Gracie needs vibes- in dental surgerie right now

[carolina]

Home sweet Home!

Kelly spent the whole day here yesterday, spent the night, and just left this afternoon, which means my babies barely spent any time alone

Gracie is doing really really well! She ate her whole dinner like a champ - now she was "upgraded" to a little better junk food - iams. She likes a lot, and eats well... When I am done with this case, she goes back to the good stuff.
She didn't seem to be in pain tonight, so I am stopping her pain killers to see how she does without it, as she is constipated and since she is an older girl I don't want to mess with that. Today was the 5th day of pain meds anyways, I think she had plenty. She is alert, bright eyed, and looks happy! Very sweet... I am taking her Thursday and Saturday to the vet for her antibiotic shots, and in another week for her follow up to schedule her second surgery.
The other kitties are all happy and well, and were waiting for me on the window when I parked my car

On another good note, my friends from the Blogosphere will run an auction (maybe 2) to raise funds for Gracie's surgery , it might happen as soon as next week... I will only be able to schedule the surgery after the auction, but it will happen for sure!

 

[ldg]

Carolina, it's all GREAT news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

on ALL fronts!

 

[otto]

Thanks for the happy update!

 

[Winchester]

I'm glad Gracie is going to be OK!

 

[stephanietx]

Woohoo!! Glad you're home and glad Gracie's doing great!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, great news all around. Keep us posted on the auction(s).

 

[carolina]

And another happy update! My girl is doing exceptionally well! Pigging out like there is no tomorrow! I go to the kitchen and she is right there with me.... Mommy, food please!
She is no longer eating dry, so she sure makes very clear to let me know when she is hungry!
She is eating her medicine treats just fine, and shows no signs of pain

She is being very loving, and started playing again... Another thing that I noticed is that she never really groomed herself before, and now she started doing that

I think this poor girl has been in pain for a while the poor little thing!
Now.... don't shoot me guys, but I HAVE to confess - I did not take her to the vet for her injection today..... because.... well.... I gave it myself! Yep, it was a subQ injection, and I figured the stress of putting her in the carrier and taking her in was going to be higher that doing it myself. So, meowmy here made the executive decision of applying the shot at the comfort of our home

I am proud to say we both survived! Kelly had left the injection and the syringes here, so I called her and she walked me through exactly what I had to do over the phone. Gracie complained a little with a meo-o-o-w, but she took it like a good girl and it was a fast .3cc, so I gave her some good loving and plenty of kisses and she forgave me

So there... I guess I can pill a cat, and I can give injections too!
Hopefully not going to do this very often, but it is nice to know I do have the capability of doing it, as it can be an ordeal to take them to the vet everytime they need a shot...
Anyways... She is doing f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c!

 

[catmom2wires]

Cool on the progress--esp the shot part.

I was catsitting for my neighbor a couple of years ago and a 2 day old kitten took a turn for the worse. I had to do sub q FLUIDS on the little dust mite (the neighbor talked me thru it over the phone)! Talk about nerve wracking. Amazing what you can learn to do when you have to do it!

 

[darlili]

That is terrific news - and thank God that God or the universe sent Gracie your way - I bet she's been in significant pain for a while, and no one would have noticed til you gave her a home.

And, that's great about the shot - I guess what we have to learn, we will, but you're really someone to imitate when it comes to our babies.

 

[otto]

Thanks for the happy update! It's amazing the difference when a cat is free of mouth pain.

Knowing how to do sub q injections is a very useful skill to have. Well Done Carolina. ( I can do them too.

)

 

[ldg]

OMG we could so not deal with giving Tuxie injections. It's one of the reasons we moved out of the RV into a house (it was 10 minutes from his vet).

WTG Gracie and WTG Carolina!

 

[carolina]

Originally Posted by CatMom2Wires

Cool on the progress--esp the shot part.
( ... ) Amazing what you can learn to do when you have to do it!

Originally Posted by darlili

And, that's great about the shot - I guess what we have to learn, we will, but you're really someone to imitate when it comes to our babies.

Originally Posted by otto

Knowing how to do sub q injections is a very useful skill to have. Well Done Carolina. ( I can do them too.

)

Originally Posted by LDG

OMG we could so not deal with giving Tuxie injections. It's one of the reasons we moved out of the RV into a house (it was 10 minutes from his vet).

WTG Gracie and WTG Carolina!

Awww... Thank you Guys!

I was expecting some "are you crazy Carolina?" type of responses

I just thought to myself of all the times I had seen the vets giving them injections, and I do have a clear picture on my mind of how it is done... (and some of them are not that careful or gentle at all

). Then I thought of all the cat parents who apply SubQ and insulin at home... and of course about the stress of going to the vet for that... If it was an intro-muscular shot it would be another story, but a Sub-Q, I thought I was confident enough to do it without major risks... She was great!

