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Harry the Cat - Just Diagnosed (Hi)
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Member Since:
2 October 2016
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12 October 2016 - 11:06 pm
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Good point about the string...I suppose onesies are stretchie so they dont strangle babies :/ I tried to shrink them up in the dryer. Theyre pretty snug around his belly but not in the neck, so I don't know about going down a size. I'm starting to think his Christmas sweater might do the trick for the back legs because it's a heavier less stretchy fabric, and longer...

On The Road


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13 October 2016 - 1:27 pm
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purrkins said
I ordered on amazon they were really cheap... 

big-grin Remember to start your Amazon search here to help support the Tripawds Blogs community!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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13 October 2016 - 7:12 pm
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Will do. 

Harry's first day at home alone allllll day seems to have been uneventful. In fact, I'm not sure he moved out of his cage after I put his handsome Christmas jumper on him this morning 

He was exactly where I left him anyway and doesn't see to be able to get around it in any direction yet, so that'll be my go to for work days....I'm so glad tomorrow if Friday. Harry made his first attempt at biting the stitches when he was bathing himself after I took the jumper off, so that was uncool. I slapped a baby t on him immediately and he huffed but stopped. 

He is also not at all interested in the expensive but wonderfully free vet food and just wants his grocery store crap. 

And a final cheery bit of news, some kids in wood shop are making steps for Harry >.< I'm so the crazy cat lady teacher. Does anybody out there use stairs? I can't imagine having little staircases all over my apartment. Do you let your animals jump straight down from couches and lower things? Or do they have aids all over? I figure some sort of step thing for the window sill is needed. I don't really want to make accommodations for the counters, because he's not supposed to be on them!

Oh, also.....I started blogging before I realized tripawds offered free platforms (harrypawter.wordpress.com). I don't suppose there's a way to link?

Michigan


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13 October 2016 - 7:56 pm
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Another great day for you guys YEAH! Be nice Harry leave those stitches alone buddy! Another week they come out? 

He looks handsome in his Christmas sweater glad that worked for you!

Thats so wonderful the kids are making him steps in shop! You will have to show them how he uses them . How special!

We got Purrkins steps and he uses them! We put them by his favorite places, we did not want to change his favorite spots so we added stairs. I guess it depends on where he goes all the time. We made the house tripawd friendly. Purrkins brother Saxton uses the steps too.

You'll want to protect his 3 legs as much as possible ,and make the going down easier in any way. Going up is no problem!

Think safer landings. Thats just my advice, Im sure other's will chime in. We wanted Purrkins to still have the same life on 3 as he had on 4 and as safely as possible. Less of a worry for his parents too;) ! You have one floor so it will be easier . Purrkins jumps from the sofa to the coffee table and then down the steps from there. I still have mats on the floor in places and rugs . Its not so pretty and it is what it is. I dont care about how it looks it works! We just do what we can to make life easier.

Did your try mixing the new food slowly ? That might help transition him. Can you use the money on anything they sell? You might want to think of adding a joint supplement .

I definitely can't answer the blog question, no clue on that. Going to check it out his blog either way!:)

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13 October 2016 - 8:16 pm
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Oh thanks. It's mostly what I've already been sharing here. 

And thanks, yet again, for the quick response. Your advice is so helpful. I suppose I am a bit vain about my home decor, lol, but I'll make necessary changes regardless. I'll just have to rethink my motif 😛 How high are the risers on your steps? normal step size? It is very sweet that they're making some for me XD I've got to do some measuring tonight. 

I did try mixing the food, but perhaps I need to start with a smaller amount of the new stuff. He's such a picky bugger. 

Stitches out on the 22nd. Just about a week. I can't wait! I assume he's okay to groom the area after that...He's getting a few stubbly patches back. 

Virginia







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13 October 2016 - 8:53 pm
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Hary looks so darn cute in his Christmas sweater! Glad it did the trick as far as keeping him away from the stitches..

The support of the kitty community is so powerful!!

And it's very sweet that your students are making steps FOR Harry. It's a reflection of much much they likenyou as tneir teacher! Nice!

I hope you are starting to relax some now. The hard part is behind you. Harry is putte all this behind him everyday. He's such a good boy! 🙂

Hugs!

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!

Livermore, CA




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13 October 2016 - 10:33 pm
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I'm glad to hear that Harry is doing so well.  I'm usually quite dismayed when people break out Christmas stuff in October but I think in this case I'll let it go big-grin

I've had pugs (and now a pug mix) for 17 years so small steps are a part of my life.  You can order them from some pet supply stores but I've always made my own.  I had them before Maggie became a Tripawd but it was tough to get the girls to use them until it was a necessity.  Elly always uses the steps to go up on the bed or furniture, but when excited she will sometimes jump down without using them. 

The way I decided on riser size for my current bed was to take the height of the bed and divide by 3.  I make a two step unit with the bed being the third step.  That way the steps don't stick out to far from the bed (although I still crash into them once in a while).  When I had a taller bed (and a bigger room) I made a three step unit by dividing the height of the bed by 4.  I've made my steps out of plywood and added carpet on each of the steps.

