Thankful Thursday: No More Bandages

 Hi everybody, it's mes, Giovanni! Today we be joining Angel Brian's Thankful Thursday blog hop!

You might remember that three weeks ago, on March 26th, mes had a toe amputated from my back left footie because it had a cancerous mast cell tumor on it. Then mes had to wear this pesky thing. For 18.5 whole days. Mes was not amused.

For a whole 18.5 days, mes couldn't run, curl up in my tiny tree, get in the window, or chase my favorite toys. It was all kinds of no fun for Giovanni! Mama tried to help mes not be so bored. Hers gotted me a new thing called a snuffle mat, and mes and Tylan had some fun hunting for treats in it. But mes was still sad me couldn't go where me wanted or do what me wanted.

Giovanni Recovers from Surgery

 

Hi everybody, it's me, Giovanni!

It has been four whole days since my surgery. Me is (mostly) being a good boy and leaving my bandage alone, but sometimes it just annoys me so much that me has to try and get it off! Me hasn't been successful, though. 

Mama watches me while hers is awake, and when hers sleeps, hers has me wear that pesky orange donut collar. Me can usually get it off, though, MOL! Unfortunately, any time Mama gets up to go to the bathroom, hers checks on me, and if hers sees my donut is not on, hers will put it back on me. 

Mama is spoiling me extra while me recovers. See? Hers even brings my food to me. Me doesn't even have to get up and go to my usual food spot. A mancat could get used to this...

Mama took me to the v-e-t on my birthday. Can yous believe that?! The vet tech changed my bandage. Hers told Mama that my foot looks good and it be healing nicely. 

There be a rumor me is going back tomorrow to get my bandage changed again. We will see about that...MOL! 

Thankful Thursday

 Hi everyone, it's the Mom here with an update on Giovanni. We are joining Angel Brian's Thankful Thursday blog hop today.

Giovanni went in yesterday (Wednesday) for his mast cell tumor removal surgery. I knew he would be really scared at the vet, so I brought a shirt I'd worn recently along with me so he'd at least have my scent with him in his kennel while he was there. 

Giovanni got the awesome vet tech that loves Tylan so much! She was very attentive to my baby. She texted me right before they took him into surgery and gave me a nice detailed update when he woke up. She said Giovanni was really scared by the dog they were spaying yesterday, so she covered his kennel with a towel. She said that helped some, but she could tell he was still really scared. She had put my shirt in the kennel with Giovanni, but when she noticed how scared he still was, she took my shirt and covered him up with it. Then, he curled right up and had a nap! Mama for the win! I'm so, so happy he finds comfort in me, and I'm glad I thought to bring something with my scent on it for him. The vet tech suggested I bring a shirt with us every time we come because it helped him so much. So sweet.

Purrs and Prayers for Giovanni

Hi everybody, it's me, Giovanni!

Last week, Mama packed Tylan up in his carrier to take hims to acupuncture. But then hers grabbed me and put me in a carrier, too! Me was not amused.

Once at de vet, me busied myself trying to find a way out of de room to go back home while Tylan made himself comfortable on de floor and waited for de vet to come rub his belly. 

Me was there to get a pedicure since Mama can't see well enough to do it herself at home. So, de tech took me to de back, which was really scary! When hers brought me back to Mama, hers said me was really brave. Once de tech put me on de floor, me wedged myself between de bench and de wall while me waited for Tylan to have his acupuncture.

Mama was talking de vet about me. She said they found some kind of bump on my foot. 

As Tylan was getting his pedicure, Mama picked me up and set me  on de table. And then came de needle.....it poked my foot bump, and de vet went away for a few minutes. 

And then hers came back and gave Mama de news.... Me will let Mama tell you about it.

Milita's Monday: An Update on the Mom

Hi everyone, it's Milita!

Thank you all for all the good wishes, nice thoughts, healing purrs, and hugs for the Mom's surgery.  Her surgery was last Wednesday, and me and Carmine knew something was up because the Mom was leaving the apartment even before the sun came out!  She had to leave at 5:45am so she could get to the hospital and check-in at 6:30am.  The Mom says she doesn't know why they wanted her there so early because they had her waiting in the waiting room for an HOUR before they took her back to the pre-op area.  Then it was another hour or more before they took her back to the operating room.  The Mom said she did not get scared until they said they were taking her back to the operating room, but they gave her "happy juice" before they told her that, and it kicked in fast.  The Mom says she doesn't even remember getting to the operating room, MOL!!  It sounds like the stuff the vet gave me when I had my heart ultrasound.

