(no subject)

[spatch]

They're probably right when they say the first night home is the hardest. For any kind of invalid.

We picked Martha up tonight at Angell. She's real weak. I don't know if it's the dope she's on or what. She walked a bit from the stairs tonight, down one step and around the corner, and that was where her back legs gave out. It broke my heart to watch her flop right down there and I know she wasn't happy to experience it, either. When I wasn't looking, however, she walked all the way to the chair and hopped up. But when I went to pick her up, she was limp again, one paw's claws stuck in the chair fabric (she's always had a problem retracting her clawses.) The arm around one paw's "wrist" is rudely shorn for her IV though the regular paw part is normal. As a result she looks like she's holding a paw on a stick. My neuroses towards medical treatment kick in when I glance at her arm (I get uncomfortable shivers when I see certain medical treatments. Some stitches are fine but others eek me out.)

Abbie's being as polite as he can. That's good.

Along with Martha came a healthy amount of medicine:

* Two forms of antibiotics, each to be taken twice daily, one for ten days, the other for five.
* One appetite stimulant, to be given twice daily for three days.
* Pepcid AC (she gets a box just like me!) to be given half a pill twice daily for five days.
* A liver treatment medicine to be given twice daily for five days.
* One thing I've probably forgotten but it's on the list.

Also included are five days' worth of wet Science Diet prescription A/D food to be given through a syringe. We're to feed her one can a day in four feedings. The smell takes some getting used to but honestly, it's gonna be a smell I'll remember for quite some time. I mix the food with a little warm water (also suggested is chicken stock or anything else she'll find palatable) and load the syringe (we were thoughtfully given two syringes; one in Heroin Junkie and the other Sheep Suppository size) and bring dinner to the cat. Our first dinner together was a quiet affair and rather limp, but I consider it a victory. Martha lapped the stuff up just fine for most of it, but when she started letting it just dribble back out of her mouth, I figured she was done. I told her it's going to give her that strength back. She may believe me.

The liquid food left her paws and nose cold, even after I wiped it up, and for a moment I was worried she'd been sent into some kind of kitty shock with this feeding. Her energy seems to be fluctuating and she goes from strong to weak quite quickly, but I keep telling myself this is the first night. We just have to take things moment by moment, and see how she's doing in the morning. Currently she's resting on my bed so I can watch her overnight. I'm supposed to go to work tomorrow but I'm so goddamn exhausted I may have to just call in. Besides, I gotta feed the kitty.

Good night.

Comments

[arielblue.livejournal.com]

It is so hard to see them feeling bad! I know that A/D smell very well... thank goodness for the stuff, though. Did they give you any Nutrical? (It looks and smells like stinky hairball goop, but it is high-calorie vitamin nutrition goop.)

I would call in to work (and have called in for sick cats any number of times). You've already been up half the night anyway and so you can legitimately say you feel like crap. (If they want details you can make vague references to "stomach... wet and gooey and the *smell*..." and it will be a completely honest statement but I garan-dam-tee you they won't ask for more detail. *grin*)

I just asked Bear if he had a message for a poor sick little pirate, and he said "mrrrr?" which I think means "is there any food?" (since pretty much anything he says usually means that) and I think that translates to "tell that poor little pirate to eat up!"

Give Martha a smooch on the head for me, if she likes head-smooching. And don't worry if she's really really tired for a few days. Nobody sleeps worth a damn in the hospital.

On behalf of kitties everywhere, thank you for taking such good care of her. You get bonus points in heaven.

[semer.livejournal.com]

A/d rules. Many sick kitties have been helped by the power of A/d. ^_^

Just FYI, my mom relayed to me the entertaining story of how they got Honey (a rescue cat with the same general problem as poor Marf) to eat real food again. She wouldn't take it out of the bowl, but when someone accidentally spilled food on her... she at it. And then after several days of "accidentally" spilling food on her, she was like, hey, food is yummy! And so she was eating.

Just a handy little tip.

*hugs and good wishes for you and Martha*

[rfreebern.livejournal.com]

I'm glad she's home. It sounds like a heart-wrenching experience to go through. Our birds haven't even been sick, thank goodness (sick birds don't pull through very often, in our experience) but I've had other sick pets in my life and I know how excruciating it can be.

At least she's receiving the best care she can be, and lots of love. Best wishes to both of you, and thanks for keeping us updated.

[muffyjo]

I remember from my surgery earlier this year that when I got home, mostly I wanted to curl up in a safe place and sleep. Eating was a good idea, but I was kind of groggy and lillibet reminded me I might be hungry (to which I would be surprised to find she was right) and when I had eaten and then sat there trying to participate in some meaningful way, she would gently point me back in the direction of the bed which sounded like and equally good idea and I didn't have to feel that I was being rude to just eat and disappear. So chances are Martha is feeling a bit groggy, and perfectly happy to eat, but really, sleeping is good too. She's a very polite cat. I agree that if you can afford it, take the day off and get some rest yourself and then make sure Martha wakes enough to eat so her body can retrieve the energy from there.

Surgery also means that when you are tired, you are suddenly VERY tired and feeling like you have no reserves and really, sleeping here and now is exactly what you need....wherever here and now is. Luckily, she's a cat. And it will be difficult to discern the difference in a short while. And that's never been rude to a cat.

If you need someone to check in on her, or if you want a hand, let me know. I'd be happy to pop by and pet them both for you. Feeding is optional.

[gudriba.livejournal.com]

Just caught up all about this. Poor kitty! I hope she is back to being a sprightly pirate very soon.

[invisibelle.livejournal.com]

I had this dream last night that I watched a black kitten hatch from an egg and then I bottle-fed it. It was a really insane dream, but now that I read this I wonder if it came from reading Martha updates. I think it's a good omen! :)