For the furniture like the couch I use a one step stool for Elly.  She can jump up on her own but I don't like her to put the strain on her one back leg.

Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls

Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.

1999 to 2010

 

              Maggie's Story                  Amputation and Chemo

Michigan


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14 October 2016 - 5:18 am
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The one set of steps is 25-inch Tall, 25-inch Deep and 17-inch Wide. Each step is 6 inches apart the step itself is 7 inches deep 17 inches wide. These work the best! We have them at the bed and a set at his window perch.

You will want to carpet at least the step for traction .

I crash into the steps too sometimes. LOL  Im still not used to them being around just yet. 

He will be able to groom that area when stitches come out, well at least we were told Purrkins was Free ! He was allowed to do whatever he wanted. Look out ,then the fun begins! Purrkins was everywhere investigating! Glad its a Saturday. 

Cant wait to see what the kids at shop make Im sure they will be perfect.

Hugs to you both 

Holly & Purrkins

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14 October 2016 - 8:40 pm
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Thanks for the awesome replies with stair info...and I don't have Christmas stuff out, apart from the jumper, don't worry! Unfortunately, today he got around it >.< It's so nice to have this place. Today was not a great day and it's comforting to be able to come here and read positive stuff. 

It was Harry's first day off meds and he told me loud and clear when I got home that he is NOT ready. He was sitting beside me on the bed and started twitching slightly and yowling. Then biting at me. Not hard or angry or playful, but like I'd sat on his paw or something and he was warning me to watch out. I immediately gave him a dose of metacam, prefering to err on the side of caution, but while waiting for it to kick in, he was in an increasing state of "i'm hurting, do something about it!" and ended up leaping off the bed (I'd just added the box spring back) and scampering into the ensuite (ugh, the thump of his hefty weight on that one little leg 🙁 ) . I called the after hours vet again and she suggested refilling his gabapentin and metacam (there's maybe one dose left), so I went racing through the blizzard, in the dark, down rural roads, to pick up the refill so I could get him right back on the gabapentin. Probably could have waited until morning, but my heart was just aching for him. 

Just dosed him (the metacam already seemed to have kicked in) and got him to eat, and sat on the bathroom floor with him for a while, giving some love. He seems fine now. 

It was just scary. I get so anxious about this pain business. The vet was great, though. She says do another three days on the full prescription then gradually dial it back again...only more gradually this time, seeing how he responds. Sigh. I was starting to feel so confident!

Oh well. It's all good now. Mattress back on the floor. Home for the weekend. Incision is looking pretty good. Stairs are on the way (they're doing a 25'' set...I hope of three steps. I hadn't thought about using the bed as the third step to keep them from sticking out too far, but that's ok. Will keep that in mind for living room ones). Breathing. 

Virginia







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14 October 2016 - 9:07 pm
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Yep, B R E A T H I N G is a real good thing!! Eat CHOCOLATE and B R E A T H E...it does wonders! 🙂

You're a really good mom! Going out in the blizzard to get his pain meds filled was so caring!

Glad you have the meds back on track for him. I like the idea of scaling back more slowly after a few days.

Hunker down for the week end...stay safe and warm!

Hugs!

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!

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14 October 2016 - 10:03 pm
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Thanks 🙂 I'm ready to pit in. I've got a full PVR and lots of treats for both of us. 

Livermore, CA




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14 October 2016 - 10:37 pm
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Hang in there.  This is a learning experience for all of us, you are doing your best.

And huge credit for braving a blizzard to pick up meds!

I was happy I could get the pugs out to potty tonight in a light sprinkle big-grin

Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls

Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.

1999 to 2010

 

              Maggie's Story                  Amputation and Chemo

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2 October 2016
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14 October 2016 - 11:06 pm
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Thanks 🙂 I find I'm on super extreme alert for anything and I worry off the charts over each little thing...which is not to say is pain is little, just that I had to do anything I could immediately or go mental, lol. I was also freaked out that he had injured his remaining leg in his big leap because he kept pulling it away and wouldnt stand on it, but he did eventually. It's not like I could tell if he was limping at the moment. He kind of moves like a rabbit, lol. But he seems to be moving ok/as well as yesterday, I think. Anyway, the snow's just getting worse over the weekend so it was probably the best moment for it:P 

Michigan


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15 October 2016 - 6:06 am
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Im sorry you guys had to go thru that! Thats the worst seeing them in pain ,then having to go race to get medicine.

Im glad to hear you were able to get out and Harry is out of pain! Im so glad Sally and Karen helped you thru they are the best!

As we unfortunately have to learn all kitties are different just like dogs and us humans , there is no one size fits all. We were in that category too.

I wish they would send us home with more pain meds rather then less but unfortunately there is a reason for that too.

As for Harry's blog ask your question post in technical support see if someone there can help you. Tell them its word press .

Hugs to you both! It's going to be Better day today;)

Holly & Purrkins 

On The Road


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15 October 2016 - 1:49 pm
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Oh wow that IS an ordeal! I like your vet's suggestion to reintroduce and then gradually reduce again. Hopefully that will work.

Yes do let us know about your question in Technical Support. Sorry I can't seem to find the question in your posts.

Hope this weekend is mellow and restful for you both.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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