Wishing the Mom Well

Hi everyone, it's mes, Carmine!

You remember this post where Lita told yous about how the Mom had to go to the emergency room?  Hers is FINALLY having hers surgery tomorrows.  

Hers hopes the surgery makes it so hers tummy doesn't hurt all the time after hers eats anymores.  Hers told mes if my tummy hurts as much as hers does after hers eats, then hers feels sorry for mes.  

Won't yous join mes and Lita in wishing the Mom well for hers surgery tomorrows?  Hers says hers might even help us visit yous all more the few days following the surgery since hers doubts hers will be up for concentrating on her paid writing work.  See yous all soon!

We Purr for the Mom

Hi everyone, it's Lita today.  

I have news to share about me, but today I want to talk about the Mom.  I will post about me sometime soon, though, I promise!

On Friday night/Saturday morning, the Mom had some noms, and then she felt really horrible.  She went to lay down because she thought it might make her feel better, but it made her feel WORSE.  She tried petting me and laying there, but it just kept getting worse.  The Mom took some medicine, but that didn't help.  Neither did her normal tummy medicines.  

She was crying and told D that the tummy pain wasn't going away!  Then her tummy hurt so bad that she started yelling and screaming in agony.  The Mom stressed ME out so much that I had an asthma attack.  The Mom said she felt horrible about stressing me, but she hurt so much that she could not keep from yelling.  She would NOT make a good cat, friends.  She can't hide her pain well like we do!

The Mom told D to call the ambulance, and then they came right away.  She threw on her flip-flops and went out on the stretcher, crying loudly.  The Mom must really love us, though.....'cause between her screams of agony, she said, "The babies!!!!" when D had the apartment door open.  What a nice Mom she is, worrying about us.

Mancat Monday with Pawesome News!

Hi everyone, Carmine here (sorry about the blurriness in my photo)!

Do you remember last week when I asked everybody if they could help my sisfur Milita get the expensive dental surgery hers needs?  Well.......

WE GOT THE FUNDS!!!!

We never expected we would be able to raise the funds for Milita's surgery so fast!!  

To all of those who contributed to and/or shared about Milita's surgery, we say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.  Your love and care for Milita has really touched our hearts, and we will forever be grateful for your support.

Milita's surgery is scheduled for October 22 as the v-e-t didn't have any surgery openings this week.  We will definitely keep all of yous updated on hers progress!

A Question and Another Update on Carmine

I have a question, and then another update.  I'm hoping some of you or your humans will have some ideas!

I think Carmine's still in pain.  He keeps rubbing his face on *everything.*  He's only on the pain medication for one more day (antibiotics for five more).  How can I make my baby more comfortable?  I don't like seeing him in pain at all; it makes me very sad.

Now for the update.

Carmine ate about two-thirds of his wet dinner tonight.  He has also been eating a little kibble now and then.  I think he's on track to eating normally again soon, which makes me happy!

Hope everyone is doing well and having a good weekend!

Carmine's Home from Surgery

Thank you all so much for the purrs and prayers!! The support of the blogosphere is truly amazing :)

I would have had an update about Carmine earlier if my sinus infection hadn't been kicking my behind all day.  But here's one now!

Carmine only had to have one extraction.  Apparently they were able to save the other three they were worried about.  But....the vet tech says he has "chronic gum disease."  She recommended feeding him Greenies treats since she knows Carmy won't let me brush his teeth.  So I will grab some of those on Sunday.

Unfortunately when he was expressed at the vet this time, he was full, so every three months it is for getting him expressed... :(  He's not going to like that!!

Since he's been home, he spends most of his time under my bed napping and pouting.  He refused to eat anything the first night he was home and most of today.  He finally ate a little bit on his own a few hours ago and a tiny bit more just a little bit ago.  It hasn't been much, but at least he's eating something!!  I was getting quite worried I'd have to take him to the hospital.  It looks like he's feeling a little better, though.  I hope he eats more later.

