Steve the Pretty Tripawd Kitty

As Steve lays around the house in all of her weird cat positions, I’ve noticed that her fur has almost completely grown back in everywhere that it was cut or shaved down! You can’t even tell that her belly was completely shaved for abdominal surgery, and the places I cut giant mats out of are nearly grown back to match the rest of her coat.

Her litter box habits have certainly changed as the specialist said they would. I see her going into the bathroom to use the litter box a lot more often then she used to. Her number twos aren’t quite solid yet, so she often needs her bum wiped if I can catch her. Usually, I don’t and she scoots on the carpet and leaves a streak  >:(  Only once so far has she made such a mess of her back end that she needed a bath, but even that wasn’t nearly as bad as it used to be when she’d get poo stuck all over the place. She was in and out of the tub in less than 5 minutes!

Jay and I often talk about how much money we spent on Steve for this most recent surgery. It’s a big deal because we’re trying to find a better apartment and we’re getting ready to get married. It’s hard to think about putting money towards making a life for yourself when you just dropped $3000 on your cat. Don’t get us wrong, we don’t regret spending the money. Jay knows how much Steve means to me and he would never make a decision to take her away from me when there is a reasonable option to save her life. During one of these discussions, Jay and I decided to do the math. Steve’s surgery cost roughly $3000. Before surgery and before things complicated further, Steve was eating wet food that was costing me approximately $25 per month (more like $25 every 24 days, but for sake of ease…). Additionally, every 6 – 8 months, I needed to buy a new bottle of Miralax at about $6 per. We gave Steve a lifespan of 15 years and figured out that because she now needs no medication and no special diet, we saved $1500. However, because Steve will probably live longer than 15 years and because I was actually spending more than $25 every 30 days, we saved more than that!! Ever the optimist am I.

Our latest foster, Ull, has come a long way since he first arrived as the terrified feral kitten. I booted him from the closet a couple of weeks ago and he took up residence in the bathroom. He quickly made friends with Saxon, Steve, and Spyder and is very clearly up all night every night playing. The cat toys are scattered in different places every morning and a few have gone missing!! He’s starting to get braver and is hanging out in the kitchen more and more. He’s really sweet and can be super snuggly if I put him on my lap, but he’s still not thrilled with being picked up. Whoever adopts him is going to get an awesome cat!

Steve and Yorrick seem to have bonded recently. They always got along, but they’re really close now! They’re always begging for food together, they occasionally nap together, I’ve caught them giving each other a lick or two! They’re like the….Bottomless Belly Twins or something! I love them as partners in crime!!

It’s so nice for everything to be normal again (knock on wood)!!!

Steve is 100% back to her old self! Well, except for her coat. Her belly fur is growing back and I had to cut out A LOT of mats that built up while she wouldn’t/couldn’t groom. So she looks like she had a minor disagreement with a lawn mower….

BUT!! She’s back to zoomies, back to throwing herself around, back to antagonizing Saxon, back to chasing the red dot, back to chasing everything and anything, and most importantly (to me anyways) she’s back to sitting on the side of the tub while I take a shower! Oh, and have I mentioned that she chewed my flip flops?! I thought it was Yorrick until I saw the kitty teeth marks. Steve is the only cat in the house that chews. I bet she was counting on me blaming Yorrick, too!

I would say that Steve has no idea that she had any surgery!

She’s pretty gassy, and her poos are still soft. She still leaves some marks on the floor as she leaves the litter box, but I can’t complain at all! She’s eating a regular diet, which means she gets to eat with her brothers! No more separate feedings!!

And lastly, Steve has a new foster brother! His name is Ull. I chose that name because we’re fostering him for socialization. A year ago, we were fostering Sif for socialization. We named her Sif because Sif is a Norse goddess associated with strength and courage. Ull, in Norse mythology, is Sif’s son! Fitting, right?

Pictures? Pictures!

