Sasha got mauled--head trauma

Way to go Sasha!!!
He is making progress everyday. I am truly amazed. Give him a treat from me, and a kiss along with it

Way to go, Sasha!

AWESOME NEWS! Sorry I didn't mean to shout but I am so excited to hear this Sasha You Da Man! Wonderful wonderful news. Keep up the fantastic job you are doing with him. Oh and Sasha no chasing the ladies just yet Okay?

Awwww thats brilliant

I thought about Sasha and Leo over the four days i was away from the site

I have been following Sasha's progress every day and all I can say is YIPPEE! I am so proud of him! That is absolutely amazing, and such a huge step towards getting back to his big strong self.

What a great boy. Tell him Dylan's mommy is really proud of him!

Susan

You must be so thrilled, this is brilliant news.

I am in agreement on that one.

Today I have had the WORST day. I feel like crying but it's not that bad in relation to all else in the world. My boss yelled at me for an error - which I caught, but it was a stressful day for her so it was just magnified. She is a very intense person and hates errors and I pride myself on rarely making them, but when I do, it's awful. I am the secretary to the CEO. My job is not hard, there's just a lot of it and no room at ALL for error. Everything must be perfect. I want to go home and lick my wounds with Sasha. He'd understand!

It looks like the severe nerve damage in his tongue has made it numb for him - he doesn't seem to have any feeling on the left where the coyote's fangs made an exit wound into the lower palate where the tongue attaches to the bottom of the mouth and on the side where the other fang came through his cheek. God, how brutal that must have been for him that night!!!! The color in the mouth is excellent, all light pink and healthy gums now --healing there was remarkably rapid and normal-- but it's the operation and movement of the tongue that continues to remain stalled. He seems to taste w/his right side and "bite" or lap water from that side, and of course groom, so he's got to have some feeling, somewhere. We are concerned that the numbness will be permanent, as in permanent nerve damage. There is a veterinary neurologist at Washington State University, a 5 hour drive, and I am tempted to go......lots of $$$....but I also want to wait another couple of weeks to see if there are any new signs of improvement, or, what I sense might be happening is just like a 3-legged dog, he is adapting to nature and the trauma and making it just work for him in some way only he knows. I don't know. I wish more people knew about neurology in cats. I want to know everything I can and nothing is coming. Yet.

Way to go, Sasha! What an amazing boy he is! I am so excited for you both. What strength it has taken (from both of you!) to come so far so quickly. If I may suggest...I would probably give it a little bit before truckin it out to WSU...He's recovering so well on his own, and so quickly, that this may be taking just a tad bit longer than the rest of it. He's showing you how intent he is on making a full recovery, and I would give him his space for a bit and see just far he can make it on his own. It's so impressive what he's done so far! I'd give him a chance, see what more he can do. Nothing he is still recovering from at this point is life threatening, so there is probably little risk in waiting... However, I'm certainly not a professional, so if anyone here knows more than I about the feline nervous system (which could be just about anyone, really ), feel free to correct me.
Keep us posted! I love reading this thread and receive a lot from it. It makes me so happy to read about his new attempts and successes every day!

I am so sorry to hear of your bad day Try to keep in mind that with all the stress your under, everything seems escalated. Your boss will be over it tomorrow Sasha has come so far in the last couple of weeks. I understand your frustration completely. I think you have so much anger inside of you for the coyote and the attack that it keeps coming back to you on a daily basis, when you see Sasha drinking, or trying to eat. I think it's great that you are able to get online and talk about it, I am glad that we can be here to listen and help where we can. Elizabeth, Sasha is your miracle kitty. He is going to making it past his injuries, and he is going to be ok. It will be awesome if he gets his taste and feeling back into his tongue. But even if he doesn't, even if he can't taste and feel in his tongue, it will be ok. Sasha has the best mommy in the world and he is going to be loved and cared for and will still have a wonderful quality of life. He did have an awful time that night, but you saved his life. You have helped him to pull through and recover in so many ways. I sincerely believe that if he didn't have you there pulling for him, he would not have fought as hard as he did to make it. Hang in there, you have come so far. Would you also give Sasha a little kiss on his sweet little head for me?

You poor thing ...
Your poor kitty ...
But, I'm glad to see he's improving so much! you hang in there, he's gonna do great! with this much recovery, he's going to be back up to snuff in no time when you look back on it... and I'm glad he's taking an interest in other cats and the outside!
As for your boss , I'm the sort that hopes her doggie widdles in her leather pumps... Especially for being so uncaring when you're in so much trauma. But It's okay.. she's probably having a bad day, just like you and didn't think about what you're going through.

huggles and headbutts for you both! (and Eric too, because he's being great, so you're telling us.)

