Update on Pippin

Pippin had his PU surgery on Tuesday and I got to see him today. The vet says he's doing much better and even the Kennel Guy said that his attitude is much better. I suspect it's the valium and other pain killer he's on.
We had a nice visit for about 20 minutes and I washed his face for him. He's been in a PU collar since last Friday, so he hasn't been able to clean anything really, plus he's all doped up.
He did pee yesterday after his surgery and the surgeon said it went very well so I'm hopeful he'll make a full recovery. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high since we still have a battle ahead of us. We need to get his wound to heal up and his urethra to function normally as well as get a handle on the crystal issues, and of course there's always a possibility of infection or stricture.
I got a look at his wound and it's pretty ugly since it's draining and they don't want to clean it or mess with it too much since it's pretty sensitive down there. It didn't look overly swollen and the stitches looked good to me. He's on an IV for fluids and the vet said his bladder is nice and empty.
He seemed really happy to have me there and it was so good to see my sweet boy. I miss him so much!!!!
I keep looking for him when I go to bed because he loves his snuggles as I'm going to sleep.
I have a large dog carrier that I think I will confine him too once he gets home. I don't want him running around or jumping up and down until he's good and healed, especially since he's so wobbly when he's drugged up. I'll also be able to closely monitor his food and water intake, as well as his litter box to make sure he's eating and eliminating.
Pippin's regular vet Dr. W wants to send him home as soon as he feels it's safe to since he feels that he'll get better faster with some TLC from me and I would love that, but I also want to make sure he's going to be ok and not to rush him home only to have other issues pop up.
Does anyone have advice on what I should be worried about, what signs I should look for that something is amiss?
Some vibes for a smooth recovery would also be very welcome! I'm really glad we did the surgery but still concerned for the future.

Thanks!!

Devlyn

I don't think I can answer any of your questions, but I can offer tons of {{{smooth recovery vibes}}}! Poor Pippin deserves them!

I really hope this is the final solution so Pippin can enjoy life to it's fullest! And I really do applaud you for all you've go to for him. Unfortunately, there are many people who would not bother.

I'll be thinking postive thoughts for Pippen.

I would say just keep a close eye on his behavior and his wound. Eating, drinking, pottying, general attitude....those all tell quite a bit about how they're doing. Well, as much as they'll let us know, right?

Thanks for the positive vibes! Pippin had to be re-opened today because he was leaking urine from his sutures. It turns out the lip of his urethral opening had slipped beneath the skin and was dumping about 50% of his urine into his body cavity.
It had started to become infected, but they flushed it out well and cleaned it up, then closed it up tight so there's nowhere for anything to go. She also re-attached the urethral opening and said she was able to test her work as she went since his bladder was full. She said she just squeezed it and pee would come out so she could tell it was going through the right path.
She also said she felt a strange connection with Pippin's behind, since she's spent so much time down there lol!
I'm hoping to get in to see him again today and maybe talk to the vet more. I was really upset this morning when she called me about the urine leak, but I'm feeling a bit better now.

Devlyn

I went to visit Pippin again today and he's doing sooooooo much better. He was walking around a little and giving us head bumps and kisses. They got me to try to feed him some and he ate a little. They said he had a nice big pee earlier and that things seem to be going well. He's also hissing at the vet tech again, so he's getting spunky again.
He won't be coming home until Monday at the earliest and I won't get to see him tomorrow or Sunday, so please still keep sending good vibes and prayers that he continues to improve.
I told the girls at the shop that he looks like a sci fi kitty with his rear end all smooth and stitched up. They said he must look like a Ken Doll. LOL!!!

Devlyn

I'm glad to hear that Pippin is feeling a little spunkier. I hope he'll be ready to go home on Monday...I know you are both looking forward to that.

