Friday, January 16, 2009

Good luck with that!

As posted yesterday, Maya went to the spay and neuter clinic yesterday morning. It was cold and rainy when we left; we covered Maya's carrier with a blanket and piece of plastic to keep her warm and dry. We got to the clinic just before opening, and with just one other animal ahead of us (that had been there since the day before), Maya got #2 position. We filled out the paperwork and were told to come back at noon to pick her up.

Just past 12 noon we were back at the clinic for our baby cat. Maya's cage was on the floor and she was pressed against the door. She was out, still under the influence of the anesthesia apparently.

One of the volunteers came by, and when I said who I was, I could tell by the look on her face that all was not 100% with Maya. I was told that they'd had some problems with her, that her temperature kept dropping and she'd been hard to wake up - they'd had to get Pepe to look at her.

I am a nurse. There is a common perception amongst medical people that nurses and their families are always more trouble than 'normal' people. Meaning we never have a smooth course, we always present a challenge. Apparently Maya was going to support this concept - rather than an uneventful surgery and recovery that probably most other animals experienced, Maya was going to be a worry.

The volunteer gave us the discharge instructions, told me that cats always take longer to come around, and left me with these comforting words - "I'm sure Maya will be fine, good luck".

When we got Maya home I took her out of her cage, wrapped her in a blanket and laid her on the couch beside me. She was cold, breathing shallowly, and still sleeping. I spent the afternoon stimulating her to breath deeper and trying to warm her up. She stirred a couple of times but went right back into a deep sleep.

Around 3 I tried to get Maya to take some water but she was not interested. I put her in her cage while I prepared chicken enchiladas for us. I think the smell of the chicken stimulated Maya and after we'd finished eating she walked out of the cage and went over to the food area of the kitchen. I gave her the softened cat kibbles and she ate a bit.

And so Maya was on the road to recovery. The discharge instructions say not to let the animal run, jump, or climb for a week. Ha! Once Maya recovered from the anesthesia she was all over the place. Gingerly walking at first, but then jumping up to the couch, and then down, and then up on the chair, and then down, and then up on the bed, and then down. I tried to stop her but she was unstoppable. I tried to put her in her cage but she created such a fuss it was probably causing more harm than just letting her do what she felt up to doing.

Last evening Maya discovered her incision. I was shocked to see her not only licking it, but pulling on it. I tried to push her head away and realized she had the skin in her teeth and was serious about getting whatever was there, out. I did not have one of those collars that are used to keep the animal's head from reaching the incision site, but I had a soft little Christmas leg ornament for Loco (a set of 4 that came with his little cap and scarf). The ornament fit around Maya's neck perfectly and gets in the way when she tries to lick that area.



So Maya and I slept in the downstairs bedroom, with a nightlight on so I could keep an eye on her when she jumped off the bed. But mostly she snuggled with me on the bed and we slept moderately well.

Today Maya is running, jumping, and climbing as if nothing happened to her. She has figured out how to get around the little collar and can get to her incision if she really wants to. There is no way I can stop her.

So, discharge instructions are great, but in this case, impossible to enforce. There should be a disclaimer on the bottom - "These instructions are the ideal recovery but...Good luck with that!".

9 comments:

CancunCanuck said...

Sending lots of healing and calming energy to Maya! She sounds feisty, I know she'll be up on the fridge in no time. Good luck!

Ann said...

Glad to hear Maya is improving after a slow start!

Sue said...

Paisana Canuck - Maya thanks you for the healing energy (it worked), and Sue thanks you for the calming energy (but it didn't really work). Maya is feisty and right back to normal, amazing as that seems. Not on top of the fridge though - maybe she forgot about that little trick?

Ann - thanks!

Anonymous said...

Oh my...the first part of your note had me worried! I am glad that Maya is on the mend...and what a little cutie with that collar! Very creative solution.

Islagringo said...

I too thought you were going to give us bad news. Glad it was just the opposite. Doing anything medically with a cat is such a pain, figuratively and literally!

Scottozoid said...

Maya is a maniac (of course I mean that in the nicest possible way) and it is good news to hear that she has survived and is getting back up to speed (and I mean that literally)

I can't believe it was only last Friday night I slept in the Minina Suite (my Trip Advisor report is on the way) After a great nights sleep in the best bed I ever slept on in Mexico, I opened the door to get a glass of water about 5:30am...this tiny little streak of fur zoomed past my ankles and into the room...it was our Maya and she was bouncing off the walls with all that kinetic kitten energy...Minina and Luna followed behind, and soon I was engulfed with Kitty Love...

Maya just had to go check out the bathroom and I got a couple of photos of her playing in that giant bathtub...I will send one to you soon...

Later, I had to fetch Maya from the terrace...I swear she was about to leap off, I think she wanted to see if she could fly...

I just want to let you and all the readers and friends of your blog know that your animals are as welcoming as you and Miguel are!

I'm glad, though, that Miguel is in charge of breakfast and not the cats...

Life's a Beach! said...

Hope Maya is recovering quickly! Her little Santa cape looks much more stylish than an ordinary vetinary cone! :)

Sue said...

Salome and IslaGringo - sorry to scare you, I just wanted to write sequentially. She's fine.

Scott - 'maniac' is a good word to describe Maya; she is just as crazy as Loco. Thanks for sharing that story of the cat invasion - I can picture it well (which is why I want those doors to block the access to the stairs, so they don't invade our guests).

Beck - the 'cape' only lasted one night, but that was long enough I think to keep Maya from focusing on the wound. She has not worn the cape since the next day when she figured out how to pull it off, but her wound is fine and she did not pull out the suture.

Scottozoid said...

Funny you should say "Maya is as crazy as Loco" watching the two of them play together is better than anything on Animal Planet on the TV!

What is really great about watching them wrestle is that both of them are intensely focused but both of them "hold back" on the claws and teeth, just enough to not hurt each other, in other words, they both know it is a game. That was so cool to watch.

We should make our politicians sit down and observe how our animals manage to get along with each other!