Sasha got mauled--head trauma

OK! YEAH SASHA! Slept very well overnight, his little head on my pillow again, very clingy --this is new, as he's normally quite independent.
Woke up 3 am to drink, but a normal 2 min drink for a cat is now almost 15 minutes as he has to learn to use his tongue again, and it's now diagonal, so he puts his entire face in the water and kinda "bites" at the water. Then I lifted him back up on the bed and he snuggled and slept. Alarm went off at 6 - and amazingly he jumped! off the bed and sat in the tub --What????
He seemed to understand it was the morning routine. Sasha gets his morphine patch off today and a good comprehensive check at the vet. Still not eating enough, he's on a/d diet but hates it and takes only 15-25 cc each time, gotta do more. But we had a long conversation last night in bed and I told him he's got to really be intent on eating. More later. Thank you again for all your support from the 4 kitty corners of the world, my goodness!

This is wonderful news
It sounds like Sasha is making more and more progress everyday. As far as him being clingy, I think Sasha knows what an ordeal he has put you through, and how much you love him, he probably can't get enough of ya . Also, I am sure he is probably still feeling a little vulnerable. He has been through more than most cats in his precious little life. I still can't get over how amazing her is. Please let us know what the vet says after his check up.

Good luck at the vets, I'm so glad to hear that Sasha continues to improve (Yay Sasha!!!) Please let us know how it goes!

The news just keeps getting better!! I'll be waiting with bated breath for a vet report.

You are doing such a wonderful job there, and so is Sasha.

The news gets better and better! Already getting back into the regular routine! Aaaww, poor Sasha having to get his whole sweet face wet drinking water. I'm just so excited he's drinking so successfully! Come on, Sasha, eat that yummy food! That's so sweet that he's snuggling up at night, he loves you so much and he sure knows how much you love him! Just can't wait to hear how the vet trip went! Stephanie

Good and bad. He's home, very worn out from the hour drive to the vet and peed in the carrier - somthing he's never done in 12 years. I can only sense he is still so traumatized he thought we were sending him away. But the good news is that he has no kidney or liver symptoms and no fever. The darker news is that his right eye still won't blink on its own, the loss of the palpebral nerve is still there, although this may come back w/time....we still don't know on the sense of smell, the olfactory, ..and he's lost 1.5 lbs. since the coyote attack, but hey, if I was attacked by a dog larger than me who got my head in a lock and whose fangs severed my tongue and came up through my chin into my mouth it was so brutual - hey -I'd lose a pound or two from that kind of stress too!! He needs to eat more. Much more. And there has been small improvment w/the tongue and neck but not nearly enough. I am scolding myself for wanting him to be better, faster, when I must remind myself that he's ALIVE and this is going to be a long, long haul. He is not dehydrated at all, drinking good, just can't get the hang of food and the syringe isn't the best, we're trying a different size. He was so happy to come home again! He had a/d food, tuna juice, a ton of water. He is sleeping on his 12 yr old-baby blanket we have always had. It's so fluffy white and has holes in it in places but it's his kitten place. He looked out the front window when he came home and that was that. I am trying not to be depressed, I know there's tons of hope and good will cheering him on and he is getting some Sasha personality back. Just gotta eat, gotta eat!

Thank you so much for the update. Because he is able to lap, you might want to try giving him kitten glop. It's full of vitamins and minerals and might be just the thing he needs. You'll find the recipe halfway down this page. You don't need to boil the water as he's a big boy. Just warm it a little for him and see if he likes it - it's yummy!

Don't get down. Of course you wanted more, but Sasha really is doing incredibly well considering what happened to him!

Has Sasha been peeing on his own? If not, you could almost take his accident in the carrier as a good sign - he did it on his own! That's a normal cat response, I've heard of many kitties who pee in the carrier on the way to the vet.

Keep going Sasha! There's a whole lot of people out there pulling for you!!!!

How wonderful to hear Sasha's kidney are functioning properly and he has no fever! Sorry you had a rough day, Sasha. Go cuddle up on your special blanket and get some rest, and please eat for your Mommy! we're praying for you! Stephanie

That's what happens alot of the time when cats are allowed to roam.

I do hope Sasha gets better and will be kept in a safe environment.

You can be forgiven for wanting it all, right now -- that's so normal. But he's making good progress it seems, and the rest will come with time -- at least, that's what we're all praying for. The kitten glop sounds like a great idea to get some nourishment into him.

