Saturday, January 4, 2014

The weird and the wonderful

(This is a repost from two Facebook posts... I apologize, but I haven't had much sleep - stayed up most of the night to keep and eye on Tux  - and I'm too tired to type it all again...)


The wonderful:
Progress already! They really mean it when they say cats are adaptable.

Our entire house is tiled, not a carpet in sight. Not only does that mean it's cold on kitty toes (as well as human ones) it's pretty darn slippery for a cat who's trying to get back on three feet. After a morning of watching him struggle, I went out to the hardware store and got a couple of cheap indoor/outdoor carpets - each one five feet long. I made a made a path from his cat bed to the litter box. I was hoping it would give him a little more traction and make it easier to steady himself.

He must have figured what I was about, because he immediately hopped out of his bed and onto the carpet.

I went to the kitchen to fix him dinner (catfood slurry - he's not drinking on his own yet and I needed to get some water in him).

As soon as I appeared from the kitchen, he walk/hopped the full length of the carpet to my feet. I called Dave down to see. When I moved to the other end of the carpet.... he walk/hopped it again. (the whole length is about 10 feet).

Amazing!


The weird:
One of the apparent side effects of Tux's procedure is that he's sleeping with his eyes open. It's really freaky.


It's one of the reasons I was up with him most of the night (aside from the uncomfortable futon and the little jerk Rocky-cat who was making a tonne of noise), I wanted to see if he was ever going to close his eyes. He does blink and he'll close them if you rub his face.

The vet called this morning to check up on him and I mentioned it - she said it could be a side effect of the pain medication they gave him - it can sometimes mess with their eyes. In the picture to the left, he is actually asleep.


I've got to keep any eye on him and put in artificial tears if they start to get dry. 

14 comments:

Samantha said...

Funny -- as I was reading this post the song What a Wonderful World came on. How fitting. Hooray for Tux! I guess he didn't like the title of Sock Puppet. Now you're going to have to call him Super Tux.

Bridget said...

This makes me all kinds of happy! We'll keep all of you in our thoughts and prayers, and hope for the continued best!

9crafty11 said...

What a relief for you that he's able & willing to move around. Hope it's a positive sign for you that all will be well for Tux. Hope you're also able to relax soon without the stress of it all hanging over you!!

kathy b said...

YOu are a smart cat lover. The carpet was brilliant.
Sweet snuggles to your recovering Tux. he's gonna amaze you ! and yes you must now call him SuperTux

Araignee said...

That's a lot of progress in a short time. What an inspiration he is. I hope you can get some stress free rest soon. I've been up all night for days with the pup with the belly ache so I can relate. She's doing better but it's going to take me days to recover.

Rachelle said...

Being able and willing to move around again is a great sign and it'll be good for him to get the blood flowing too; helps the healing process. Also might mean he'll get to the toilet under his own steam too.

Sue said...

Tux seems to be doing really well after his surgery. I hope he continues to do so and will his eyes close again when he sleeps once he is off medication? He is lucky to have such an awesome mum who loves him so much.

Unknown said...

good mommy getting him his own carpeted runway. That was brilliant and what a bonus for him as he already figured out how to walk/hop on it.
He is making great progress. A major surgery and he is home and getting better.

Delusional Knitter said...

Wonderful! Very good with some traction - that's great he's up and about already. I was telling my hubby about him, we've been thinking about him and sending positive vibes!

Unknown said...

Aw, you're Tux is so cute, hopping around on the carpet showing how thankful he is with his mommy's care! Go Tux!

lexa said...

Glad to hear he's getting around better! That sleeping with the eyes open thing is freaky/creepy, lol. :)

bittenbyknittin said...

Wonderful! Tux is one tough kitty! (This blog post title made me think of "Benny and the Jets".)

Unknown said...

With love, there's progress. What a good mom Tux has...

Minding My Own Stitches said...

Gavin says animals don't dwell on things; they just adapt and do the best they can. I think there might be a lesson there. I also think it's possible that despite the amputation he feels better than he did pre-op. We can't know how he was suffering before. Fingers firmly crossed that every day is better!