Feral Socialization - Need Some Fresh Imput and Advice

[shadowsrescue]

Hopefully he is feeling better and up to eating.  You might try offering him a bit of something really stinky and appetizing such a tuna, salmon or mackeral.  Give him just a little bit.  You might also want to try baby food.  You want to get the Gerber Stage 2 chicken or turkey.  When my ferals have been sick, baby food always does the trick.  I have also given the liquid from the tuna.  I usually get the tuna with water, but a bit of oil would be ok too.  In the oil or water, you can mix a tiny bit of tuna too.  It at least gives them a little something.

I hope Dooder is feeling better and starting to eat.  Keep us updated.

 

[lrosewiles]

That's very reassuring that he is more alert and urinating, which means he can't be too dehydrated and is probably on the road to recovery.  You should check with your vet but likely he had a pretty big saline injection which is standard for dehydration; it's not only a quick fix but it keeps them hydrated for a while even if they don't drink since it's absorbed gradually through the skin.   Also did you try a little chopped ice cubes or shaved ice in a water bowl - some cats like playing with ice and it's a way to encourage drinking.  And yes Gerber's chicken is great for cats who have no appetite, and/or try a little tuna or clam juice added to a small spoonful of wet food in a small dish.  Were you able to get the E-collar on him to stop him opening up his facial wounds again?

You must be so terribly anxious, but remember what Dooder has survived so far, he must be a real tough guy and I bet he'll get through this too.  He obviously has a strong will to live and you also have the strong will (and big hear) to help him.

Many good vibes and prayers to you and Dooder from me and our fantastic feral family,  Patience, Mr. Patches, Picassa, Pandora (Little Grey Girl), and Ellie.

 

[catb8]

He finally ate and drank! : ) I gave him some warmed up tuna juice with a little of the actual meat mixed in yesterday afternoon. He ate a little of this and then went for his regular dry food and ate a decent amount of that as well. I'm thinking the little bit of tuna was enough to get his appetite back and now he's eating pretty normally. It's still so strange to me that he prefers dry food over all of the treats I've given him. As long as he's eating though, I'm not complaining. He's also drank about half a bowl of water, so I'd say he's doing great : )))

Lrosewiles, the vet did get an E-collar on him. He's handled it surprisingly well so far. I was expecting him to absolutely freak out with it on, but he hasn't. You can tell that he's not exactly happy about it, but he is tolerating it. We were really only planning on keeping it on him for the weekend, but since he's handling it so well I think we'll just leave it on until he has his staples removed.

A strange development since he came home on Friday though. Every time my boyfriend or I go into the bathroom he will meow and meow and meow at us. Sometimes that turns into a growl, but it sounds peaceful most of the time. I wonder what he's saying. He's also started meowing loud enough to wake me up the past two mornings around 5am. Not sure what he wants or why he's doing it. It's definitely been confusing our two cats. Beebee, our younger female, will frantically try to get into the room to check on him. She seems very concerned, which doesn't surprise me since she gets worried and excited whenever she hears another animal talking. If you play audio of cats or dogs talking, especially kittens meowing, she will run around trying to find them and call to them. She'll hiss and spit for the first day when she meets new cats, but when it comes down to it, she loves them. Stubbles, our 10 year old male, on the other hand, doesn't seem nearly as thrilled. He's pretty territorial and is not a huge fan of other cats. He merely tolerates Beebee, and she's been living with us for almost two years now. He tends to mind his own business though and will just sit near the bathroom door at the most when Dooder is meowing.

I've also found out that he really likes fans. I had moved the fan I had blowing into the cupboard around when I was checking on him once and forgot to turn it back around. I went back in awhile later to find him laying on the floor in front of it. I pointed it back towards the cupboard and he went back in. It does get kind of hot in there as it's pretty much the least ventilated room in the house and the door is closed most of the time, so I suppose it makes sense that he would want to cool off.

