TBT: Lori is running around like her tail was on fire. She jumps to the top of the bookcases. She jumped to the shoe rack for the 1st time. She and Laz are bunny-kicking each other. I'm looking for torn sutures hourly. But she seems to be healing fast.
But when she sleeps, she sleeps...
Marley & Lori:
TBT: We are temporarily back online as before but no improvements. Some recent pictures...
LAZ: Is it dinnertime yet?
LORI: we are nappin again!
AYLA: I nap alone. It is peaceful, calm, safe...
MARLEY: I nap on TBT. Well, when not unner the overhang of the waterybed. That's a good spot. The blankies reach almost to the floor. Kinna cavelike. I always liked hide-a-ways.
TBT: Lori seems to be doing fine. We broke all the rules the Vet gave us, though. Lori shoved the inflatable collar off several times, so I gave up on that. But I kept her in The Mews Room overnight. I visited her every hour that night (yawn). By morning, she was hurling herself at the door so violently, I let her out. That seemed to be "rough activity".
Did she come running into my arms? Of course not. She went searching for Laz! They ran around together. Laz had been distressed when Lori was at the Vet and enclosed in The Mews Room. They napped to gather later. Then Lori ran around again for a while. And up and down the stairs.
I cut down on her food some as the Vet recommended. She wasn't thrilled, but her appetite was less. I checked her hourly for any signs of suture damage or leakage, sensitivity around the incision, and bloating. None!
She curled up on my lap later and slept with me parts of the past 2 nights, purring. As far as I can tell, she is healing great and doesn't seem to even be bothered by the operation.
I don't have the Photos app restored on the computer, so sadly no pictures. The computer issues have been updated on the Cavebear's Lair blog, so you can check there if you want to.
TBT: HURRAY, THE OPERATION IS DONE! 😺
I delivered her to the Vet at 8 am. They called at 1:30 to let me know the operation was a success and I could pick her up at 3 (she was still a bit woozy). Got her settled into The Mews Room with a litter box. She hates being closed in the room. Plus, the 1st thing she did was slide the inflatable collar off. I put it back on and she slid it off again. Well, she has never had a collar, so the feeling must have been very annoying. I'll try again once per hour.
The collar worked fine for LC, Ayla, and Iza. I may have to go back and get the dreaded plastic cone. At least she has dissolvable sub-surface stitches, so there is nothing to bite on and pull. I'll have to watch her frequently to make sure she isn't licking or biting at the site.
Either my Vet is unusually cautious or the post-op rules have changed since Iza was spayed. I was given a long list of Dos and Don'ts which seems excessive based on past experience. I've noticed these new Vets are a lot more financial careful and legalistic than "kindly old Dr Miller" was. Things like being 15 minutes late for an appointment or failing to cancel one 24 hours in advance can generate a 10% charge of the estimated visit fee. And there are all kinds of "it's not our fault" clauses in the visit document I sign before leaving a cat.
I don't know what the Ownership/Management structure is, but there has to be a lawyer with an MBA involved, LOL! On the other hand, they sometimes do or give free stuff.
So, The List (briefly):
1. No contact with the other Mews for 24 hours and no "excitement".
2. 1/2 food and water until Wensday am. And it warns that Lori's appetite may decrease permanently.
3. Not much exercise, no rough play, and no stairs for 10-14 days (yeah right).
4. She should wear an isolation collar 10-14 days . I think I've already lost that battle, perhaps persistence will work.
5. Oral pain medication 5-7 days (oh joy).
6. A warning that the sedatives and anesthetic can cause Ileus (basically, "all sorts of digestive issues").
7. And then at the bottom of the page it says "Special Instructions: None Needed". What was all that stuff above? ;)
I think a lot of the instructions are aimed more at dogs. "No exercise or rough play", for example, seems more like a dog thing.
The important thing is that the platelet "problem" was cleared up and Lori has had her operation. It was a close thing though. The Vet had mentioned that she prefers not to do a spay until 4 weeks after a last heat. Well, Lori had 3 heat cycles in 7 weeks, so that was never going to happen. And never while a cat was in heat. But she admitted that she had done sone spays on cats "still with swollen organs" (her words, not mine) and that Lori was an unusual case so she would.
In fact, she was in heat all last week and even last night was still having some infrequent calling sessions. Her last Yowling was after midnight and I was worried the Vet would refuse to operate yet again. But she was quiet this morning and I was very careful to not mention the most recent cycle. By 11 am today, I decided they would have called by then if refusing to operate, so I cheered silently to myself, sure that the operation was over.
So it seems everything has gone OK. Thank you to all the cats and people (and a couple of doggies, I think) who have commiserated or wished her (and me) well these past 2 months. LC and Iza got their spays without problems. Ayla and Lori didn't. Not their fault of course. Spay operations aren't exactly "natural events".
Time to visit Lori again in the Mews Room... Assure her everything is OK, and she probably will never have another operation. That she is OK and will feel happier the rest of her life. Tell her I'm sorry she had to feel some pain. Give her a couple of spoons of her favorite food (Fancy Feast chicken in creamy sauce) and promise more later.
LAZ: Lori and I are nappin Easy but separate (shes "restless though at rest").
THE MEWS: First, we want to thank those who made suggestions about quiet cat waterfountains. Aunty loved them and is thrilled with the one she chose among the recommended.
Now she wants suggestions about cat doors. And we do too. She loves cats, but isn't a blogger. TBT have the idea of cutting a piece of plywood to fit in the deck door when slightly opened to allow US to get in and out at will (when Lori is allowed out this Summer).
Any suggestions? We would sure love to go in and out as we desire.
The glass and the screen stops us...
Yes, that was a Marley stand-in on St Catricks Day. Darn close though. MOL!
