Day 4 AA

Well, things move apace. Freya managed to crack the e-collar last night and I had to watch closely while a cat groomed itself after three days in a collar. Do you know how long that took? It felt like hours!!!!!!! Anyway, she did move over the incision and I shooed her away but over the course of the day I have seen her lick a bit over it but it seems to only be as part of the overall grooming and not focused on that area. So I will watch and observe. The collar can be repaired at any time (the vet didn’t have any small ones left).

She is still taking the antibiotics in her food, and I am still giving her the pain killer.  Her incision is looking really good I think. The vet, who I stopped by this morning, also confirmed that she won’t have to go back to get any stitches out and that is great news. I highly suspect that is because Freya is a ‘difficult’ patient and no repeat visit is a relief not only to the cat in this instance LOL.

Today it became obvious that Freya is sometimes, but only sometimes, exceeding her reach. I posted a photo yesterday of her scaling the cat chair but that she tottered a bit and came down pretty quick. Well, I shored up the chair and she was up it again and that was great.  However she also tried to get back into a favourite box to curl up and her leg got caught (she had successfully got inside it earlier in the day). And then she tried to get on the table – using a chair which was good – but the Xmas tablecloth I have was slippery and she jumped up on an angle and it didn’t end well. She then tried to jump up on the couch but straight onto me as opposed to the cushion and that was a struggle for her, so I think we have found her current jump limit. Now, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t take these things too seriously, as she made an effort to get in the favourite box again (which I made one side shorter) and is curled up there now.  But seeing her try things and not succeed gets you right <thump> here. But she is doing so well overall, especially when I think that it is only 4 days since her operation!! But for tonight I will close off the rest of the downstairs again and possibly tomorrow when she moves to the loungeroom I’ll leave her in there while I head to a friend’s for Xmas dinner.

Speaking of unsupervised, I went to work today for four hours and was like a new parent (I guess, not being a parent) where I was showing the photos of her progress to anyone who stood still long enough!  They were all suitably appreciative of course. FYI I left Freya fortified in the loungeroom with all supplies needed but still headed home as soon as possible – to find her curled up on a chair with that ‘why did you burst into the room like that’ look.

Some observations for new feline three legged cats:

1. There is a definite need to impose jumping limits and close observation is a good idea for the first few days. Seeing them try and succeed is a fantastic feeling, but be prepared for them trying and failing – it’s tough to see but it will be how they adjust.
2. Consider having a litter tray in each room you are allowing your cat to visit until they get stronger. I now have three over the ground floor, her usual spot in the downstairs bathroom, one in the room we are sleeping in and one in the loungeroom. Freya is using the one in the loungeroom most during daytime hours and the one in the bedroom or the bathroom (not that far away) in the evening.

For those not in the know, Freya has actually adjusted her posture to be more secure on the bar. Clever kitty!

And here, she was in her favourite box no worries (see the crinkly paper inside?) but later she had trouble so I folded one of the sides over and she is in there right now.

ETA: She has just now left the box and joined me on the couch, jumping straight to the cushions and not onto me – I repeat, clever kitty.