This weekend has most certainly been nerve racking, but thank goodness he's finally feeling better. He really is a tough one to have made it this far, and I'm definitely not giving up on him any time soon. I still wish I knew what exactly caused him to go downhill so quickly though. He goes back into the vet tomorrow to have his drain removed and I'm hoping we don't have a repeat of the last visit. Also hoping he won't have to go back in until his staples need to be removed. All these vet trips definitely stress him out, so a couple weeks without any will do him good.

 

[lrosewiles]

that's wonderful news indeed!

 

[catb8]

Update:

Dooder went into the vet yesterday to have his drain removed and everything went very well. It seems like he's getting more accustomed to the trips. He didn't put up any fuss about going into the carrier and the vet only had to give him a small amount of sedative instead of the full anesthetic like we had planned. I'm glad for this as he doesn't seem to handle being fully anesthetized very well. They said that his wound looks like it finally starting to make some real progress in healing. The whole procedure took less than a half hour which was a nice change of pace from the past couple all day visits he's had. He's scheduled to go in for a check up on Monday and most likely have the staples removed if everything has healed enough.

I asked them give him an injectable antibiotic as it's been tricky to give him his pill ones (Clavamox and Zeniquin). I'm still giving him the pills (crushed up and put into pill pockets), but I figured an injectable (this one lasts for a week) would be good just in case.

I did some research and decided to try and start him on l-lysine and lactoferrin to help boost his immune system and hopefully get him healing faster. My problem is, how do I get this stuff in him? I have been able to get the lactoferrin into pill pockets, but the lysine is just too coarse of a powder and amount is too large to do the same. I have still not been able to find anything that he likes other than dry kibble, so I'm at a loss as to what to put the lysine into to get him to take it. So far I have tried: canned food, chicken and beef baby food, raw and cooked chicken, tuna, sardines, and milk. He liked canned food for about a week but won't touch it anymore. He has tasted the tuna juice and milk I've left for him, but only tasted, nothing more. Everything else he ignores. I am going to try roast beef, butter, and yogurt next. These are the last things I can think of that he would possibly like. Any ideas?

As far as his socialization goes, not much has happened. With the health scare this weekend and the vet visit yesterday I've been leaving him alone for the most part. I was checking up on his wound this morning and after about 30 seconds of looking him over he lunged and hissed at me. He's never done this before. He usually just watches me intently and looks scared. I was honestly surprised and just told him sorry and left the room. I'm sitting with him right now and it seems like he's just sleeping. I can't see him to be sure as the light is off, but I heard him roll around and readjust a couple times.

That reminds me: We have a lamp on a timer so the light and dark times in the room correspond with the outside as there's no windows. Is this a good idea? I figured it would keep him from being disoriented from only light or only dark. There is a small LED nightlight on during the dark hours so he can still see his way around.

One interesting/cute thing though...I recently got a sewing machine, so I've been making simple catnip toys to get some practice with it. I made one for him earlier today and he loves it. I could hear him playing with it from outside the room and when I came in to sit with him, he was sitting on top of it. I'm glad I found something he enjoys. I feel like it must get quite boring being in such a small room, and since he had the E-collar put on he hasn't been going in the tub or up on the counter anymore, so it must be even more boring. Does anyone have any other ideas for things to keep him entertained?

Thanks again to everyone who sent good vibes his way. It seems like he's finally starting to make some progress (at least healthwise) and it looks like things can only get better from here : ))))

 

[shadowsrescue]

So happy to hear Dooder is doing better and starting to heal.  He is so lucky to have you.

I use Viralys lysine powder on my cat daily, but am able to mix it into his wet food.  I do know they sell lysine tablets that you could break apart and give in a pill pocket.  Don't give up on the wet food yet.  When I brought a feral into the house last year he too would only eat dry food.  This lasted for about a month and then he started eating the wet.  I had to start with really stinky wet food and only a tiny bit.  Gradually he started to like it.  Just keep offering tiny bits to him.  He may start to like it more once he is fully healed.

