Monday, December 7, 2009

Suki's home!!

We went to pick up Suki about an hour ago.  According to the vet, her recovery was "quite harsh".  It seems she banged her head repeatedly on the carrier.  This, according to the vet, is because she's a highly-stressed kitten. 

Poor Suki.

Anyway, she's back home now, and I've put her back in her cage.  Her eyes are still red, and she is not very focused yet.  Just played with the kibbles in her bowl, and did not eat. 


Bunny and Bobby welcome Suki back home.



Back in her own cage, playing with the kibbles.

She's settled and sleeping now.

13 comments:

YenLing said...

Welcome home Suki =). HUGS.

I won't recommend food (dry kibbles) first. sleep and rest is all they need. Try to mix the dry kibbles with some water to soften it (imagine adult human just awake from operation and any food intake or even water will just make them throw up for the first day - learn this experience from my dad recent operation) I guess is the same for pets too. TLC will be helpful in comforting them. Tomorrow will be a better day for Suki, perhaps a light breakfast.

I'm sure all will be well. =) Let me know if you need anything.

Sleep and rest well Suki.

chankahyein said...

Thanks Yen Ling. Have bought a can of AD as standby should she be ready to have some food later tonight. Oh, Indy has come back, and was hissing at her.

MarC said...

Welcome home, Sweetheart, sorry you had such a hard time at the clinic ... glad your nightmare is over!

You are just being the little loved-to-bits-at-home-and-love-home-sweet-home-not-strange-places-and-strange-ppl-who-stick-needles-drawing-your-blood princess ... awwwww poor little sweetie!

KY, normally I give the cat/kitten a teaspoonful of mashed lightly boiled/steamed chicken breast meat moistened by the chicken juice/broth only after 8pm when the anesthetic and possible nausea will have worn off a litte.

Also, I will put in a small low, heavy clay bowl filled with only half an inch of water to prevent spillage which might wet the wound.

I will line the cage floor with many layers of folded newspaper for its comfort (they usually like the warmth) and remove the top layers as they get dampened/soiled, leaving the dry layers below. I monitor the cat at least every hour and cover the cage with a thin cloth to give her privacy in some quiet corner and let it rest away from any distractions and sleep off the anesthetic (you can see it in the glassy eyes).

Yes, Indy is growling at all the strange smell on Suki ... yes, Indy, poor Suki had been in a strange place and handled by many, many strange humans.

KY, you also need some rest, I am sure from the way you describe things, you too had been through quite a lot emotionally.

Sleep it off everybody .... :-)

Anonymous said...

Why are Suki's eyes red? Didn't they put some lubricant to protect the eyes during surgery?

chankahyein said...

I dont know why her eyes were red yesterday, but they were ok soon after.

Anonymous said...

Because the cat's eyes cannot blink to moisturise them when they are unconscious, some lubricant is needed to keep them moist because very often their eyes are not completely close, in fact, many are open like just like when they die, many of them's eyes are open and I gently close them with my fingers.

I think possibly that is why the Princess' pretty eyes were red and slightly irritated. Or she kena-ed while fighting against being handled in her panicked stage.

A few drops of Nicol eyedrops from the pharmacy can help soothe any remaining irritation, if any. Costs only RM2.40 a tiny bottle.

Suki will be her normal active self again by the 3rd or 4th day but mustn't exert herself too much (she is a little tomboy!) so that the stitching heals well.

Take care, have a nice and pleasant day, Mama and Princess!

chankahyein said...

Thank you. Her eyes are ok. Not red anymore.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Suki banged her head because she was very scared. Or maybe she was subject to some rough handling when the vet took blood from her vein. I am very selective about which vets I go to.

chankahyein said...

I am very selective too. This clinic has been treating all my pets for many years now and very often, I am allowed to help the vet in some procedures, especially Vixey's enemas.
I need to respect the clinic rules where surgeries are performed and they prefer that the owners be not involved. I agree that some owners may cause more problems because of our anxiety, and this in turn, causes more anxiety and stress in our pets.
Once I witnessed the handling of a large German Shepherd, and he was giving so much problems, that the owner finally had to leave the clinic so that the vets and the assistants could take blood, very easily, too. So this is a case where the owner actually "made things worse" by being present, not intentionally, of course.
In Suki's case, blood was taken from her ear, not from a vein. Very little blood was required for the PCV test, which I had agreed to, for peace of mind and to ensure we had everything covered before her surgery. It was my request.
The comment is taken in good faith and your good intentions very much appreciated.

Rambo said...

How not for Suki to be so very frightened that she banged her head? Obviously she had been very scared, and the clinic obviously lacked the understanding and skill to handle frightened cats. Not only did Suki undergo an operation, prior to that she had been forced to submit to some humans holding her down and pushing a needle into her vein to draw her blood for a test.

I have experienced this once with my poor frightened stray. I could not stand the lack of handling skill from the clinic staff which was stressing my sick cat tremendously (they used so much force without any attempt to coax or stroke the cat the way I have seen some good sensitive vets do), so I got off my seat, walked right into the room, whispered and stroked my stray gently and tilted his head gently to expose the huge vein under its neck (and it did not even resist) so that those fumbling idiots could draw sufficient blood for tests without any trouble.

After witnessing some very rough and unskilled handling, I am very, very selective about the vet surgeons for my cats. They can make the experience so very unpleasant that the cat develop a phobia so very bad it is so very hard to ever bring the cat out again, especially to a clinic! And this is so bad because a sick cat needs to go to the clinic and the stress can really make it go downhill faster.

chankahyein said...

Hi Rambo, please read earlier comment. The blood was taken from Suki's ears. This is the vets who have treated my pets for many years, and I have seen (and helped) them handle my pets. They are very gentle and caring.
Suki was probably very scared and reacted so during her "groggy" recovery state.
Thank you for your concern and sharing. Suki is fine now, and the "banging head" only happened for a short while during initial recovery.

Rambo said...

The German Shepherd owner had to leave, eh? Haha! Yes, some owners are like that, but I only step in if they demonstrate bad handling of my animals otherwise I go by the saying that "they are the experts".

You know, during the incident that made me step in the guy who stepped in to assist the vet was a foreign worker who admitted he knew nuts about animals, especially cats and was using brute strength to try and pin down my cat so that the young vet could stick a needle in my sick cat's neck! Of course la my sick weakened cat fought back claws and all ... and he had been ready to whack my cat with his fist! Whoaaaaa ......

Anyway, KY, glad your Princess is getting well, you take care ... lots of animals out there need you .... we do too ..... you are very kind!

chankahyein said...

Hi Rambo, Yes, the German Shepherd owner, who is my good friend, had to leave the clinic and wait outside. Guess it's like those pampered children who misbehave and seek attention when the parents are around. And the vet managed to take blood very easily. Before that, with the owner around, even four people (plus owner) could not hold him down.
There are no foreign workers at my vets'. I have never seen the vets using brute force all these years. My Vixey used to bite and claw at the vets, actually. Fierce little thing...