Noon and time for Izzy's anit-inflammatory. As soon as the kennel door was open, he shot out of it, faster than anyone could imagine. Across the floor he hobbled and slid. Poor wee man.

At the moment I am looking at a miffed cat. Mom isn't too happy either. He is very, very uncooperative about taking his meds. I managed to get about a third of his dose into him and up came the front leg then he smacked the syringe out of my hand with that seven toed paw of his.

I am frustrated. He still won't eat and judging by looks I'm getting, I'm not his favorite person right now. Venting here is helping me but I'm not sure how to help him right now...

Hi Jerry

Izzy has been given liquid meds - I did find a video showing the best way to administer them however the cat in the video was a lot more cooperative than our little boy. We'll get it down to a science though.

Thanks for the 'medicine in food' tips - not sure if he'd be tempted though, meat isn't one of his favorites. Just our luck, we have a vegetarian cat! LOL  He does like his crunchies though.

The t-shirt idea is a good one. I may just try that, thanks.

I haven't been able to get any of the books yet, between Balou's trip to the Rainbow Bridge, Izzy's X-Rays and Izzy's surgery we've gone through all we had put away and then some.  We've had a rough couple years ourselves with medical issues and ya da ya da ya da. I won't go into it all and we're OK now. However, as soon as I can I plan to get the Cool Tips for Tripawd Cats book.

OMG, I was sitting here playing a MMO, looked up at Izzy and had a complete meltdown. Emotions sure run high when you're going through this. I almost wish the vet's could have kept him a couple of days so he would be past this stage before we saw him. He looks so folorn right now. My heart aches for him. 

Words cannot express how helpful your site is. And how much it helps me to just write all this down. Thank you!

Day 2

(Early morning) Izzy still not eating - when I offered food and water this morning, Izzy took a sniff then turned around and hid his head in the corner of the kennel.  I put both food and water on the floor outside the kennel and left the door open. 

OK, time to call the vet. I told them he hadn't eaten or had any water and that he was listlessly laying in the kennel looking sad. They assured me they'd get back to me asap.

A bit later, I sat on the floor and started talking to Izzy. He sat up and started to chirp back at me (he has the softest meow) so I figured I'd try the food and water routine again. He drank a bit of water and had maybe six crunchies. It's a start. 

During the day, I've offered the food and water about every hour. Thankfully, he has had more of both. Can you say relief! Whew! He hasn't, however ventured out of the kennel on his own. I figure we'll cross one hurdle at a time though - today's was to get him eating and drinking. 

The vet called back, they want to lower the dose of Izzy's Gabapentin a bit since it could the med making him too groggy to want to do anything. We're to touch base tomorrow to let them know how things are going, if they don't feel he's eaten enough they will want to see him.

As a side note here, we share our home with one other cat. Roo, she's a 16 year old mini-meeze. She maybe weighs five pounds. She's a sweet cat, loves both her humans but she's Izzy's cat. She is always by his side and follows him everywhere he goes. This has been difficult for her too. She went into hiding after we brought Izzy home from surgery (I imagine the sight of the crate was part of the reason). I was worried that she wasn't eating (oh boy! two of them on hunger strike!) then I noticed the food bowls were less full so she's sneaking out at night to eat. She's been more visible today and received lots of hugs and pettings from both humans.

Here's hoping day 3 brings more positive news. Thanks for listening

Thanks for the kitty compliments everyone!

Day 3 after surgery. Got my after dinner coffee here and Izzy napping on the couch beside me.

I cannot believe that this is the same cat we brought home from surgery just two days ago!!

Vet's instructions said to limit activity for 10-14 days which hasn't been a problem with Izzy reluctant to leave the kennel. At night, I put the kennel on top of my dresser next to where I sleep so I can listen for him.

This morning when I woke up I heard the soft 'me-ow' of our boy. He's not an overly vocal cat but when he does have something to say he either chirps or says me-ow. Got up, took the kennel out to the livingroom and opened the door. Holy cats! Out he shot and right into the kitchen to the food bowls. I was stunned at how fast he moved.  He seems to have re-found his legs. And his appetite. Whew!

We also managed a trip to the litter box for a tinkle. Since Izzy is a good sized cat, we ditched the normal size ltiter box ages ago. Instead we picked up a couple of plastic craft storage boxes. They are maybe five inches in height and large enough for Izzy to turn around in (or for about four Roos to fit in) We were wondering about him being able to access the litter box but that doesn't seem to be a problem. (yay!)

He's come so far in just two days!! I am truly amazed. And boy, is he ever affectionate now (he was before but now he's turning into a real cling-on) Not that that is a bad thing.

Another step in the right direction but there are still concerns. 

Izzy likes to jump up on furniture and some of his favorite perches are quite high (say, four feet and higher) Jumping up isn't an issue with his strong hind legs, it's the jumping down that worries us and we certainly don't want him jumping at all until his incision is healed. Just keeping watch on him today has worn both of us out - it's like living with a toddler, he needs constant supervision (unless he's napping)

Then there's the biopsy results...the waiting really is the hardest part. But we'll deal with that when we get there, no sense borrowing trouble.

Thanks again for all your comments and kind words. They give me strength. Thanks for listening