Since he is feeling better, you might want to start visiting him more often.  Your visits should start off being short.  Take a book/magazine and read aloud to him or simply tell him about your day.  I would try to visit him 3-5x each day for short visits gradually increasing the length of the visits as he tolerates it.  You can bring him in something special to eat.  He may not eat it but it will associate you with good things.  Remember to sit on the floor at his level, not on a toilet seat where you are looming over him.  Since he enjoys the catnip toy try a few other toys for him as well. 

I think leaving a lamp on during the day is a good idea and then turning it off at night works well.  Just make sure it's not too bright.  Have you played any music for him.  I played harp music and calming animal music for Marvin for weeks.  He loved it.

I hope the rest of the week goes smoothly with Dooder. 

 

[catb8]

I had been playing music for him before he went to the vet last week, but have completely spaced on it since. I will definitely start playing it again today though. I had asked earlier about some of the harp music I was playing for him having bird chirping and other outdoor noises in it. I was wondering if this music was okay since I thought it might confuse him or make him sad about not being outside. What do you think?

I also thought I'd include some pictures of his healing progress so far for anyone who's interested.

Fair warning to anyone who's squeemish about wounds and such, they are a little gruesome.

bandit023.jpg

• catb8
• Mar 26, 2014

February 21 - The day before we trapped him and took him into my mom's vet. His nose had been like this for at least a month and the side of his face for at least two weeks. You can see what I meant by his face looking like it was falling off.

Bandit20140228_154405.jpg

• catb8
• Mar 26, 2014

February 28 - Here he is sleeping about a week later. The large black area is the scab of necrotic tissue I had mentioned. This eventually slewed off most of the way and left exposed muscle. His nose had been cleaned out at the vet, but he had rubbed it back open leaving a lot of dried blood.

DSC950154.jpg

• catb8
• Mar 26, 2014

March 6 - A day after he went into my vet. They removed the scab of necrotic tissue the rest of the way, pulled skin back up to his ear, and secured it with sutures. A small area at the bottom of the wound was left open to allow for drainage. His nose was almost done healing at this point.

20140322_114925.jpg

• catb8
• Mar 26, 2014

March 22 - A couple days after we took him back into the vet after he had pulled out one of his sutures. Not much had healed since the last time he went in. The vet reopened the wound, flushed and debried, inserted a drain and stapled the entire wound shut. The length of the drain gives you a really good idea of just how large the abscess was. All the way from the top of his head down to his jaw. His nose is entirely healed at this point.

20140326_131248.jpg

• catb8
• Mar 26, 2014

March 26 - Here he is today. He's managed to move his collar around into a position where I can't see his wound well, so this is the best picture I could get. Everything is healing well and you can see where the bottom of the drain was. The spot on the side of his nose is just tear stain. He tears a lot when he gets sedated : \ We've come to the realization that his ear is probably always going to be bent down like it is in this picture. He looks kind of silly with one normal erect ear and one that points to the side lolol.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Oh my goodness.  Poor poor Dooder.  You are just an angel for caring for him.  I do not believe he would have survived without you.  He is looking so much better.  I would love to see more pictures as he continues to progress.

I do see why you sit in the tub.  Is there a way to fit with your back against the tub?  Maybe as things progress, you can progress to sitting on the floor.  You could temporarily move his food while you are visiting. 

I think as long as the harp music doesn't have birds chirping all the way through, it should be just fine.  Some people leave a talk radio station on so that they get used to the sounds of people talking.  You could just play a soft radio station too. 

I know alot of cats really like Fancy Feast and Friskies wet cat food.  It's not the best quality, but many cats really like it.  Just keep trying a few different brands.  Did you try the chicken or turkey Gerber stage 2 baby food?  My cats love the turkey.  He may just want to stick with the dry for now since it is familiar to him.  If he likes the pill pockets you could offer small pieces to him as a special treat when you come to visit. 

