Persil needs Board magic NOW

[yayi]

Jenny, I am so glad Persil is home and the surgery went well. Here's a toast to you and your beloved kitties! Happy New Year!

 

[yosemite]

Originally Posted by Charcoal

I am so glad that she is doing better, I hope and pray for a full painfree recovery for her.

Your Char is a beautiful kitty. Can you just imagine how beautiful she and Persil would look together!

 

[fwan]

I was thinking of persil as i was pondering through the rainbow bridge,
I was looking through thread after thread for your user name because i only remember you from your siggy

then i typed in persil and i found you! And finally this post.
I am so glad that persil is now getting better.
*sends you all the good vibes*

 

[jennyr]

Thanks again to all who have posted. Since I brought her home on Thursday Persil has slept most of the time, but properly curled up or stretched out as a cat should be, not semi crouched. Her breathing is still a bit rapid but the surgeon told me it would take time for her lungs to expand properly again, and the stitches in her diaphragm and abdomen are probably uncomfortable when she tries to breathe deeply. She is eating and drinking, and occasionally wakes up long enough to bat a mouse about for a few minutes. So I am optimistic, though I have been reading about this condition on the net, and there is a fairly high rate of post-op mortality, so we are not out of the woods yet. I guess I am still too frightened to let go and relax completely. It will take a long time before I forget how I felt on Tuesday when they told me there was no hope.

 

[zanniesmom]

Originally Posted by jennyranson

But she does not seem to be in pain although her meow is strange and sometimes she opens her mouth and meows but no sound comes out. I wonder if her throat is sore from an anaesthetic tube.

After any surgery my vet always sends home instructions that include information that it is normal for kitties to be hoarse for a week or so after any surgery. They have such tiny airways that it is hard for them to be intubated for any length of time without a little damage to the vocal cords. Sounds like she is doing well, though I know you won't take a really deep breath until after that 90 days is up. Becky

 

[jcat]

Jenny, I don't know if this will help, but I'll tell the story anyway, because it shows there's often room for hope. My sister's St. Bernard puppy got loose this spring and was hit by a tractor-trailer (huge lorry). His leg was half ripped off, and he had extensive internal injuries (spleen, liver, large intestine). The veterinary hospital gave him a 5% chance of surviving surgery, and then a less than 50% chance of surviving the first few months. He lost his leg, but is doing wonderfully now. Persil's chances of survival are much higher than they would've been if she'd in fact had FIP, so there's reason for optimism. Give her some scritches from me!

 

[clixpix]

I'm so happy that Persil continues to recover nicely! I can completely understand your fear regarding her recovery, I'd be the same way. It's great, though, that all the signs are so positive!

 

[jennyr]

I know I am probably being too cautious, but after what happened to Ani and Mouse and many others who were thought to be recovering, and what I have read, I cannot help myself. This morning she ate the biggest meal yet, and tried to pick a fight with Ellie, so that is a good sign! But she has managed, despite all my precautions, to pull the stitches out from her side, though not from the bigger incision on her abdomen. The wound has not opened though so I hope it will be all right. I might take her to the hospital tomorrow just for a check and reassurance, so I know if it will be safe for me to make a quick trip to London on Thursday.

 

[katie=^..^=]

It's so great that Percil is doing so well....it's understandable that you would still be nervous after such a major surgery.

Still, to see her behaving like a normal kitten must make you feel like celebrating.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

p.s. Maybe it's none of my business but why do you travel so much?

 

[jennyr]

No problem! I don't travel very much at all these days, though I used to go all over the world when I was a journalist and media trainer. That was what brought me first to Bosnia, during the war here, and I kept getting asked back until I was offered a permanent post here. That was in 1997 and now I am in my third job here. It is great to be able to help the country recover from the conflicts, and I have very good friends and a great life here, though there are some things that you can't get here that would be normal in the US or UK. It is a beautiful country and the quality of life is constantly improving.

My last big trip was in August, when I went on holiday to California to see friends there whom I had not seen for 8 years. I did manage a short weekend in France in early November, as I intend eventually to retire there and I have started house hunting. And this week I am going to make my first trip back to the UK in 9 months, just 4 days to see my family and celebrate a belated Christmas and also my sister's silver wedding. I couldn't go at Christmas as we had no time off then. After that, I expect I will be here for several months. Some friends and I are planning a horse riding holiday in Romania in the summer, including visiting Dracula's castle!