This week in 2010... Ayla and Iza could still share The Lap then.
LORI: First ME... Guess who is in heat AGAIN!
TBT: Megan asked about platelet clumping. I found this...
"Platelet clumping occurs when the blood platelets responsible for coagulation stick to one another to form clusters. The presence of platelet clumping has no clinical consequences other than preventing instruments from properly counting blood platelets."
Apparently platelet-counting equipment ignores clumps because they are too large. Manual counting is required. Which my Vet says she did BTW. She may never has seen clumps before, though. It is pretty unusual.
I found a site that mentioned 1 per 2000 individuals. I think that was for humans, but may be about the same for other animals.
TBT: Nothing went bad, but nothing went good either. Her blood platelet count is still too low to operate. The Vet is certain her equipment is accurate (and discussed it with a technician). She certainly does blood tests on other cats and it must give normal results for them. And she said she again did a manual microscope slide platelet count (as she did at the 1st visit).
She suspects Lori has a lingering infection that is causing the low platelet production, but that there are some tests she can't do herself. So, she has sent a separate blood sample to a feline pathologist for verification or more information.
Most of the usual infections/conditions are unlikely. All The Mews are fully vaccinated and Lori has never even been outside. The other Mews seem utterly healthy. And as the Vet said "Lori is a house-raised purebreed, not a street-cat you rescued. No offense to former street-cats, but yeah, she just hasn't been exposed to much of "the dirty outside world".
The pathologist may discover a problem. I both hope and fear he (the Vet said "he") will discover the problem. Hope, for a possible resolution; fear that it may be very serious and permanent.
I remain a bit uncertain about the Vets (there are 2 at the clinic. I "inherited" them 2 years ago from the previous Vet who solved everything for 35 years. I'm not saying they aren't fully-able, but 2 years is not 35 years. And until now, it has all been very routine exams and shots. And this might be a situation that would challenge the best Vet.
Vets know about animal stuff. I am no Vet. But I was an analyst on many subjects for 30 years with the US Govt. I know how to do research and pick up information quickly. So I researched cat low platelet count at a dozen reputable sites. There are things about this "low platelet count" that don't make sense.
I mentioned in a previous post that Lori had no symptoms of low platelet count. She continues not to, and the Vet agrees (though possibly thinking I am shading the truth). Well, no medical expert ever loves an amateur... But I went down the list I had while talking to her on the phone. Lori has NO symptoms of low platelet count other than a lab test and manual count.
I asked her the most obvious question last. If Lori has a low platelet count that causes excessive bleeding, shouldn't she bleed from the blood sample extractions (and she didn't). She agrees that "it doesn't make sense". But she WOULD find the cause.
Not that it stops me from learning about a subject. There are illness possibilities, physical problem possibilities, and idiopathic possibilities.
1. Lori has been vaccinated against most of the diseases that can cause low platelets. I say "most" because (apparently) there are some rare ones with no vaccines available. Some have meds to solve it.
2. There are some physical problems possible. A non-fully functional spleen is one (the spleen stores platelets - among other things - for release as required). An over-active spleen can also destroy platelets thinking there is too many. Bone marrow produces platelets; bone marrow cancer can stop that. An over-active immune response can also reduce platelet count. There are others rarer.
3. Idiopathic just means "no known cause" (and maybe genetic?). And by definition, not fixable.
So here we are, waiting for pathology lab results and wondering what the future will bring. Lori seems perfectly happy and healthy otherwise.
Any information, similar experience, or suggestions are welcome. If it is long, the email is on the sideboard.
*SIGH*
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!
The Vet clinic just called. The pathologist said Lori had "clumps of platelets" but nothing to worry about! She has plenty of them. She will get spayed March 21st.
I KNEW she was fine about the platelets. I just had to make the Vet realize it. If you sense a certain glee at this outcome, you are not wrong.
Doctors and Vets are trained to look for horses, not zebras. Meaning that they look for the expected, not the rare. But rare exists.
Dr. Theodore Woodward, a former professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, coined this term in the late 1940s. He explained that since horses are the most commonly encountered hoofed animal for most people and zebras are hoofed animals that are less likely encountered; one would naturally guess that the hoof beats belong to a horse and not a Zebra. That how Drs diagnose problems. The likliest is likliest.
Lori is the Zebra... I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. Nothing else made sense. In my career, I could always see the "Zebras". One small wrong assumption always got to me and I found the "why".
I will not say this to the Vet. She knows. And she would have been right 99 of 100 times and I expect to have years of good regular care for The Mews from her. But I saw the 1 and it was confirmed.
A friend once said my middle name should be "Persistence". Yeah, he got that right...
But, for now, Lori gets her spay operation from a skilled and caring Vet in a week, and that's really all I care about.
Tonight I will have a good steak dinner about the good news. Lori will share it...
TBT
MARLEY: I'm resting today. It is raining and the weather people say snow will follow. Laz went out briefly but came back in fast.
This week in 2011, the Mews Room had just been set up. There were the old platform tree, huts, beds, and toys everywhere. We explored with great innerest!
We mostly eat separate from Marley. If we dont, he just sucks up evrykitties food. But sometimes we are right there in the kitchen and TBT puts our bowls down there. Well, as long as he is there to keep Marley to his own bowl, its OK...
LAZ: I sure love wrasslin with Lori. She plays HARD.
Lori has been a joy to me. I had a hard time before here. And I wasn't really nice ta Ayla. But TBT talked to me for months and I calmed down.
And then came Lori! Wow, she is as energetic as I am and runs around all crazy-like too. I sure am glad TBT found her...
LORI: I had a good nap earlier. The back of the TV chair is wide an soft, an the towel makes it wider and softer!