It just breaks my heart to see the pictures of that poor dear, yet it warms my heart to know what good care you are taking of him.

 

[ondine]

Oh, dear sweet Dooder.  ShadowsRescue is correct - he would not have made it without you.  Thank you so much for the update.

 

[ayeshajae]

It looks to me like the worst of it is over now I think he looks a thousand times better actually /:3

 

[catb8]

  Quote:

 
Oh, dear sweet Dooder.  ShadowsRescue is correct - he would not have made it without you.  Thank you so much for the update.

 
Oh my goodness.  Poor poor Dooder.  You are just an angel for caring for him.  I do not believe he would have survived without you.  He is looking so much better.  I would love to see more pictures as he continues to progress.

I do see why you sit in the tub.  Is there a way to fit with your back against the tub?  Maybe as things progress, you can progress to sitting on the floor.  You could temporarily move his food while you are visiting. 

I think as long as the harp music doesn't have birds chirping all the way through, it should be just fine.  Some people leave a talk radio station on so that they get used to the sounds of people talking.  You could just play a soft radio station too. 

I know alot of cats really like Fancy Feast and Friskies wet cat food.  It's not the best quality, but many cats really like it.  Just keep trying a few different brands.  Did you try the chicken or turkey Gerber stage 2 baby food?  My cats love the turkey.  He may just want to stick with the dry for now since it is familiar to him.  If he likes the pill pockets you could offer small pieces to him as a special treat when you come to visit. 

It just breaks my heart to see the pictures of that poor dear, yet it warms my heart to know what good care you are taking of him.

I honestly don't think he would have made it either and both vets have agreed. It really seems like fate that after being in hiding for weeks, he showed up when I happened to be at my mom's. If he would have came a day or two later no one would have been able to trap him and get him to the vet like he so desperately needed. I sincerely hope he will come around and enjoy people and life indoors eventually. It would be such a shame to put him back out after doing so much for him. I will definitely keep updating pictures of his progress. I try to take a picture at least every time he comes back from the vet so I can compare and know if he is improving or not during the times in between visits. Plus, my mom always wants to see how he's doing.

I'm not sure what you mean by fitting with my back to the tub. Like sitting on the floor leaning up against the tub? I may try sitting on the floor and moving his food during at some point. Would it be best to wait to do that until he is comfortable coming out while I'm sitting in the tub?

We are planning to move him into our extra bedroom/office in ~2.5 weeks as long as he is healing on schedule. This will make it far easier to sit with and near him as it is a faaaar larger room. He goes into have his staples removed on the 31st, then a check up/E-collar removal on the 7th, and if the vet gives the okay he will be neutered on the 11th. I plan to give him a day or two to recoup in the bathroom after the neuter and then into his new room he will go. Hopefully this will make him happier as well since he'll have so much more room to move around and do kitty things. And a window to look out of! We would have moved him sooner but it's way easier to get him into a carrier in a smaller room and it's also easier to keep his area sanitary. Once he's (mostly) healed and done with frequent vet visits those things shouldn't be an issue though.

Friskies is what I've been trying to give him since it's pretty cheap and my other two cats love it. I've tried both chicken and beef Gerber as well. I'll pick up some of the turkey kind next time I'm at the store. Besides Fancy Feast, do you know of any brands/flavors that are particularly smelly and enticing to cats?

I'm not actually sure if he likes the pill pockets. I just break them up into the size of his kibble and mix them in so he doesn't have a choice but to eat them. Sometimes he will bite half of one and spit it back out. Not sure if this is because of the medicine or the taste of the pill pocket itself. I'll give him some pieces of them next time I go in and see what he does. I gave him Blue Wilderness moist treats a couple weeks ago and he didn't touch them : \ My other cats love them though, of course.

   Quote:

It looks to me like the worst of it is over now I think he looks a thousand times better actually /:3

I'm glad you think he looks so much better! I have to keep reminding myself that he's not getting worse and that it is just going to take a long time for such a large wound to heal, especially since he is FIV+.