I will do it again Saturday, and now I feel just fine about it!

Who knew that the girl who hissed at the mere sight of my hand a short two months ago would now sit on my lap and let me give her injections?!

 

[mbjerkness]

Wonderful that Gracie is feeling better.

It is great that you didn't have to stress her out by putting her in a carrier.

 

[carolina]

So, gave Gracie another shot today, and she didn't even notice! I wondered if the needle ha gone in at all - but it had... she was just SO good about it!

We do need to finish the vial, so I think we have 2 more shots to go, but by now... hey, I feel like a "pro"!

Anyways, I recorded a little video of her playing and getting spoiled today... It is a bit long (amazingly, like most of the things I do

), but if you have a few minutes, it is worth it... I know it has been a while since I posted pictures of her... She has gained 2 lbs since she moved here, and has recovered beautifully from her surgery.
She had a rough few days a couple of weeks ago due to fear of Bugsy, but that, as you can see on the video, is completely on the past. She is doing GREAT!

She is a sweeeeeeet little lady, I just wish I could have her around the house all the time, but... Oh well... It is what it is I guess!
So, without further ado - Below is the video!

http://s404.photobucket.com/albums/...m/?action=view&current=Gracie-laser-light.mp4

 

[stephanietx]

Go Gracie! What a fun video! So glad she's doing better. I really wonder if the pain from her tooth being so rotten caused some of her crabbiness and fear of Bugsy.

 

[otto]

Oh Carolina! I had to watch it twice because the first time, when you started petting her and she leaned into it I started blatting and missed the rest through my tears.

But...when you mentioned Bugsy I thought there was going to be some Bugsy action? Are you saying she is no longer afraid of his friendly advances? I knew she'd be braver when the mouth pain was gone!

Congratulations again and again to all of you. Rescue of the year, my goodness.

 

[carolina]

Originally Posted by stephanietx

Go Gracie! What a fun video! So glad she's doing better. I really wonder if the pain from her tooth being so rotten caused some of her crabbiness and fear of Bugsy.

Isn't it fun? She is a hoot with the laser light! L-O-V-E-S it!

She is still afraid of Bugsy for sure, but her mood is definitely better... Who knows one day? I am redefining the word slow in the slow introduction now!

Originally Posted by otto

Oh Carolina! I had to watch it twice because the first time, when you started petting her and she leaned into it I started blatting and missed the rest through my tears. Awwww otto

you are just such a huge support through and through to me and us... Reading this just warmed my heart...

But...when you mentioned Bugsy I thought there was going to be some Bugsy action? Are you saying she is no longer afraid of his friendly advances? I knew she'd be braver when the mouth pain was gone! She is still afraid of Bugsy... He now has no access to her at all

The baby gate is up, and covered with a blanket. To give you a background of what happened a few weeks ago (maybe a couple?), is that she spent a day in the living room, and I thought she was fine, but she was actually so petrified, she soiled herself

She soiled herself again the next day back in her area... She got so traumatized that she was afraid of going anywhere - she was stuck underneath of my desk... It was really quite sad... Bugsy didn't do anything, and there was no signs either - no hissings, no screaming, nothing that could me alert me that she was so afraid (when she was in the living room) - she looked to be just fine. I just noticed she wasn't leaving the pillow where she was laying down, so when I dragged the pillow back to her area, it was covered in pee

. I felt SO guilty

. It took quite a few days for her to feel confident again to walk out anywhere at all, even to her food dish and litter box - she only did that when I turned off the lights and walked away with the kitties. To do that, I had to completely take away Bugsy's access to her. So, gate up, blanket and Ssscat.
But now, that the gate is up, and she is all happy again, I think we can start over on the introductions, do it extra, extra-slow, and see this as a hiccup on our introduction... She is doing VERY well now... I think she is going to be just fine!

Congratulations again and again to all of you. Rescue of the year, my goodness.

Thank you

 

[my4llma]

Who knew that the girl who hissed at the mere sight of my hand a short two months ago would now sit on my lap and let me give her injections?!

[/quote]

That's because she knows you care about her. She knows your helping her feel better. She trusts you, she knows you better now and she knows you won't hurt her. You've done nothing but show her kindness and love. She knows she's got a good home with you. She knows you'd never hurt her. She likes the feeling of being loved and wanted, and she never wants to be away from you again. She trusts you now and knows you're not going to hurt her. She may not understand why you do the things you do, but she knows she feels better afterwards.