After a weekend at the vet, Pippin is still improving!
The vet tech told me she was worried about him yesterday because he hadn't peed. The vet made a special trip in to check on him and expressed his bladder. Apparently it was very easy which led them to believe he was holding it in (yay for control!). The vet tech thinks that because of his e-collar and the clumsiness it causes that he might just not want to get in the litter box. Anyways, he peed this morning again and after a checkup with the surgeon tomorrow should be coming home!

I've missed him so much!!!
He's also been a lot friendlier and asking for love from the techs while still growling at them. LOL!

Thanks to everyone for your support through this time. Hopefully we are on the mend!!!

Devlyn

Hopefully Pippin comes home tomorrow!!

Well I just re-arranged my bedroom for Pippin's homecoming. I've got the large kennel set up, but realized it didn't fit a litter box very well and Pippin will need some room to move around and lay down especially with the e-collar. I thought about clearing out my walk-in closet, but it's very dark in there with no light and I wouldn't want to shut him in there all day. So, I opened the front of the kennel and jammed it up against a covered litter box with some Yesterday's News litter in it. I believe the vet will recommend this litter so I bought some just in case.
I originally bought the large carrier in case of fire. I worried so much about getting all my kitties to safety. I'm very paranoid of fire since I had a house fire when I was a teen, and a few years ago almost lost my business to another fire. I couldn't sleep at night sometimes worrying about how I would get everyone out.
Anyways, he now has the whole kennel for food, water and a bed and then a seperate litter box so I think he'll be happy with the situation. I wish that there was a way to mount the food and water trays to the side of the kennel, but we'll make do.
Anyways, I'm all ready for him to come home now and can't wait to see him again.

Devlyn

Pippin is home! Yay!!!
I got him home at 5:30 this evening and ended up not going back to work just to help him adjust. The vet said he can pretty much do whatever he feels like, as long as he keeps the e-collar on, including jumping and playing and such. He's been pretty active and his siblings do not recognize him really. I think he remembers them tho.
He had the most gigantic pooh ever and I think he's been holding it in, maybe because he doesn't like the litter/kennel at the vet. It was 3 times as long as any poop I've ever seen him have.
He's also had several pees, but has only been interested in using the clay litter. I have a box in my room with yesterdays news, but I don't think he understands that it is litter.
The vet did NOT mention using a special kind of litter, but I dunno.. is it better to let him use the clay and just make sure to clean him off several times a day, or should I try to make him use the yesterday's news? Maybe add some of the clay to the top?
He was very happy to lay on the bed with me. I took off his e-collar and gave him lots of love and let him groom his front end but once he started wanting to clean the rear, I put it back on.
I also may have made a large mistake. The e-collar he came home with was HUGE. It was sticking out about 3" from the end of his nose and about the size of a dinner plate in diameter. He was unable to eat or drink or really do anything because it was so huge and heavy. I decided to trim off about an inch and a half and I think that might have been a bad idea. He still can't reach his rear to clean it, but the collar is rubbing against his suture. I assume it was anyways before I trimmed it, but I'm worried I f****d up royally.
I was told there would be a little seeping of blood and such and there has been, but for the most part the wound looks ok.
He had an e-collar before when he had a seam on his stomach for intestinal blockage surgery and it was much smaller than this one so I figured that the vet just didn't have a cat sized collar.
Anyways, does anyone have any advice on this? I don't want to panic or anything.
BTW.. final bill was just under 1300$. Ouch! They are letting me pay the final $400 when I bring him in next week for a urinalysis to check for crystals and infections before the e-collar comes off so that helps.