 

[shadowsrescue]

 

 

I'm not sure what you mean by fitting with my back to the tub. Like sitting on the floor leaning up against the tub? I may try sitting on the floor and moving his food during at some point. Would it be best to wait to do that until he is comfortable coming out while I'm sitting in the tub?

Sorry about that, I meant sit not fit!!  I did mean sitting on the floor leaning up against the tub. 

Moving him to a spare room is a great idea once he is all better and neutered.  It will give him space to move around and really get to know you.  One tip, is to be sure that if you have a bed in there that it is either flat on the floor (no bed frame) or you pick the be up.  It will be the first place he will run to hide and it is so hard to get them out.  Many people have tried just blocking underneath the bed, but the cat finds a way.  Also block other tight hard to reach places such as behind big dressers or book cases or tv stands.  It is amazing where they can fit.  Do have places where he can hide such as a cat tree with a hiding box or an old box with a comfy blanket or bed.  It would also be great if you could have a place to look out the window.  Watch for curtains or blinds as well. 

If you have a Big Lots near you, they sell a cat food in pouches called Mio9 cat food.  I get the Ahi Tuna with chicken.  There is also another flavor.  It's in a box with 12 pouches.  My pickiest cat loves this cat food.  You might just need to try different flavors until you find one he likes.  Marvin liked Meow Mix wet food too. 

I hope all goes as planned and Dooder continues to heal and make progress.  He is so lucky to have you.

 

[catb8]

 
Sorry about that, I meant sit not fit!!  I did mean sitting on the floor leaning up against the tub. 

Moving him to a spare room is a great idea once he is all better and neutered.  It will give him space to move around and really get to know you.  One tip, is to be sure that if you have a bed in there that it is either flat on the floor (no bed frame) or you pick the be up.  It will be the first place he will run to hide and it is so hard to get them out.  Many people have tried just blocking underneath the bed, but the cat finds a way.  Also block other tight hard to reach places such as behind big dressers or book cases or tv stands.  It is amazing where they can fit.  Do have places where he can hide such as a cat tree with a hiding box or an old box with a comfy blanket or bed.  It would also be great if you could have a place to look out the window.  Watch for curtains or blinds as well. 

If you have a Big Lots near you, they sell a cat food in pouches called Mio9 cat food.  I get the Ahi Tuna with chicken.  There is also another flavor.  It's in a box with 12 pouches.  My pickiest cat loves this cat food.  You might just need to try different flavors until you find one he likes.  Marvin liked Meow Mix wet food too. 

I hope all goes as planned and Dooder continues to heal and make progress.  He is so lucky to have you.

Thank goodness we don't have a bed in the room. Just a desk so not much for him to hide in/behind/ect. We just need to push the desk back into one of the walls and unclutter and clean the room a bit. The only thing I can see him getting into is the closet as it has sliding doors that aren't secured by a track at the bottom so it can be pushed open. Neither of our cats have managed to do this in the 2+ years we've lived here though so I'm not too worried.

Going to go out this weekend and pick up cans of several different brands and flavors of wet food and see if we can find something that works.

Interesting development today though. I was going into the bathroom earlier and Dooder saw our younger cat, Beebee. The first and last time he saw her he hissed but this time he meowed at her in a friendly tone. I decided to call her over to the door so they were closer to each other. Dooder proceeded to meow and chirp and sing/warble to her. He was so excited. Beebee was definitely freaked out and I had to hold her to keep her from running away, but Dooder was calm as can be.

A little while later after she calmed down I brought her into the bathroom with me. She definitely wasn't thrilled about it, but oh well I figured. Dooder meowed and meowed and meowed at her even though she was growling and throwing a fit. He didn't act angry or defensive for even a second, just very curious and excited. He got up several times, stretched, moved around, and what have you. He's never done this before with me in the room. He is always hunched up in the same place until I leave. I've never seen him as relaxed and at ease as he was with her in there.