He HATES his medications.  He sits and my arms and says "Moooooo!" when it's time for them.  He sure knows how to make mama feel guilty.  I wish he could understand that the medications are to help him feel better.

I have to be a "bad mama" again here shortly and administer the pain med and antibiotic before we all head to sleep here.

I just wanted to give everyone an update because I know some of you were wondering about him :)

Carmine's Having Surgery

I wanted to let everyone know that Carmine is having oral surgery tomorrow.  The vet said she will need to do at least one and up to four extractions on him.

If everybody could purr and pray for Carmine, we would appreciate it.  I'm sure he'll do just fine, but I'm an overprotective mama and I worry about my babies.

We will be visiting everyone very soon. We have some other updates to share later, too.  We have missed everyone and hope you are well!

Carmine's Vet Visit

As promised, here is an update on my little baby, Carmine.

We went to the vet on Tuesday to get an opinion on his health and to see what else we could do to help with his stress levels.

The vet noticed what I've known for years - Carmine is a *very sensitive* cat.  He picks up on stress and he is stressed *very easily!*

She weighed him and he has maintained his weight (thank God!).  He has been feeling lighter to me and some days he is too nervous to eat much, so I was really worried he was losing weight.  She gave him an exam, too.  His heart is perfect (yay!).  But his teeth are not :(  Carmine goes to the vet on a regular basis and they always look at his teeth, so I was disappointed to hear that he now needs 1-4 extractions, depending on how many they can clean up versus have to pull.

The vet specifically said that she doesn't want to put him through the stress of an oral surgery and recovery from extraction/s *until* the family is gone.  She thinks the stress would be too much for my baby and I totally agree with her on that.  She wants Carmine to come back for his dental surgery in three months.  The family is *supposed* to be gone by Sept. 1.  IF they keep their word (God, PLEASE let them keep their word!!!) then he will have some time to recover from this situation before we have to take him in for his surgery.

I really hope my little boy isn't in pain from his teeth.  He doesn't really chew his kibbles, but he never really has crunched his kibbles the way Milita does.  It concerns me that he eats on the side of his mouth when he's eating wet food sometimes.

I'd much prefer to take him in right away for the surgery to make sure he's not in any unnecessary pain, but I think the vet is right - I think we need to wait for this stressful situation to be over before we stress him with the surgery.  I just hope we're doing the right thing.

She also recommended Rescue Remedy for cats for him in conjunction with the Comfort Zone deffuser for his stress/anxiety, so I'll look for that as soon as I make it over to PetSmart.  I feel so helpless sometimes to help my baby.  I just want to make his anxiety go away.

We are sorry we haven't visited many of your blogs lately.  We plan on visiting everyone again soon.

Spay/Neuter for $10!

If you live in the Denver-metro area, you can now get your kitten or cat spayed or neutered through the Denver Dumb Friends League mobile clinics for just $10.  Denver-metro residents can take advantage of this opportunity through June 30, 2012.

The $10 spay and neuter surgeries are being offered in honor of World Spay Day, which was on February 28.  World Spay Day is a campaign that encourages spaying and neutering pets in order to reduce pet overpopulation and to decrease the number of pets that are euthanized due to overpopulation as well.

The Dumb Friends League offers two animal mobile clinics in underserved areas of the Denver-metro area.

The Meow Mobile

The Meow Mobile is a mobile clinic that provides donor-subsidized spay and neuter surgeries and vaccinations to cats.  It's a partnership between the Denver Dumb Friends League and the Denver Area Veterinary Medical Society.  Colorado licensed veterinarians along with a Dumb Friends League vet technician and an assistant perform the surgeries and give vaccinations to cats who visit the clinic.

The Lulu Mobile

The Lulu Mobile provides spay and neuter surgeries and vaccinations to cats and dogs.  This clinic is staffed by one full-time and one part-time veterinarian.

All cats (and dogs) must arrive to the clinic in a carrier.  No appointments are necessary; just show up before 7:30AM to the location specified on the clinic calendar.  The service is given on a first-come, first-served basis.  You will be able to pick up your cat (or dog) the same day and post-surgery instructions will be given to you.

If you have more questions about the mobile clinics the Denver Dumb Friends League offers or would like more information, you may call: 720-241-7098.  You can also visit the mobile clinics' web page for more information as well as the clinics' days and locations.

Source:

Denver Dumb Friends League