Broken Hip

Jenn,
You may have to invest in some feliway to help calm JJ down a bit. It may work... or not, but could be worth a try if he continues to be so aggressive.

When I first brought my Magic home and put him out on a tie out rope he got to meet MIL's very large German Shepard. The first thing he did was walk her up the walk and more or less draw a line on where she could go.
Anytime she started to come down the walk he would run up along side her and walk her back to MIL's house.

The dog used to do a bark and a false start at all the other cats just to watch them jump I think, but she never challenged Magic.

If it contines...........I will think about some Feliway. But I am going to give him at least a month. Hormones in JJ are all different and he has been through so much. I want to give him a chance to settle in to things without his leg and his testicles first...

I am glad he has his bluff in on the dogs because it is better for a cat to have their bluff in than the other way around...

But he feels great except for being so worried about "being in charge". Husband says he is guarding ME. Last night when I lay on the couch, husband had me turn around and JJ was sitting on the back right over my head keeping an eye on the animals..

I'm not sure if I mentioned this but before surgery, I cracked the door and he dashed out and attacked one of the feral males on our porch.. He meant business too.. He is a very territorial male kitty guy. This is also the first time feral Jimmy came out and looked out the door. I think he knew others were outside.

In this one, you can see the feral grey on the other side of the door........ it was just more than JJ could take. The grey is the one he attacked... The grey is an older male feral that is totally wild.


This is him and JIMMY watching the ferals the day JJ went for the attack ....

He has claimed this territory and it is HIS. He is happy to have a home and a cat harem.

After he attacked Muffin, Toe-kitty rolled in the floor and just played and played with Muffin. He was top cat until JJ as far as males goes. But JJ leaves the cats alone... I'm not sure what it meant with Toe playing with Muffin after JJ got her but in cat language I'm sure it meant something...

I think it was just a reassurance gesture - like, 'he doesn't speak for all of us, you're still my buddy'. Or possibly, 'don't take it too seriously, he's in pain and cranky.'

JJ has his stitches out!! However......remember me saying it has bled a couple times? Well, when the vet took them out, raw meat was still there. He went ahead and removed them and said to watch it closely and if looked any different other than better to bring him in Saturday morning because Sunday he was going on vacation.

So we are watching JJ like a hawk. Vet also said if he licks it alot it will keep it from healing and closing so we have JJ doped up to keep him calm for a few days.

Also this morning husband tried to wash JJ's chin and the dirt would not come off so he asked the vet about that.

JJ has eczema..... on his chinny chinn chin. Doc said to put rubbing alcohol on it once a week and it will clear up....

Jenn

And naturally as I sit here, I am watching JJ lick his wound. We cannot cover it according to the vet. We need to leave it alone..........

grrrrr..... Oh, I hope it heals..... JJ is a little stinker...

Also.........using cedar from our land for posts for cat enclosure. The entire thing will be from cedar!!! I am so happy this is what I wanted.

Husband found 10-15 trees today walking around that are approx 30' tall and they are straight!!! He is cutting them down tomorrow!!!!

Poor ol' JJ is trying to give you and the vet a workout!
Glad his stitches are out and hope everything else heals up quick and complete!

me too..................

****need kitty vibes again for JJ......... Kitty vibe request........

Jenn and JJ

Look pretty nasty....




Here's a couple of his kittens.

Please correct me if Im wrong because vets have been know to give "wrong info", but when one of my kitties was injured with an open wound, she was on antibiotics, but was continuously licking her wound.

I was very concerned about healing, but my vet advised me that actually a cats mouth is not as dirty as one would expect. That they actually have protiens in their saliva that help in the healing process.

That was before I came on this site and saw how nieve I was about accepting things at face value, but I should add, that although she continuously licked and licked her wound. It did heal rather quickly. But she was also taking antibiotics that would have perhaps taken over any infection she would have brought my her licking.

Originally Posted by jcribbs

me too..................

****need kitty vibes again for JJ......... Kitty vibe request........

Jenn and JJ

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You know you have mine, and I will ask Lady Three Paws for another prayer for you all.



Poor JJ.

I have to ask, why is cedar important? (I ask because I hope to do an enclosure myself in the future).

That does look very bare (the wound, I mean).

How long was he out of the vet's office before you got to see the wound site? (Just wondering if it opened more after he left the vet's office.)

You could always try to ring the vet and ask what's up, explaining that your hubby isn't as inquistive as you like!

ETA: I missed the part about it bleeding on my first read - I would definately call the vet's office - I think they may want to put the stitches back in when they find out.

Aww Jen what a brave soul you are.

I have a weak tummy and just from my cats spay and neuters found myself having to sit down and put my head between my legs bringing blood back to my head before I passed out.

I saw the pic. That poor baby. But all that I have read hes coming along just great. Thats so sweet about him looking over you and protecting you, too. He also came to you when he was hurt in the first place.

Im always thinking of u guys and all that you do for all your kitties. Heres continuing to hope JJ continues on his recovery. And you both be blessed from all you do.

Cedar repels fleas for one thing. That's one reason they put cedar chips in some dog beds.

But......more important than that [for my tastes], I also like the way cedar looks and how it smells......... I want a natural looking enclosure more geared toward nature and a natural habitat... They are used to nature now and I want them happy. It might just be my warped thinking but I just like cedar. And we have an abundance of it and it will also save us several hundred dollars since we won't be buying any wood.. We have the resources to do this NOW. We won't have to save money...