Elizabeth, I am sorry your boss blew up at you due to her bad day over an error you were already beating yourself up for making. Your job sounds very important and you must be under a great deal of stress everyday. You have already become quite skilled at handling the daily stress of caring for the every need of Sasha. You are doing such a wonderful job caring for him and noticing every last detail of his amazing recovery. Your strong boy is making more progress every day. If he doesn't recover all of the feeling on the left side of his tongue, he is still your miracle boy! You will make the best choice when to visit the neurologist! Stephanie

Elizabeth, I am glad that Sasha is starting to eat again on his own...that is really good...

Even so, it is hard to be emotionally okay as a mommy to a sick kitty--so much worry. This is a very stressful time for you, and sleep, I am sure is hard to come by.

I do similar work to what you do, and my boss sounds a lot like yours...sometimes its easier said than done to just let it roll off your back when they lash out at you. (and it is usually more because they are having a bad day than because of anything you ever do wrong...always remember that.)

Just stay focused on the wonderful job you are doing getting Sasha back to his normal self...or perhaps this new self that he will be. You are doing a GREAT job--and you have a lot of people in your corner.

Susan
Dylan's Mommy

Hey there Stephanie and everyone and Hoboken NJ!
UGH what a crappy day. But I feel better now. And no, my job is not that important, she just takes an enormous amount of hand-holding at times!

There's no place like home.
There's no place like home.
There's no place like home.

Everyone's encouragement and support is priceless and it humbles me.

Yeah, Jenn, I think you're right to let it wait a month or so until we trek across the state to the neurologist. Sasha needs some space. It's hard leaving him alone even 6 hours (Eric is a cop and works evenings and I work days so there's 6 hrs we are not home, and thank god we took those 4 full days off together at the beginning when he first came home!!)

Do ya'll remember the movie Fried Green Tomatoes?
To leather pumps! The crabby CEOs!
TOWANDA!!!

Good lord it sounds like your boss is a lot like mine. Apparently I am the only idiot that can work for him I've lasted 4 years so far.

Glad to hear that Sasha is still improving. I too think I would wait and give him a little more time before heading to the neurologist. He has come so far with your love to help heal him. to you and a very gentle rub for Sasha The Brave.

Elizabeth,

If you have a qualified accupuncturist in your area that works on animals, you might consider that as an option as well.

HUZZAH to you and Sasha. You are both extremely strong and obviously under someone's wing. Sasha is doing wonderful. I look for the thread every few days to find out what Sasha is re-learning and accomplishing. Have you ever gone back and re-read this thread Elizabeth?? It will help to remind you just how far he's come. Its like looking back at pictures, we're always amazed at the growth from year to year. Sasha's growth is day to day!

Sandy

No surprise at what happened but it was hard to take. and my heart goes out to him. Yesterday evening a storm was coming in and it got really gusty up here in the hills and very humid, lots of frogs stuck to my door, mosquitoes were out, and I had bought some bedding flower starters and wanted to get them in the planters. Sasha was sitting in the front room on the back of the sofa facing the apple tree and to the side, the mauling spot at the pumpkin patch. I had opened the windows above the sofa so he could watch me garden, he was purring. I was outside. I'd look up frequently to make eye contact w/him. As I moved through my work and got closer to the pumpkin patch he started to talk....and the closer to the pumpkin patch I got he became clearly agitated and starting clawing the screen! I went over to the window and immediately talked to him, but he was very upset. So I quit gardening and came in and scooped him up in my arms. He was crying and very nervous, tense. Sasha is a quiet guy so this was an amazing amount of reaction on his part, also because he's not quite 100% and still recovering so seeing strong signals from him has been evident, although slow in coming.

I nixed the outside for the night and made sure he had all his favorite things. Took him to bed, combed him, he got his little heat pack, and lots of love. I closed all the windows in the house and used the ceiling fans. Every little sound he would stiffen up and lift his head, vigilant. It took him to midnight to calm down. This morning he has not eaten well. Today it is rainy so we are not going outside!

Poor Sasha. Sounds as if he must have been reminded of the trauma that occurred in the pumkin patch. Didn't you say that up until this point he had not looked out that window? That must have been a horrible sudden reminder for him, certainly not helped by the sounds of the approaching storm. I'm glad you were immediately aware of his agitation and acted quickly to comfort him. Sounds like you knew just what to do to sooth his anxiety. I hope he is not still feeling so nervous today. Maybe staying inside today is the best idea. A positive aspect of this may be that it clearly shows continuing improvement of his cognitive skills, his memories are intact. It's just so unfortunate that your sweet baby is haunted by this tragic event. You're such a fantastic mommy and the two of you will work through this together! Please give brave Sasha snuggles from me and Sierra!

Hmmm...obviously he has remembered full well that Bad Things happen in that pumpkin patch. Too bad it was upsetting for him, but a good indicator of his cognitive skills, and memory. And another thing occurs to me...he was safe inside...he wasn't concerned for himself, but for you... now, that's some sweet!

One thing to consider, kneeling in the dirt you are picking up scents all the time. Some of these may be bad scents. Digging in the dirt will disturb these scents and as they float in the air and he catches them he will have an episode such as you described. I would be careful about having contact with him after you have been in your garden, until you have changed your clothes and showered.