Other than that, he's eating, peeing, pooping and seems moderately relaxed. He's on metacam for the inflammation and pain, clavamox pills for 9 more days , cosequin for his bladder, and valium as needed if he is showing anxiety or stress.
I had to change my whole gameplan for his confinement. The dog kennel is plenty big, but even with his collar trimmed down he can't get into a covered litter pan, so I've blocked the bottom of my bed with pillows (he did manage to wedge himself under there once), cleaned the hell out of the room and closed up the closets.
Denebah is going absolutely nuts. She's hissing at Pippin and everyone else and attacking them. I guess she doesn't reconize him lol.
She'll get over it I'm sure. He smells awfully weird because he can't clean himself and he stinks of the vet. Ick, what a sickly smell that is! I've been giving him baths and making sure he's clean around his sutures, but I'm not touching them. I don't want him to get urine scald from dribbling on his legs.
I will say that he seems to have almost full control of his peeing. The only time he starts to lose control is when he thinks he's done and starts moving away from his "hole" in the litter. Then it kind of spurts out and runs down his legs. Poor baby!
I'm just glad to see him peeing and he loves the new cans of turkey grain free wellness I picked up. That's very encouraging since he's so picky. I just hope they don't get recalled!!!!
Once he finished up the new can of wellness, I'm going to let him have a couple raw medallions. He loved the last one I gave him and I'm hoping he'll like more. I had to get creative with his food and water dishes because of the e-collar. I made little pedestals that were sturdy to put the food in so that he could actually eat. He prefers me to hold his bowl, but that's cuz he's spoiled rotted!
As to what the vet actually said.. he is doing great, his personality is coming back and he was very friendly to the vet techs. She said she saw a huge difference in him even after the second surgery so hopefully we took care of the problem.

Thanks again for being there for me to babble on about my boy. I'm hoping this experience will help someone else.

Devlyn

Yay Pippin!

I've been following Pippin's story, and I'm so happy to hear he's home and doing well. It sounds like he is getting the best of care possible.

Pippin just gave me a horrible scare. He started getting really lethargic and depressed again. I saw no evidence of peeing all day.
He was refusing his food and water and started growling and laying on his back and crying.
Well, he refused to pee because of the yesterdays news. He only wants to pee in clay apparently. As soon as I took his favorite box up and put it in my room where he could go without Denebah in his face, he climbed in and had a nice big pee. All the while, of course, I'm bawling and begging him to try.
Thank god he finally went. I was so worried I'd have to take him to the vet and that I had screwed up royally.
Thanks for listening!!

Devlyn

Pippin and I were just at the vet today and I feel a lot better. Pippin wasn't eating or drinking much and being kind of depressed so I brought him in. I was very worried that because I had cut down his e-collar I had caused him to rub his incision with the side of it and irritate it. The surgeon came out of surgery to check on him. He peed on me on the way to the vet but was obliging enough to pee a little for her too. She said the incision still looks good but said there was a little pus so she prescribed a second antibiotic, baytril to help knock out the infection.
He did eat more before we got to the vet and she said the clay is fine as long as he's not sitting or laying in there. I feel so much relief! She told me to keep a close eye on him and if I'm worried to bring him in or take him to emergency. They also gave him some sub-q fluids because he was a little dehydrated. I have some AD food and a 12 cc syringe to assist feed if necessary.
I'm going to take most of the day as a mental health day because I've been an emotional wreck. I just want him to get better!!
That's it for now. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Devlyn

Pippin has been doing better the last couple of days. His incision shows no sign of redness and he's been peeing/pooping fairly normally. He seems to only pee a couple of times a day, but they are large ones. His stool is still pretty soft, but I suspect it is because of the antibiotics. He was very cuddly last night and this morning and slept well.
I gave him his metacam last night and I think that helped. I suspect he was in a bit of pain. I'm only supposed to give the metacam every 2-3 days, but I think if I notice some of the tembling again, I'm going to opt for the 2 day, rather than the 3 day. I fed him just a few minutes ago, and he ate without me having to assist, but only a little, so I think I'll try to offer some more in a little bit.
I'm still worried about him and watching him. He's not drinking on his own, just getting moisture from the wet food. He's not interested in dry food at all at this point. I know that's probably part of the healing process and the e-collar really hinders him from eating and drinking on his own, so generally I pull it off when I feed him and let him take a bath without messing with his incision area.
We go back to the vet on Tuesday, so we'll see how he does then.

Devlyn