Steve was doing this all morning while I ate breakfast! If you ask me, I’d say she’s feeling pretty good!! I’ll be donating her e-collar and the remainder of her Metacam (pain med) to the Humane Society this weekend! GOOD RIDDANCE!!!

Steve got her sutures out this morning and has been let out into gen pop!!!!

As first she was moving slow, was hiding, and wouldn’t jump into her window to eat. I had to lift her up into it so she could have her first breakfast out of the closet in her favorite place. I thought maybe she was in pain, but as the day has progressed she’s been jumping in and out of her window and on and off of the crate.

It’s so nice to have everything back to normal again! More than normal!! Steve doesn’t need a special diet or medication anymore!

It’s crazy to me that Steve’s surgery dates were so close together. Next year, when I celebrate her Ampuversary, it will be much more special to me!

Just a quick update on Steve’s progress! Her incision looks great and she continues to be annoyed that she’s in a small closet instead of out with everyone else!! I just made the appointment for her suture removal – Tuesday the 8th at 9am!

As for her…uhh…plumbing? She seems to be getting better at feeling and controlling her urges. I’m seeing less accidents on the floor and more poo in the litter box. The consistency is a bit more solid, too. More formed anyways.

Last night I took her cone off for a bit and supervised her while she did her thing. First, she attacked her cone! She showed it how she really felt about it! Then she bathed a bit (especially her dirty rear end). Fianlly, she ate so fast she threw up!! Oops. Should have seen that one coming…

I’m off to bring a cake I just baked to our regular vet to say THANKS for all that they did! On Monday
I’ll be baking cookies (or another cake) to bring to the specialist’s on Tuesday to thank them!

Have I mentioned how much of an inconvenience this all is to Steve? She would really like to know when she can get the damn cone off of her head and when she can leave the closet. This is all interfering with her running and jumping and climbing and throwing herself around. Oh, and especially with her sitting in a window watching the birds and squirrels. The closet doesn’t have any windows. Can anyone do anything about that?

Every time I go into the closet to check on Steve or feed or medicate her, she gives me a look like, “Am I getting out now?!” Anyone who doesn’t know her would not look at her and think that she just had major abdominal surgery! I’m not surprised either. She was over her amputation so quickly, of course she’s over this surgery after 2 days!

I’m glad I mess proofed the closet. Steve is getting used to what her body feels like now with several inches less of colon. She’s only made it to the litter box once, but I’m so proud of her for that once!! It means she felt it and reacted to it! Several people – including the doctor – have told me that it improves. We’re only four days out, we have lots of time!

Who wants to see her incision?!

It goes down another inch or two. It continues to look great! They suggested icing/warm packing it, but I’m not about to irritate it or her when it looks that good!

It’s weird to see her stump shaved again. You can see how much of her belly is shaved. They shaved her whole back end, too, for sanitary and cleanliness reasons. So, her curlies on her belly that I love so much are mostly gone and her stump is mostly shaved. She’s also severely matted because she can’t groom. I tried combing her, but she hates to be combed when she feels perfectly fine. I had to cut a big chunk of fur from her lower back. I’m going to have to cut more. Oh well. She didn’t look so hot when she first came to us. She was a little matted and her fur was a mess. It barely took any time for her to fluff up and get beautiful! And her curlies will be back!!

 

Two years ago today, Jay and I took Steve to the Humane Society to have her amputation sutures removed and we signed her adoption papers ending her term as our foster kitty and beginning her life as our furever kitty!!

Today, Jay and I picked Steve up from the specialist’s office after megacolon surgery. Two major surgeries in two years!! Goodness, Steve! That’s enough of that!!!

The technician that did Steve’s discharge told us how pawsome Steve was during her hospital stay. She said that usually, cats like to hide in the backs of their cages and are very anti-social. Not my Stevie girl!! Steve was right at the front of her cage asking for attention and watching everybody! They said that she watched other surgeries so closely it was almost creepy!! HAHAHA!!! Oh that’s my Steve! Just like her mommy, loves to watch the gross stuff! I can’t get enough of that on TV!

