Monday, December 19, 2011

BITS BE GONE

One always fears complications during surgery. I was filled with dread as I dropped off Tillie to be spayed. I felt a bit guilty for taking away her food the night before. Tillie and Zozo sleep in the basement so Zozo was also denied nutrition from a normally open bowl. Before they went to down for the night I gave them a treat. They happily gobbled a quarter can of wet food each.

Tillie experienced her first heat earlier this year and has tortured Zozo and I myriad times with her come hither dance. There are several resources for bargain price spay/neutering in the Twin Cities area. Pet Haven of MN provides free services for people with very reduced income. The Kindest Cut and MN SNAP is $50 for low-income households, and Animal Ark offers $150 certificates to anyone. I qualified for and decided to utilize the Kindest Cut since their schedule and location were convenient. Contact www.pethaveninc.org www.kindestcutmn.org www.mnsnap.org www.animalarkshelter.org for information or to donate. Danke!

Both felines meowed with an urgent tone for food in the morning. I let Zozo eat but had to comfort Tillie as she whined about experiencing hunger. Loaded her into the carrier and dropped her off filled with trepidation. I decided it was best to remain busy. I went to the food shelf to procure calories since my shelves and refrigerator were nearly empty. Though the food shelf pantry was sparse, I brought home enough to sustain me through the month. Humbled that I have to receive food when I normally donate items or money to help others. It is a triple-whammy because I usually work in the nonprofit or educational arena and my life energy is now deviated by the endless job search. Drove home, unloaded auto, and shelved the groceries. Please contact www.2harvest.org to assist people in need. Merci!

Commenced to cleaning the downstairs bathroom. Animals need to recover in a sanitary environment. It doesn’t have to be spotless but at least swept and mopped to remove dust. Washed some sheets for her to use as bedding and changed one of the litter boxes into a clean paper pellet box. Regular litter can irritate wounds so paper pellets are better to use until the injury has a few days to heal. Procured a cardboard box to place over the toilet seat to prevent her from hopping upon it and rigged a barrier around the sink to keep her from leaping. Jumping could rip out her internal stitches.

Toted up empty boxes from downstairs to place on the radiators and benches to keep Tillie from springing up, much to Zozo’s dismay because she would be restricted too. I placed a piece of pink insulation to block off the stairwell. I still was worried that there would be complications during surgery but was relieved that she was fine when I arrived to pick her up.

The Kindest Cut staff was very friendly. They really need a portable heated tent for outside their van, it was quite cold. It also would be helpful if more pre-operation and post-operation information was on their website. I tried to remember what my veterinarian had told me what to do with Zozo six years ago but it was a bit fuzzy. If you have a heated tent or funds to donate to them please contact the Kindest Cut directly.

Tillie didn’t cry much on the way home because she was woozy. The weather was below freezing but the car was warmer. I brought her into the house. Zozo growled loudly and hissed so I took Tillie into the bathroom. She was happy to get out of the pet carrier but she was a bit wobbly from the events of the day. She almost tipped over a couple times but I caught her. Distemper and rabies vaccinations and a microchip implantation added to her discomfort, but they were very cheap to procure.

Tillie was famished so I gave her about a teaspoon of the Science Diet Id wet food for sensitive stomach. It was a leftover can from when she experienced a stomach flu during the summer. I wasn’t sure if she would vomit so I kept the amount small. I sat with her. It looked like she peed on herself during the operation but the incision was only about a half an inch in length. I stayed with her for about a half an hour to make certain that she didn’t get ill. Every hour I gave her about a tablespoon of the wet food until she had used up the half a can. I wanted her to rest so I didn’t sit with her the whole time. She purred very loudly for the food. I gave her a small handful of dried food and that stayed down. At 9pm I gave her a bowl of dried food.

At the 9pm check in I noticed that she had been licking the incision site because some to the sterilization orange dye had been removed. Much to Tillie’s dismay I had to place an Elizabethan Collar on her neck. I used Zozo’s old collar from when she injured her leg about five years ago. Zozo had to wear it for four months. Tillie fought the collar, she tugged and scratched but it would not come off. I tightened the gauze so that I could still place a finger underneath to make certain that it wasn’t too tight and choking her. I made certain that the dried food was heaped in the bowl duct-taped to the shower floor, two bowls of water in case she tipped one over, and uncovered the litter box for easy access. She was fine at 10pm so I went to bed.

To be continued…
2011 © Ima B. Musing

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