So at the moment Gus is kind of interested in the bandage, but not even in an ‘I’m going to tear it off’ way. Just more curious. I definitely will wait until the vets tomorrow, but I’m going to talk to them about it. I think he’s figured out that catching it and rubbing it is what loosened it yesterday. So now he’s pretty much trying to rub it against me to see if it will work. Our vets never used cones, just warned you to keep an eye on them for excessive licking, which they never did. However, they were two days post-op when they came home. He’s drinking (good thing he loves to steal water out of a glass), but I can’t get him to eat (which means he’s not taking his antibiotic), and so far he hasn’t used the box. Although as long as he’s taking a little water I’m not going to freak out as I’m seeing the vet tomorrow morning.

Oh, he freaks out in the cage, so he’s locked up in my bedroom. I’ll have to wash everything afterwards as there’s cat hair everywhere. They don’t usually spend much time in my bedroom (never figured out why), but then to be fair I spend more time downstairs, and even in the summer tend to sleep downstairs (cooler as we don’t run the air conditioning very cold).

Well, off to have lunch and then back to my room. I didn’t bother taking the laptop upstairs because I’m so zonked out from lack of sleep that I’m kind of dozing when I’m there.

- - - - -

I brought him to the kitchen (where he ate last night), but no luck. He tried getting under the table, but with the cone couldn’t fit. He bounced around a couple of times and then tried to flee to a spot in the crawlspace where he likes to hide/sleep. Although he got in you could tell that he couldn’t move around with the cone so he let me lift him back out. So, upstairs he went again. I’ve decided to leave him alone for the moment as I think he’s more active when I’m there (ie. crawling over me and such, won’t settle).

I tossed out the food from this morning (I’d had it back in the fridge a couple of times but concerned it was out for too long), so that’s one skipped dose of antibotic. Later in the day I’ll mix up another dose with the painkiller (got that about 1am last night), and maybe add some salmon oil to it.

Sigh… I know all he wants me to do is take off the freakin’ collar and let him go on his way, but that’s not happening while the bandage is still on.

Now I’m going to see what I’ve had to eat today (not too much) and what I’ll be having later, and then maybe try and nap here downstairs.

- - - - -

So I broke down and took off the cone for a few minutes this afternoon. Mainly because he’s literally just laying on the bed. Moving a couple of feet one way then a couple of feet another. I was hoping that if I took the cone off he might eat or something. What I did confirm is that he’s not lethargic (moved around a lot, jumped up/down, etc.) and double-checked with the clinic about meds. If he’s not eating I’m not supposed to give them to him. I think he’s got an upset tummy (but hasn’t gone to the box yet). I’ve given him water a number of times today and this last time I could hear his stomach making noises as he was finishing up. I really really hope that he gets to the box. I mean I know I’ll have to clean the duvet cover and the sheets anyways (absolutely covered in cat hair), but still… I’d rather not have to do it tonight.

I also tossed Shadow into the room earlier (he’s finally out of the crawlspace a bit) so he’d know where Gus was. He looked around, then hid under the bed. I left him in for a bit, but then chased him out. I was afraid that they would pick this moment to go back to Sunday’s pre-illness fight club that was going on in the morning. That and I want to make sure I know who’s using the box.

I’m not going to break down the food for yesterday and today in detail, but yesterday was:

2075 cals (36% protein, 24% fat, 40% carbs) - should have been ~2250-2300

Today should be:

1658 cals (25% protein, 29% fat, 46% carbs) - should have been ~2000

I’ve logged an apple and a piece of zucchini cake as a snack. I might swap out the cake for a protein shake, but probably not. Sunday definitely should have been higher with the workout, but didn’t quite get there as dinner was pretty much interrupted. I’m not worried about today as I’ve literally done nothing. Some up the stairs / down the stairs kind of stuff, but a lot of laying around (with the cat). When I’m with him he’s usually purring, so I’ve been trying not to leave him alone for too long.

I’m doing laundry now and since I have to be up in the morning to take my mother downtown (routine tests) and then come back for the cat to go to the vet I’m going to try and get to bed at a decent hour.

Well the rest of the day went badly. Gus has an extra pad on his back leg, which has never been a problem. I noticed a while back that he was licking at it more, but partly this is because I think it gets scratched when he’s outside. I’d planned on talking to the vet about it when we went in this year for shots. There was a small scab on it today, which came off, but it looked fine. While we were eating dinner he was licking at it, again no problem. While he was getting his cat treats it started bleeding… a lot. Then he panicked and started running around a lot. So, even though I hated the idea I put him in his cage. I’m actually surprised that he let me. I decided to take him to the urgent care (it’s literally around the corner), so ~$300 later it’s been removed and he’s got a cone on his head (that he’s already managed to loosen once). The drugs they gave me to give them had to be given with food, so to make sure I mixed it into his treat (fancy feast)… and he won’t eat.

So now (even though I feel bad about it) he’s locked in the downstairs bathroom with water, the fancy feast, a couple of towels and his litter box. I went in and tried to get him to eat but putting some on my finger (icky stuff), but lots of purring, but no eating. And of course, Shadow has been traumatized by the whole thing and is off in hiding. Sigh…

Eats okay, in fact possibly low. I’ll likely have something more before I go to bed though. I doubt it’s going to be an early morning though.

- - - - -

(from this morning)

Last night I did let him out, got him to eat a little food (with his meds in it), and he seemed okay for a while, but then freaked out. We have a house on four levels (with no doors between them) and he was running up and down the stairs madly. He would catch the cone on something, freak out and change direction. I finally stopped him in the crawl space, panting heavily, where he’d managed to displace the cone, and locked him up again. So I took a clean box, food, water, and him upstairs into my room and locked the door. He really doesn’t like being locked up. So he spent about an hour under the bed then tried to get out of the room. Eventually I picked him up and put him on the bed with me, where he did settle (this is amazing for a cat that never slows down) and purred through the night. I’m not sure I got much sleep, and to make matters better my allergies are acting up - ummm… I’m allergic to pet fur. So I had to go look for visine at 4am in the morning as my one eye was all puffy.

The bandage is to stay on for 24-hours, the cone for 7-10 days. I’m just not sure how that’s going to work, especially since at the moment I can’t get him to eat or drink. He did do both last night, and we’ll go see our regular vet tomorrow morning, but I think he’s got to be contained until then. I am checking for swelling (isn’t any) and will likely leave the bandage on until tomorrow at the vets. I don’t want to take it off tonight and then end up back at the emergency with him. Although it’s close it is quite expensive ($116/visit minimum).

Has anyone had a cat wear a cone? He’s just completely freaked out by it, and I’m afraid to leave him alone for long. He’s managed twice to loosen it, which is a problem with letting him out of a contained space.

I’m surprised about the cone (understandable for the bandage) needing to stay on so long. When they were both declawed and neutered they weren’t given cones, so I’ll ask the vet about that tomorrow. Of course the little one (Shadow) is now completely freaked out, and hiding in the crawl space. I saw him briefly this morning but when he saw me he went flying back down the stairs.

So I’m not sure how much time I’ll spend with Gus today. He definitely seems calmer when I’m in the room, but I wonder if he’s sleeping much (ie. poised to see if he can escape). Hard to say. If I end up locking myself in the room for most of the day I suppose I can take the laptop and catch up on logs.