't come to terms with Doc being here.