So our darling little Parsnip got the green light to go ahead with desexing a while ago, and we booked her in for this Thursday just gone. She went in Thursday morning, and came out that afternoon. She was quite adorable in her drugged up state, she wobbled everywhere and stared at a piece of toast purring for 20 minutes. The vets gave her a 3-day pain relief injection.
Unfortunately she was having trouble keeping her cone on, she's pretty smart at puzzles (especially if she gives us a headache by solving them) and no matter how tight we did it, she still wiggled out. So Friday morning we took her back to the vets where they created their own makeshift harness for her, and pointed out that during the night she'd had a go at some of her stitches, but all were still intact and internal, so it was all good.
The harness they made was pretty restrictive looking, they showed me how it was loose enough to not cause discomfort, but she walked in wobbles, was constantly looking up at the ceiling, couldn't figure out how to eat or drink, and she hasn't made a bowel movement since she came home. The makeshift harness was also incredibly complicated and I felt like I couldn't remove it to give her some supervised time without the cone, because there was no way in hell I was going to be able to recreate that monstrosity of knots.
So today is Saturday, and I went to the store and bought a leash-harness. I threaded the collar part through the cone and so far, so good. She hasn't gotten it off yet, but now I'm more worried about her behaviour. She's a pretty independent cat usually, doesn't want cuddles or pats unless they're on her terms. But it's been just over 48 hours since her surgery and she's still very lethargic and docile. If anything I'd say she's more lethargic than when she came home from surgery initially. She sleeps most of the day, and most of the night. She's still eating her regular amount of food, and I haven't seen her vomit. About an hour ago, my partners mother noticed her staring at the bedroom door, just sitting there and shaking. She moved to pat her, and she didn't move, just sat there and accepted the pats. She stopped shaking, and eventually we moved her into her favourite sleeping place and she's laid down for yet another nap. Her tail is often down and/or between her legs. I've been checking her eyes and ears for yellowing religiously but nothing yet.
I guess I'm a little worried because she's the second kitten of her litter to go for desexing, and both kittens (Her and her Brother) have had abnormal blood tests come back that indicate something not quite right with the liver. Neither vet was particularly concerned with it but her brother was consequently denied desexing because of it, and our vet said she had no worries and went ahead with the surgery for Parsnip anyway. And I know what it's like to have liver problems and trying to take pain-relief and how much more awful you feel seeing as the liver metabolizes that sort of stuff, so I'm just paranoid the liver problem might have something to do with it.
It's still pretty early after the surgery, so I'm not entirely sure when I've got the green light to panic yet. Our vets aren't open on the weekends, but we do have an animal hospital nearby (that charges an arm and a leg) so we're not entirely without options.
Can anyone tell me whether this is all normal or not? D:
Kitty-in-a-cone pictures for love!
Unfortunately she was having trouble keeping her cone on, she's pretty smart at puzzles (especially if she gives us a headache by solving them) and no matter how tight we did it, she still wiggled out. So Friday morning we took her back to the vets where they created their own makeshift harness for her, and pointed out that during the night she'd had a go at some of her stitches, but all were still intact and internal, so it was all good.
The harness they made was pretty restrictive looking, they showed me how it was loose enough to not cause discomfort, but she walked in wobbles, was constantly looking up at the ceiling, couldn't figure out how to eat or drink, and she hasn't made a bowel movement since she came home. The makeshift harness was also incredibly complicated and I felt like I couldn't remove it to give her some supervised time without the cone, because there was no way in hell I was going to be able to recreate that monstrosity of knots.
So today is Saturday, and I went to the store and bought a leash-harness. I threaded the collar part through the cone and so far, so good. She hasn't gotten it off yet, but now I'm more worried about her behaviour. She's a pretty independent cat usually, doesn't want cuddles or pats unless they're on her terms. But it's been just over 48 hours since her surgery and she's still very lethargic and docile. If anything I'd say she's more lethargic than when she came home from surgery initially. She sleeps most of the day, and most of the night. She's still eating her regular amount of food, and I haven't seen her vomit. About an hour ago, my partners mother noticed her staring at the bedroom door, just sitting there and shaking. She moved to pat her, and she didn't move, just sat there and accepted the pats. She stopped shaking, and eventually we moved her into her favourite sleeping place and she's laid down for yet another nap. Her tail is often down and/or between her legs. I've been checking her eyes and ears for yellowing religiously but nothing yet.
I guess I'm a little worried because she's the second kitten of her litter to go for desexing, and both kittens (Her and her Brother) have had abnormal blood tests come back that indicate something not quite right with the liver. Neither vet was particularly concerned with it but her brother was consequently denied desexing because of it, and our vet said she had no worries and went ahead with the surgery for Parsnip anyway. And I know what it's like to have liver problems and trying to take pain-relief and how much more awful you feel seeing as the liver metabolizes that sort of stuff, so I'm just paranoid the liver problem might have something to do with it.
It's still pretty early after the surgery, so I'm not entirely sure when I've got the green light to panic yet. Our vets aren't open on the weekends, but we do have an animal hospital nearby (that charges an arm and a leg) so we're not entirely without options.
Can anyone tell me whether this is all normal or not? D:
Kitty-in-a-cone pictures for love!
(Parsnip might look a little ticked, in that first photo, and a little miserable in the 2nd,...but just tell her that it won't be for too long. And tell her that she looks cute, either way.) 