Unfortunately he was a little to excited and tried to sniff her and she lunged him. I pulled her away in more than enough time and took her out of the room, so no worries. I was surprised that he didn't try to attack her back or even act defensive at all . He simply scooted back into his cupboard and looked like he had no idea why she would have done such a thing.

Knowing Beebee she will likely become comfortable with him after a couple more visits. This is exactly what she has done every other time she is introduced to a new cat. She plays tough for a couple days and then she can't get enough of them, playing and cuddling and everything else.

I'm wondering if any one has any opinions on whether or not I should let them get accustomed to each other and hopefully be friends. It seems like she would be very useful in not only keeping him happy and entertained, but in helping him become socialized. I was planning on introducing them once he moved into the extra bedroom since it's a bigger space, but since she has made him so happy and calm it seems like it might not be a bad idea to have them make friends sooner. Of course, I would be supervising them at all times so I really doubt there would be much risk of them getting into a fight. Plus it honestly doesn't seem like he has any intentions to fight with her in the first place. I really think he wants to be friends.

 

[shadowsrescue]

That is so great that Dooder is interested in other cats.  They often learn so much especially about socialization from other cats.  Here is an article with some suggestions on how to approach cat to cat introductions.  It works very very well, but does take some time.  I have used it myself and rushed the last steps so I had to start all over again.  Just be sure to take some time. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

Another idea when Dooder is feeling better and also neutered a great way for them to have some safe face to face introductions is to use a cheap wooden screen door that you can attach to the door frame with tension rods. I bought one from Lowes for $20.  You don't have to take the door frame off.  It is a bit of a pain when you need to get into the room, but it works very well.  It also would allow Dooder to see what is going on in your home.  I have a picture of my setup of you would like to see it.

Thanks so much for the update.  I hope all goes well at his follow up on MOnday.

 

[catb8]

 
That is so great that Dooder is interested in other cats.  They often learn so much especially about socialization from other cats.  Here is an article with some suggestions on how to approach cat to cat introductions.  It works very very well, but does take some time.  I have used it myself and rushed the last steps so I had to start all over again.  Just be sure to take some time. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

Another idea when Dooder is feeling better and also neutered a great way for them to have some safe face to face introductions is to use a cheap wooden screen door that you can attach to the door frame with tension rods. I bought one from Lowes for $20.  You don't have to take the door frame off.  It is a bit of a pain when you need to get into the room, but it works very well.  It also would allow Dooder to see what is going on in your home.  I have a picture of my setup of you would like to see it.

Thanks so much for the update.  I hope all goes well at his follow up on MOnday.

Surprisingly I've been able to get Beebee to become comfortable with other cats by simply letting her be in a room with them say twice a day for a few days. She will put on a tough act for the first few visits and then she's in love with them. I am bringing towels with his smell on them to her when she's not with him though. She doesn't get upset about them at all. Since it's been going well so far, I think I'll just keep taking her in with me when I visit him.

I will definitely heed your advice when it comes time to introduce him to Stubbles though. Stubby's far more territorial and I already know will be much more difficult to deal with. He gets upset about new female cats but absolutely livid when it comes to male cats. That's going to be a ways down the road though. I want Dooder to be completely comfortable with Beebee and at least somewhat okay with me before I even try that. Yeah, if you want to include a picture of your screen door set up that would be great : ) If they're really that cheap and work well I'll definitely pick one up.

I took Beebee in with me a little bit ago and I'm kicking myself for not deciding to introduce them earlier. She is helping him make more progress in two days than he has in over a month of me trying on my own. Even though she was still a little mad, I got her to play with a wand toy and then showed it to Dooder and he played with it as well! I've been trying to get him to play with toys for weeks now and he wouldn't even look at them.