Steve will be recovering in the “foster closet” for two weeks, so no foster kittens for that time period. I lined the whole bottom of the closet with painter’s plastic, then put a flat sheet down over that. I bought Steve a new (cheap) bed that she can ruin while her insides sort themselves out. Everything is either easily washable or disposable. She can paint the closet brown for all I care!!

So Hoppy 2nd Adoptiversary Steve!!! I think this is a special one because there was a chance (a small chance, but still a chance) you weren’t going to make it! I love you so much pretty girl!!!

Steve comes home tomorrow at 10!!! She’ll be home for her Adoptiversary!!!! I’m so happy I’m crying!!!!

I’m sorry I didn’t update last night! I had a CRAZY day yesterday! I started bright and early when Jay got up for work (ugh, I forgot what 7am looked like!) so I could get the kittens to the humane society for their spay/neuter surgeries. Of course, it wasn’t just dropping the kittens off. I saw things that needed to be done and I did them because I never stop volunteering! After that I had to run to a pet sit real quick before barely making it on time to an appointment with my neurologist. Then of course the rest of my work day proceeded. When I got home, I finally got around to fully cleaning the bathroom from Steve’s week spent in there on enemas. I also started cleaning the kitten closet because I’ll be recovering Steve in there when she comes home. Next, I headed over to my parents’ house to spend time with my sister and her kids. When I got home last night I had to call a client who wanted to talk about something. Sadly, that something was rehoming her dog. She wants my help to find a better home for her dog who has not handled the death of the client’s mom well. Oh and I had a sit at the end of my night, too. PHEW!

SO! I did talk to the specialist’s office yesterday morning. They said that Steve had a good night. They said that she was being friendly and sweet – so normal Steve! The thing that surprised me a little, but the more I thought about it, the less it surprised me – Steve ate overnight! Steve LOVES to eat, so I guess I can’t really expect her to let major abdominal surgery keep her from missing dinner! She was probably really ticked off when they didn’t feed her breakfast! “Ummm…excuse me… breakfast? Can I have breakfast? I see that the other patients have had breakfast but you seem to have forgotten to feed me breakfast…”

They said she would need to spend another night, but I’m expecting her to spend a few more. Dr Glennon said that if something is going to go wrong in the healing process it will happen in days 3-4, so I imagine they would want her in their care through that time. When I talked to Dr Glennon immediately following surgery he did reiterate the 3-5 day healing period.

I definitely miss her. Saxon and Spyder miss her. They call out for her. It’s pretty sad. I’m really excited for her to come home and to be all healed and back to her old self. I’m hopeful that she can go back to a normal diet. It will be nice to not have to chase 3 cats down to make sure they’re eating their own food!

With the assumption that Steve will be there tomorrow on her Adoptiversary, I’m going to find out if I can visit her. She spent her Ampuversary in the hospital, and now she’s spending her Adoptiversary in the hospital. My poor girl 🙁

Just a quick update about today.

Steve and I met the surgeon today. He was just as nice and knowledgeable as everyone said he would be! When he walked in the room, I saw that he was wearing a tie with starfish on it and I felt like everything was going to be ok!

(A brief version of the starfish story if you don’t know it:

A young boy is seen walking along the beach, picking up starfish that have been washed ashore and tossing them back into the ocean. When asked why, he says that he is saving their lives. The guest says surely the boy knows that he cannot possibly save all of the starfish; how does he expect to save them?. The boy picks up another starfish, tosses it into the ocean, and replies,

“I saved that one.”

It’s very popular in the world of rescue!)

Steve is spending the night at the surgeon’s facility and will have her surgery tomorrow. They offered to call before she goes under and then again when she’s done, but I asked them not to call me before. I’d rather just focus on work and not worry because I know she’s in surgery. It will be a nice surprise to get the “all done” phone call!

I will update tomorrow night after Steve’s surgery! I’m not sure if I’ll go visit her post-op. I guess it depends on how long she’ll be in the hospital for recovery. I really miss her. Things are really weird around here without her throwing herself around.