Apparently we are bad cat parents because we don’t brush Nala and Tundra’s teeth. Although I am sure you will find that hardly anyone brushes their cat’s teeth. Cats are not the most cooperative of creatures, and putting objects or fingers into their mouths is really pretty much next to impossible and kind of dumb.
Well, somehow Nala managed to develop periodontal disease or some such thing and her teeth were so bad that the vet had to clean them and actually extract 2. At the same time the vet said he could “pop” off the cyst on Nala’s shoulder that is probably benign, but rather large.
So, in Nala went for surgery and a teeth cleaning. The teeth cleaning was pretty much a non event, but the surgery, oh boy.
(If talk of surgery, stiches, blood bothers you, you may not want to continue on.)
They shaved the hair off half of Nala’s side and made a pretty big incision. She had some bleeding right when the vet finished up, so she ended up with a pretty big bruise as well.
To prevent Nala from picking at the stiches we had two choices. An Elizabethan collar or a onesie (that babies wear).
Well, we tried the onesie. We tried cutting some of it off because she kept stepping on the part that was hanging down and walking right out of it. We tried tightening it, but it restricted her walking. No matter what, she looked pretty darn cute in it.
Sadly, she has been forced to wear the collar when we aren’t able to keep constant watch over her. At first she was pretty mad at us about it, but seems to have somewhat gotten used to it.
Even with both the collar and onesie, she still managed to pull out a bunch of stiches. At the rate she is going, we won’t need to go back to the vet for removal because she will have taken care of it for him.
Now we are just wondering how long it will take to grow the hair back!
Monday | January 31, 2005 at 11:06 am
Nala –
I hope you feel better soon. Tell your mommy and daddy that I have bad teeth and breath, too. After the vet figures out why I got sick in December, he says he wants to do something about my teeth. It’s bad enough he keeps sticking me with needles and taking blood, now he wants to clean that yummy gunk off my teeth, too??
Oh well, he’s a good guy and I like him anyway. He gives me cookies.
Mommy told Pat (the vet’s helper) about Nala’s onesie. Pat hadn’t heard of that before. Dr. Webb and Pat both said that cat’s are pretty creative about removing stitches. Does your vet give you good treats, too? I figure as long as they give me treats, it can’t be too bad.
Hope you feel better soon.
Love, Sarah
Monday | January 31, 2005 at 4:09 pm
I might have semantic quibbles, but basically I am relieved. Explanations:
Dave Barry referred to the “Elizabethan” as a “satellite dish”. Since he is retired, at least for now, that need not be definitive.
The “onesie” appears to me to be a “nightshirt”, but the “cute” comment seems right and will not be questioned.
Now the relief: From the title, I thought I was clicking on this link for an obituary or eulogy or some such thing — for the first cat I ever enjoyed after Pouncer bit me in (the hand, yes, but what’s the date?) August 14, 1998, I think. I wish Nala a long, healthy life and am glad she’s alive now.
Wednesday | February 2, 2005 at 3:25 pm
I also thought Nala was no longer with us. Don’t do that ever again! Can’t help but laugh at the pics, though. Good luck, Nala and stay well!
Wednesday | February 2, 2005 at 9:21 pm
Poor Kitty!! I hope that Nala (and her people) are starting to feel better. Does she get HBO on that thing (ha, ha)? - Joe and Wendy (and Jasmine)