At one point he starting rubbing his face on the actual wand portion of the toy, so I scratched his face with it and he absolutely loved it. He fell over, closed his eyes and just looked like he was as happy as can be. After a minute or two I switched out the wand for my hand and he was totally fine with it. He let me scratch everywhere which doesn't surprise me since he hasn't been able to itch his face in so long because of the e-collar. It's probably sooooo itchy with his wound and everything. He even let me touch the wounded side of his face, so hopefully this will allow me to be able to take better care of it from now on. I readjusted how I was sitting after awhile and this spooked him a little bit, but he just backed up and smacked my hand away gently. No claws or anything.

I'm so excited about this, you have no idea!

Only negative came from being able to see his wound better. The top portion looks and feels like it's healing wonderfully. The pockets at the top feel like they've finally fused together and the stapled area is looking good. On the other hand, at the bottom of the staples it looks like more tissue is becoming necrotic. Maybe a 1/4-1/2 inch section is dark and crusty (not just some dried blood like I'd originally thought) and the pocket at the bottom doesn't feel like it's healed together at all. I'm not sure if it's just air in the pocket or fluid of some sort. Nothing oozed when I pushed on it a little, but that could just be because all the openings have healed shut/scabbed over. Nothing I can do about it today since the vet is closed. Hopefully we find on Monday that it's nothing too bad. Fingers crossed.

 

[buffy2011]

From your last comment about Doppler, my feral is also living in the bathroom. After so long the room was so warm I couldn't stand to be in there, because the door was always shut.  So I took a piece of cardboard and taped it over the heater vent. What a difference. Also about the lighting. I turn my light on in the morning when I go in and I leave it on all day until I go to bed, then I turn it off. 

 

[ondine]

Vibes for poor Dooder.  He is a lamb.   Hopefully, when you see the vet, the wound is healing OK.  With FIV, it may take a little longer ...

 

[catb8]

From your last comment about Doppler, my feral is also living in the bathroom. After so long the room was so warm I couldn't stand to be in there, because the door was always shut.  So I took a piece of cardboard and taped it over the heater vent. What a difference. Also about the lighting. I turn my light on in the morning when I go in and I leave it on all day until I go to bed, then I turn it off. 

Yup, that's what we ended up doing as well. It's worked pretty well in conjunction with a fan. It's about time for the heat to be off for good too, so things should cool off soon.

 

[catb8]

Today's vet visit went great! Everything has healed up and without the ugly staples in his face he looks like a whole new cat. There's a little bit of scabbing left from the staples and the incisions made for the drain, but other than that it looks awesome. There wasn't any new necrotic tissue and the vet said that the pocket doesn't have any fluid in it and will gradually close up over time. I'm so happy to see him finally healed. It seems like it's taken forever.

He has still been having problems with his left eye (tearing and squinting) so I mentioned this to the vet. He thinks that it could possibly be caused by a damaged tear duct from whatever attacked him to give him the abscess/wound on his nose. This seems reasonable as there is scaring in the corner of this eye. He prescribed some steroidal eye drops to try to reduce inflammation, but warned that there's a high chance he will have an issue with the eye for the rest of his life. It doesn't seem to cause him any irritation, so I suppose it could be worse. It's sad seeing him all tear stained though : \

He is making leaps and bounds as far as socialization goes. I can reach my hand into his cupboard and pet his face allllll over now. He purred for the first time (at least since he's been here) yesterday. It's pretty quiet, but it's there : ) He's still not too sure about having the rest of his body touched yet though. I think with the cone being there he gets kind of freaked out that he can't see what's touching him. I was very doubtful we were going to be able to give him his eye drops but it went just fine. The drop going in startled him a little and kind of looked like it stung but he didn't act angry at all. 

He's hopefully going to be neutered on Friday and go into the extra bedroom the next day. I'm hoping the extra space will make him want to come out of his hidey spaces to get pets and interact with us. Oh, and I'll post a picture of what he looks like all healed up tomorrow. It really is amazing how much better his face looks, it's crazy.

 

[ondine]

Oh sweet boy. So good to hear about the purring. He's realizing this might not be such a bad gig after all! Good job!