Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 09:10 am
Little Girl went in for teeth cleaning on Monday. Unrelated, except for piggybacking on the anesthesia, she also had

I AM AVOIDING TMI HERE

a small patch of skin

OK, WE'RE SAFE NOW

excised for biopsy. Because of the state of her teeth beforehand, she's getting antibiotics twice a day. Because of the incision, she's wearing an Elizabethan collar. She's pretty miserable. She keeps bumping into things, she is having a hard time eating, she can't rub her face against her humans, and she can't wash just about anywhere.

The good news is that her blood work is fine; she shows no evidence of problems related to having eaten the recalled Hill's m/d food. Biopsy results will be back in another day or two.

Rob says I need a new LJ icon picturing this cat in her current pathetic state. Me, I think I'd rather not remind myself afterwards.

Twelve more days and she gets her stitches out and the collar off.
Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 04:28 pm (UTC)
The poor baby! Twelve days of terrible frustration. And then wait until the stitches start seriously itching....
Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 04:35 pm (UTC)
Oh, no kidding. I expect the itching to begin in another day or two. (That's how long it usually takes for me, anyway.) I'm trying to remember how long it should take to fade again. I wouldn't be surprised if I can take the collar off earlier than the stitches come out, if the itching has stopped and she's not trying to attack the site any more.
Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 05:19 pm (UTC)
Poor kitty! It's not a good day to be Little Girl today.
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 02:44 am (UTC)
Yeah, it isn't. Until I get home and scritch her.

It amazes me, but no matter how miserable she is, she'll purr and purr and purr when I pay attention to her. I would never be that good-natured. Make me clumsy, give me a slice on my belly and a mouth full of ow, then make it very hard to eat (so I'm probably hungry) and make sure I don't bathe for a few days, and I'm not going to be the world's most perky person.
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 05:25 pm (UTC)
I'm continually amazed at her agreeable personality. She didn't come from a good background. Grandma rescued her from a family that thought it was funny to let their dog harass her in scary ways. I don't want to be graphic here where someone sensitive to such things can stumble over it inadvertently, so it'll suffice to say that it was not amusing tussling, but the sort of tussling where you wonder that she survived, muchless thrived.
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 05:30 pm (UTC)
Your grandma must have done something right, that's for sure. I'm glad Little Girl thrived. I'm blessed to have her in my house.
Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 06:00 pm (UTC)
Hey, she came though it fine. The rest is cake! I'm glad to hear it.
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 02:45 am (UTC)
True: the rest is just annoyance, not much danger. I love my kitty!
Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 06:02 pm (UTC)
12 days is a long time, isn't it?
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 02:46 am (UTC)
Seems long to me. I wonder how deep they had to make that cut. Last time I had something on the surface excised for biopsy, they went pretty deep, but I didn't think it was two weeks for the stitches even so.
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 02:58 am (UTC)
That sounds like *forever* for a cat to be wearing an Elizabethan collar...
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 03:40 am (UTC)
One week isn't very long, though, right? Maybe I'll call the vet one week after the procedure, and if her incision looks good and she's not trying to attack it, I'll ask whether I can remove the collar.
Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 06:48 pm (UTC)
Awww, poor kitty!
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 02:48 am (UTC)
I wish I could explain some simple concepts. Perhaps DON'T TRY TO BRUSH YOUR FACE ON THE WALL, BECAUSE HEY, IT HASN'T WORKED THE LAST HUNDRED TIMES EITHER would help her out a little.
Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 06:49 pm (UTC)
Brush her! A lot. She can't groom herself, and she probably feels filthy as well as miserable.

Wear dirty or old clothes---you'll be amazed at the cat hairs that come off.
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 02:47 am (UTC)
Oh yes. Already she's shedding like there's no tomorrow. It's hard to clear off her head, so when I scritch her (and boy does she love those scritches!) I keep thinking I'm going to put hair in her eyes!
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 04:07 am (UTC)
Oh, poor Little Girl! But the discomfort she's experiencing is nothing compared to what she would have gone through if she'd gotten kidney failure from eating melamine -- I just wish there was a way you could tell her how lucky she really is. Hopefully the biopsy will be negative also and she'll be home free. How long does she have to wear the Elizabethan collar?
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 04:26 am (UTC)
Duh, never mind the last question -- I had already forgotten the last sentence! Image
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 04:09 pm (UTC)
Biopsy is indeed negative, woohoo! There are definitely times I wish I could talk to her. Ah, well.
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 04:24 am (UTC)
I am sorry that Little Girl is unhappy. I hope she gets better soon. I know you are a very good human and will take very good care of her. She will feel better with her teeth taken care of. My human told me I had my teeth cleaned a few months ago. It did not hurt at all. I do not know how they did it, since they just stuck a needle in my leg and then I took a nap. I woke up in a cage, which I did not like, but it was a very good nap. The worst part was being in the little box and having it put into the big noisy shaky box. Not just one time, either. Two times! I do NOT like the big noisy shaky box, and I make sure my human knows it!

My human took a lot of little cans with pictures of cats on them back to the store. Our regular food is dry. We are supposed to have the wet food for a treat but our human is lazy and does not give it to us very often. So we never did get to eat any of it. If that means I do not have to be in the noisy shaky box and see the bad mean humans I guess I am glad.

Please give Little Girl some licks from me.

Love,
Val
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 04:59 am (UTC)
I hope Little Girl is feeling well soon & the biopsy is negative.

Lots of brushing sounds like a good idea -- especially if she likes it.

Perhaps a LJ icon of Little Girl from when she was feeling good, before the collar?

*hugs* You'll all make it through it.
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 04:08 pm (UTC)
Biopsy is indeed negative, woohoo! :)
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 05:17 pm (UTC)
YAY! Scritches for Little Girl & Hugs for you!
Monday, April 9th, 2007 07:23 pm (UTC)
Skin is TMI? Heck, my cat is absolutely covered with skin. :)