Have to VENT! -- leaving Mom to care for cats, a nightmare

[Winchester]

I hope everything goes well for you at the hospital. And I hope that your furkids will be OK.

Could you talk to your vet to see if there's anyone he or she could recommend to petsit for you? Sometimes vets will have that kind of information.

When we go away (it's not often), we have a wonderful petsitter who comes to our house twice a day. She feeds the kids, does pooper-scooper duty, goes on puke-patrol, everything. She brings our newspaper and mail into the house. Turns the pool pump on and off in the summer. The woman and her husband are true gems. Yes, it costs us a small fortune, but it's well worth the extra peace of mind I have when we leave.

Talk to your vet; you never know.

 

[otto]

Thinking of you, and your brood Lisa. for all to be well.

 

[allmycats]

I hope your surgery went well! Your cats will be fine, but I understand your frustration with your mom's cavalier attitude about them.

 

[pami]

How did things go with your surgery and your babies?

 

[otto]

Thanks for bumping this up. I wanted to ask about this too, but my brain is feeling a bit over loaded and I couldn't remember the title of the thread who the OP was!

 

[katkisses]

I hope everything went perfectly, and you and your babies are safe.

 

[the_food_lady]

Thanks everyone, for your kind thoughts, support and reassurance. Well, as you guessed, I survived! LOL I was strangely 'calm' right up until the time the anesthesiologist came to meet me and ask me a few questions, explain the risks of general anesthetic, etc. Then the reality of it really hit me and I started to cry LOL. They walked me into the O.R. and I was crying. For a few seconds as I laid there on the table as they were starting the IV, it hit me, "I don't HAVE to go through with this, I COULD change my mind!" haha. Thankfully I went through with it.

My Mom was actually a great help. She stayed over 2 nights. Hobee was a total brat and tried harder than ever to get into my garage or out my front door. He's such a fart.

She was completely grossed out with scooping the boxes (she did it once), despite the big pink rubber gloves LOL.

I've had some complications with the surgery, unfortunately. Increasing abd. pain as last week progressed, had to go to ER on Saturday evening. They did bloodwork and xrays; everything fine, I was horribly constipated and my interstitial cystitis had flared up horribly (think just due to all of the stress on my body). Wanted to rule out a UTI. The pain to beside my belly button got worse over the weekend, a horrible burning pain.........felt like a hot poker stuck in me.......about 2 inches to the side of belly button. Only time it was not bad was lying on back. Managed to meet the surgeon this morning at the hospital for assessment. He suspected it was either an abscess inside (though I've had no fever, incision sites good) or something called 'nerve entrapment.' He sent me for a CT Scan of the Abdomen. That was an all day thing. Got to the hospital at 8:30am (my Dad drove me) and I left there at 3pm. Hadn't eaten all day (didn't eat after midnight in the event they would do tests or worst case scenario, surgery again). The poor nurses had a h*lluva time getting an IV in me, for the CT Scan (the contrast dye).....poked me 5 times with HUGE IV needles, I felt like a pin cushion.
I had originally planned to return to work this Thursday but surgeon wants me off work until Apr 26. I have no idea how I could work now, even though I have a desk job. It's so painful to sit or walk. I pray the nerve pain goes away soon and isn't something that will require nerve blocks or further surgery to deal with. I'm lying here with my Magic Bag on my belly. It seems to help a bit. Really just taking Ibuprofen for pain, mostly, because the other stuff they gave me (Tyl3 and Percocet) really make me feel awful, and I get so constipated.

I think I'm going to be okay!!

Cute thing that happened while my Mom was here. Well Bitsy, my sweet little white kitty...........she has a thing for Q-Tips. Don't ask me why. She continually knocks over my bathroom garbage can to look for them. (I no longer throw them in there). One night Mom got up to the washroom and when she turned on the light, Bitsy was on the counter, going through Mom's make-up bag, trying to get into this little ziploc bag of Q-Tips. LOL. mom couldn't figure out HOW she knew they were in there. I can't figure it out, either. I have no idea what the fascination is with them, it's beyond me. LOL

Thanks everyone!!

 

[mystik spiral]

I'm glad things are *relatively* OK!! I hope you feel better soon, it's nice that you can take some time away from work to heal up. Glad to hear your little ones survived the stay with your mom...

I will never understand why people get so grossed out by litter boxes. They really aren't THAT bad!! Though my little sister gags every time she sees, smells, or hears about wet cat food.

I don't get it.

 

[katkisses]

I am glad that you got through surgery ok and your kittlies survived your mom, lol. I really hope you start feeling better soon though, that stinks!!

 

[laureen227]

Originally Posted by Mystik Spiral

my little sister gags every time she sees, smells, or hears about wet cat food.

I don't get it.

well, i get that - but then, i'm allergic to fish, & really can't stand fishy smells. the wet food mine get doesn't have a fish ingredient.
i'm glad everything worked out ok for you & the furbabies. mine aren't used to wet food every day, so emergency overnites aren't that big of a deal - they have plenty of kibble & the litterboxes are automated, there are fountains, etc.
i did end up staying an extra night once at my mom's unexpectedly [we were traveling from out of town & locally there was a snowstorm] but my sister volunteered to drive up & check on food, water, etc. she didn't have to do boxes, but she did have to replenish the kibble. that way, when we got in, much later [after much snow!] i could just stay @ my folks' for the night.

 

[strange_wings]

My surgery went well but the incision above my belly button still has pain often. If something brushes against it just right that can set it off - other times it hurts for no reason.

I hope yours goes away as you heal.

Originally Posted by Mystik Spiral

I will never understand why people get so grossed out by litter boxes. They really aren't THAT bad!! Though my little sister gags every time she sees, smells, or hears about wet cat food.

I don't get it.

I scoop bare handed - pick up kitty turds and urine clumps (I'm clumsy, sometimes the scoop falls out of my hand or dumps a foot away from the bag

) without being grossed out. But do you know what really grosses me out and causes me to gag? Getting mayo on my fingers.

I literally have to hold my breath with adding it to anything. If it gets on me I have to run to the sink and promptly wash it off.

I hate fish and fishy smells, too, but can tolerate that better. I still go to great lengths to avoid touching fish, though. Cat food fishiness is better than handling raw fish.

 

[kluchetta]

Originally Posted by the_food_lady

The pain to beside my belly button got worse over the weekend, a horrible burning pain.........felt like a hot poker stuck in me.......about 2 inches to the side of belly button.

My sister had gallbladder surgery (while 32 weeks pregnant!) and had that pain. I seem to remember it was some sort of bile leakage from the stitches in the gall bladder leaking into the abdomen.

 

[mystik spiral]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I hate fish and fishy smells, too, but can tolerate that better. I still go to great lengths to avoid touching fish, though. Cat food fishiness is better than handling raw fish.

I can't touch ANY raw meat without gagging, never could. I think that's a big reason why I became a vegetarian.

My brothers all fish and it grosses me out when they clean the fish they catch. I can't watch it...