And also, since our house is really a cabin that we are modernizing for the humans with a well and septic and air conditioning, it still has that cabin look to it. We will still be heating it with wood in the winter. We also have propane for an emergency back up plan just in case but we don't have it hooked up. We just have a full tank sitting in the propane area outside. I like old fashioned things better than modern and I wanted to continue the same with the cat house so it will be more like an extension of our own house but with good beds in it.....kinda like Hissy cat beds.

And we are in the woods and I just wanted a woodsy environment.....

So it's many things actually. But basically, the smell, the look, the natural flea repellent and the theme that I envision for them. It's probably silly to have a theme enclosure but........I just can't help it. It's just my tastes.

And all corners will be natural scratching posts for the cats.

My dream has always been to be self sufficient in the woods. And this is our beginning. We will not have a water bill or a gas bill. And our future 5 yr plan is a windmill to generate our own electricity and be off the grid... We have a feeling that when we retire in 15 yrs that social security will be nill and we are preparing for that day. And if it is still around, our meger amt will be able to be enough....

It's just our plans...

Jenn

OH, by the way, my boss has a tiny tiny little riding lawn mower that is in perfect condition. I am buying it from him in a couple paychecks for 150.00 ........ I am so excited. He just bought him a 5000.00 one........

But the little one is perfect for our land... It is about the size of a go-kart with a tractor seat.....

The stitches/staples were removed at 10:30 this morning and I saw it shortly after 5pm this evening.

Husband said it was still the same... It has not opened up more.

I think for a few days anyway I am going to put the dogs in the laundry room when they are in the house just so JJ won't be tempted to swat them again and at night I am going to put JJ in our room and shut the door so he will be solo with us. There is less of a chance of him hurting himself that way until it heals a little more. At night all the animals are in the house. They go out in the mornings.

During the day when we work, there are very few animals in the house. Mostly just JJ, the kittens and Yellow and sometimes Kissy. They others all want out. Toe wants in but I put him out with the girls.

And the ones inside are pretty good. The kittens get along with all grownups now. They correct them but not hurt them and this group JJ has no problems with.

I think that's best.

And thanks Pami!!

OH, satai, it has bled twice. Not a lot but still bleeding. And they were spaced out days apart. And it was only for a few mintues each time. I also noticed dried blood on it one time and that was the last time and probably a few days ago. Husband told vet today about it bleeding a little and he said it was normal. I have never had an animal with an amputation so I dont' know...

The first time it bled was a week ago or so???? I can't remember the exact day but that time it bled the most. The second time it was just spotting and the third time dry blood only.

The first time....I noticed blood on the floor and it was from JJ. Droplets of fresh blood. This ,by the way, was before any dog attacks. So it wasn't that..

It just worried me. But then 15 minutes later it had quit..

And the second time was a couple days later and was surface blood only.

The third was just dried blood on the wound. Like something scabbing.

He has been very very active.

Right now, he is bounding in the living room with hank playing. Running and jumping and dashing. And sliding on his leg..

This is the first time he has played this way so evidently it feels better with the staples out.

He is just amazing!!

One more thing........someone told me once that humerous things would happen with three legged cats.

Last night he walked all night long on my hubby and me. He took turns laying on our chests. 15 lbs of cat laying on your chest. He would only stay for a few minutes and then move. But during the couse of this, he got by the edge of the bed. We had moved it against the wall when we put his "recovery room" in or bedroom. He good back leg fell down in the crack by the bed and wall. He was so stuck and I just died laughing. I couldnt' help it. It was so funny. I had to help him out of the hole he was in.. bless his little kitty heart!!

Originally Posted by jcribbs

OH, by the way, my boss has a tiny tiny little riding lawn mower that is in perfect condition. I am buying it from him in a couple paychecks for 150.00 ........ I am so excited. He just bought him a 5000.00 one........

But the little one is perfect for our land... It is about the size of a go-kart with a tractor seat.....

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Neat!

To answer your earlier post about the cedar, I appreciate your explaination - I didn't know it was a flea repellent (I thought maybe it made for good scratching - that was my guess). I like the themed idea, and that you want to do it right, now. None of that sounds a bit silly.

Originally Posted by jcribbs

OH, satai, it has bled twice. Not a lot but still bleeding. And they were spaced out days apart. And it was only for a few mintues each time. I also noticed dried blood on it one time and that was the last time and probably a few days ago. Husband told vet today about it bleeding a little and he said it was normal. I have never had an animal with an amputation so I dont' know...

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Do you trust you husband to know *exactly* how much the wound has changed? (I'm only asking - please don't think I'm disrespecting Juan - BF, despite the fact that he adores our cats, is not the most observant parent, and I think that's probably the norm for men.)

If the vet seems fine with it, and you're sure that Juan is right about the wound remaining the same, it's probably fine. If you suspect that Juan might be wrong about whether the wound opened more, I'd take him back to make sure the vet saw the wound and was comfortable with how it looked.

Vets are different, and yours sounds excellent. I would add however, that I think our vets would have reinserted stitches given the size of the wound and the continued bleeding - but it is a very different area and may have to heal differently.