Kitty apparently had a successful surgery and survived the trauma of spending the night at the animal hospital. She had her front claws removed yesterday, and this particular vet required an overnight stay - which was ok by me.
I was surprised when I dropped her off yesterday morning that she was as good as she was. We had a little trouble getting her in the cage the last time - when we moved - though that was probably more due to freaking out over all the furniture being gone. At any rate, I put her right in her cage yesterday morning, and she only meowed a few times on the drive to Ossian. While I was waiting in the lobby after arriving, she was actually purring some and sticking her feet through the door to "play" with me. Then the attendant had me bring her into an exam room, and it never dawned on me that they would want to take her out of the cage. I anticipated she would run and claw and fight once she was released. However, we lucked out and got the nice doctor (not that they all aren't nice, but I remember this one from when we had Bogey. She was always real nice and calm - has a way with animals). She opened the door and got Kitty out, and Kitty just lay there as she examined her. She even purred every now and then. And she didn't even flinch when they took her temperature rectally. Then the doctor just picked her up and said she would see me later. Cool.
They called about 10 am and said she was done with the surgery and that I could come pick her up the next day (today) between 4 and 5 pm.
I got there today around 4:30. The girl took my credit card, gave me the bill and the home care instructions, then went and got the cat. We're supposed to limit her food/water intake to 1/4 of normal for the first 24 hours. We're also supposed to try to limit her activity for a few days - like that's really possible. And we have some syringes with pain killer. We're supposed to shoot one between her mouth and gums once every 12 hours for the next 3 1/2 days. That should be interesting. They also gave us some special kitty litter - recycled paper - so she doesn't get the regular stuff in her incisions.
She was kind of groggy on the trip home, and when I brought her inside and let her out of the cage she went under the stairs to her hiding spot. However, it wasn't long before she was out and looking out the patio door (one of her favorite places). I sat down beside her and she crawled up on my lap and wanted petted. She purred away for quite some time. She seems to be pretty much back to normal. It seems to bother her when she comes 'down' the stairs. I suppose there is more pressure (from her 7 lb. body). Otherwise it doesn't seem to bother her at all.
We are supposed to watch for some warning signs and notify the hospital if any of the following happen:
a. Loss of appetite for over 2 days (she has already eaten)
b. Refusal to drink water over 24 hours
c. Weakness
d. Severe pain
e. Depression (what?)
f. Vomiting
g. Diarrhea
h. There's a change in Kitty's general health and behavior
Okay, I'll keep my eye on her. She is presently curled up in the corner of the basement. Not someplace she usually slept, but I'm thinking she's still a little drugged up. Nice to have her back though, and know that she will no longer be getting caught in the curtains.
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