 

[dawnofsierra]

Wow, Jenny, you really have, and still do, travel alot! Hope you very much enjoy your special time home with your family!

 

[jennyr]

I guess it's all relative - I am comparing my life now to my life inthe 80s and 90s, when I was off to the Middle East or New York or Asia at the drop of a hat. I used to keep a bag packed and my toothbrush in my purse, just in case!

 

[jennyr]

Persil has really slept for three days now, apart from getting up to eat. SHe has started to play a couple of times, which I took as a good sign, but has not kept up with it. I am going to run her into the hospital tomorrow for a check, and because she has removed the stitches in her side, but am I worrying for nothing? How long does post-operative recovery take? She wants either to lie on me or on her warm duvet bed by the radiator, and purrs when I stroke her. Anyone whose cat has had major surgery and who can reassure/advise me, please let me know.

 

[zanniesmom]

I had a cat once that got outside and was maybe hit by a car or some awful thing happened to him. He had both hips broken and his abdominal wall, under the skin, was torn away so that his bladder prolapsed. Kind of hard to explain, but it was a major surgery. He had to have the ball part of each hip joint removed and his abdomen had surgery, too. He was in the hospital for three or four days. When he came home he could manage to stand but I had to put him into the litter box. He spent all the time that I was home from work on my lap. He slept all the time for about a week. This was before the days that they gave pets pain medicine, so I imagine that his withdrawal may have been from pain, as well as healing. I had to hand feed him, but he would eat as long as it was from my hand. After about a week he walked around more and was more willing to be away from me, but the rest of his life he was very dependent on me. I think you are wise to take her back to be checked but it may just be pain or post traumatic stress disorder, kitty fashion. And she needs to heal, so rest is probably what she needs. Oh, Sammy took out his stitches, too, from each hip, but enough days had gone by that things stayed together so he was fine there. He did so well at that skill that when I had another kitty spayed he took out her stitches, too, and she had to go back to have them replaced. Becky

 

[jennyr]

Thanks, Becky. I am just still so frightened and I don't really know what to expect. So that is helpful. When she is awake she eats and cleans herself, then just goes back to sleep. Today she has been less active trhan yesterday, when she did play a little, so I got scared. But I will take her in tomorrow morning.

 

[flisssweetpea]

I hope she's ok Jenny. I've never had a cat that's had major surgery like that, but would imagine she'll need quite a bit of time resting to get over it - it must have been a big shock for her body plus the time before that when she might not have been eating as much as she would have wanted to.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for her and send healing thoughts Persil's way.

 

[jcat]

I'm going by a dog that had major surgery. He basically slept or rested for a good week after the surgery (inguinal (sp?) hernia), and took it easy for another two or three weeks. I would imagine that Persil also has to regain her strength after not being able to eat properly before the surgery, and that she's suffering some pain or discomfort when she moves around.

 

[jennyr]

Persil slept well and woke up really hungry this morning. She ate two breakfasts within an hour of each other. But I took her to the clinic to make sure and to ask about the opening of the smaller incision. The vet said the wound had closed again but he put a dressing onthe large incision in case she started on that one. He seemed pleased with her otherwise, and now I have to bring her back next Tuesday to remove the stitches. She has been playing with Ellie all morning and has used her box etc normally. So I think I can leave for London on Wed afternoon with a mind that is as much at rest as it can be. I do not know what I would have done without the support of all of you - to be able to post when I was worried and know someone would reply with relevant experience or just a positive comment means so much. I wish I could express my thoughts in a more concrete way, but thanks again.

 

[kittylover4ever]

Oh Jenny, that's what friends are for.......to share in the good as well as bad times.............

 

[flisssweetpea]

Originally Posted by kittylover4ever

Oh Jenny, that's what friends are for.......to share in the good as well as bad times.............

. I'm so glad she woke happy and hungry this morning!! Before you know it she'll be tearing around the place wreaking havoc. Won't that be lovely.