Happy 2 week Ampuversary Freya (and two days)

It really doesn’t seem like a fortnight since Freya had her leg amputated – but it certainly has been, and two days extra even.

It has been going so well that I even had a night away on New Years Eve, although I was a bit anxious I must admit. I left Freya in the loungeroom with blocked off access, and set her up with lots of water, food, cat grass, litter trays, etc. When I got home I saw she had pushed the door to the loungeroom so hard that the folded stairs I had against it to keep it closed had fallen over. So she definitely wanted to be out of the room at some point. She was a bit miffed at me, but got all sweet again when I opened a can of food.

And then later that afternoon on New Years Day I removed the barrier to the stairs!

Now, I have been quite worried about the stairs as they are steep. So, I made sure the stairs were obstacle free (removed the candles and flowers that I have at various points along the stairs) and made sure there were assists for her to get on the bed (boxes and such) and sat back.

And waited ……..

And waited ………………..

And waited ……………………………..

Righto. Anti-climax. All psyched up and the cat couldn’t care less – she can be such a feline. Actually, I don’t know if it is a feline versus canine thing but I suspect so.

So after a while I head upstairs to bed (bearing in mind that it would be my first night back upstairs too, as I have been downstairs with Freya all this time – the sacrifices we make) and rationalise that if she hasn’t made her way up before I finished reading then I’ll put the barrier back up so I don’t have to worry. I’m nearly at the end of my reading when I hear the heavier pawfalls I’m having to get used to, and they seemed quite close. And there she was, in the room looking as nonchalant as could be.

The next thing was to see if she could make the jump to the bed. She didn’t seem keen initially and curled up on the floor, but not long after the lights went out I heard her moving and she went to the side of the bed and I looked over and saw her size up the distance, stretch up, dig her claws in and pull/jump up. Well, I was pleased as anything, she came over to me and settled herself down to sleep. She slept all night on the bed, which is what she normally does and which I have been missing. And the following morning as I went downstairs she came barrelling after me at some speed – which is not unexpected as her front legs are fine and they are what give balance heading down – plus food is downstairs! She also took the time to rub against me on the way down, a familiar ritual of ours!

I also got her a new box today (she loves to lie in a cardboard box filled with crinkly paper) as the one she used to use had high sides and she got into it once after the amputation but then got stuck and hasn’t tried again, even though I lowered one of the sides. So, I saw an excellent low sided cardboard candidate out shopping today and brought it home, filled it with paper and it was a success. Feeling pretty pleased. Substitution is not a crime if it makes our newly three-legged doggies/kitties happy!!

Also, I noticed one of her toys (a mouse attached to a short pole) was moved from upstairs to downstairs. This is something she did all the time – I’d leave it one place in the morning and when I got home from work it was somewhere completely different. She hasn’t done that since the operation and today it was moved, and again when I got back from dinner out, it was somewhere different again!! It’s the little things that can make such a difference.

In terms of assistance to get up to things, Freya seems to not want to use them at all. She is comfortable stretching up, sticking her claws in and then pulling/partial jumping to get onto the couch and the bed but that is it. Anything higher she isn’t really trying at the moment and she ignores any assists I leave her (boxes next to chairs, etc) but I’ll keep an eye on that.

Please note that I’ll probably post less frequently now as Freya continues to improve, but I will return to make my observations, never fear!