Hang in there, Sasha! You're doing great! You, too, Mum!!

fsttrk- understanding that this thread is quite long, you might have missed the part where Sasha's owner admitted regret in letting her cat get to this point. She is also not going to allow her cat access to the outside. It was a regrettable incident to be sure and a painful one at that for both owner and cat. But offering her support and hope is the ticket right now. What is done is done, and nothing can turn back the clock.

With the injury to his tongue it is likely that sasha is unable to drink like a normal kitty. Have you tried running a small trickle of water in the sink to see if he will drink water that way? Instead of a syringe, try one of those plastic spoons baby size and place just a small amount in him mouth and see if he can manage to swallow it okay. Also try the baby food, and understand that if he can't smell he isn't going to want to eat.

Good luck!

Yes, he's drinking water great- no dehydration. Just doesn't like the food/syringe combo, we're experimenting w/other ideas. His sense of smell seems to be there from time to time, as if it's being "un-frozen". You see, when we moved to Maple Valley over a year ago Sasha had been an indoor/outside cat for 11 years w/no threats of coyotes in our former neighborhood. He has a very skinny file at the vet for 11 yrs, very skinny file. I thought long and hard about moving him and his mama, SiSi. I have carried enormous guilt all year, knowing that if I knew what would have happened this year, I never would have moved, ever, and would have put my chance to share a house w/the human love of my life on hold. Period. So Sasha has been kept in at night from time to time, yet he doesn't wander far being a homebody, as this happened less than 20 ft from the house. He was hungry this morning and I had to go to work w/people who do NOT understand caring for pets so Eric is alone w/him and I'll have to wait and see how the feeding session went. It's agony not being home. I had an epiphany overnight and will ask the boards what people think - and what eperiences people have had in a minute. Thanks ever so much.

In the middle fo the night I woke to Sasha going from our bed to the sink in the bathroom/vanity area that opens up to our room. He was sitting in my make-up tray like a litter box, looking at me. I gently took him down, steered him to the water, and he hopped up again. Then came back to bed and snuggled w/me. This happened 3x last night - sitting in my makeup tray like a litter box....just like sitting in the bathtub the other night like a litter box - that "position". I had an epiphany this morning: Sasha liked to poop and pee in the pumpkins or right beside the patch by the pine trees, which are 10 feet away in a grassy knoll. The coyote attacked him WHILE HE WAS PEEING when his back was turned to the area the coyote came from. This is why he is not peeing and pooping on his own. He is telling me what happened by sitting in my makeup tray. And the attack happened in that spot too, because that's where all the fur was and where I found him when I ran outside half-naked w/the shotgun. He is scared to pee! scared to poop! (although the vet found no blockages anywhere, thank god). it is psychological trauma. Can anyone offer experience with this? What does everyone think?? It hit me like a lightning bolt! The one time he did pee on Sunday after Hissy's suggestion of mild stimulation w/warm cloth/bath, I had taken him into the guest bathroom where we have a new small litter box for him downstairs now, and something told me to close the door. He peed immediately in the box and buried it just fine, I sensed no stress. ITHOUGHTS??? Is my gut right?

Wow, it sounds like you very well could be right. It makes a lot of sense. Poor baby I have no idea what to suggest that would help, but I would think thast you have to find a way for him to feel safe again while using the litterbox. It might take time, I wonder if it would help to put the litter box somewhere private....Sorry Elizabeth, I am sure someone who knows more will post ratherr quickly.

You idea makes senses. If something 10x my size bit me when I in the bathroom I would be afraid to go again. Maybe a hooded litter box would make Sasha feel safe.

Fern

Fern, thanks---hooded litter box! brilliant!

What a wonderful realization you've had, Elizabeth! You and Sasha have such clear communication! Please let us know what he thinks of the hooded litter box. It must have been so difficult for you to be away from Sasha for so long today, and all the more because the people you work with don't understand. How did he feel in your absence and did he eat well? So happy to hear he's drinking plenty of water! Way to go Sasha! Still praying for your continued miraculous recovery!

Sasha responded to being in the bathroom with a closed door and Eric standing guard to make him feel safe, so he did pee again this afternoon. We are now starting to piece together some of the details of last Monday night by Sasha telling his story. I told a very intuitive, spiritual friend the sitting in the bathroom counter tray last night = pumpkin patch = trauma to sit in the litter box and she said no doubt he's trying to tell us what happened. So this has been a very long haul, with miles to go, but some hurdles are slowly being overcome, just eating w/his new tongue and healing the oral, nasal, and brain traumas if any long term and we will be just dandy!
Here is one small last photo of Sasha with Freddie last summer, looking every bit the proud older brother and coyote clubber he is turning out to be (the black/white behind Freddie so stoic! WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS!