Thursday, August 10, 2017

Home Comforts

What a day for Parker yesterday was. He spent it at the animal hospital and I picked him up after four o’clock. He looked bloodied and discouraged, his back to the door of the carrier when they brought him out. When he heard me speaking to him, though, he turned and started rubbing his face against my fingers at the bars. He had nine teeth extracted; his mouth was not in good shape. He was already missing a number of teeth, so he doesn’t have many left.


He started purring about ten minutes after I let him out of the carrier at home, but soon began pawing fiercely at his mouth, so I rushed into him some of the pain-killer the hospital gave me for him, and after some minutes of face-stroking and conversation, he was purring again. The veterinary technicians thought he might have to be coaxed to eat, since he had lost so many teeth, but that wasn’t a problem. He wolfed down the first small portion of food I gave him. I waited for any adverse reactions (eg. vomiting) but he was fine, so I fed him little portions through the evening.


Parker was silent during the night, as usual; he was probably exhausted from his ordeal. He was undoubtedly happy to be home. This morning, I fed him a larger amount of nutrition in three portions before I left for work. Also this morning commenced his course of medicine, all liquids by mouth, fortunately. He receives a pain-killer (twice a day), an anti-inflammatory (once a day) and an anti-bacterial medicine (also once a day). I intend to administer most of these in the mornings. This treatment will last four days.


As well, he must receive his usual insulin shots. I checked his numbers this morning, and they were lower than average. This may simply be due to less food in his system and a general reaction to the stress of yesterday; at the hospital, his blood-glucose numbers were quite high. But I will run a curve on him a week from this Saturday; it may be time to adjust his insulin dosage downward. We’ll see.

For now, he must be given his medicine, which he dislikes. I try to inject the syringe-full of liquid slowly and gently each time, but he doesn’t lie still for it, so I have to be swift. He struggles against the syringes, so I have to put the medicine in when I can. I think he figures he’s had enough doctoring.

I haven’t seen him drink water since his return, but he had urinated in his litter-box during the night, and he is eating soft-food only right now. Drinking may be a trickier prospect than eating for him; I can’t be sure. He doesn’t have canine teeth anymore to contain his tongue the way it used to be. The poor fellow has to adapt a bit. But he will; cats are marvellous at that.


Last night, he wanted out of the library, and this morning, he was at the library’s window when I came to say good-bye to him, so he is taking an interest in things. That’s a good sign.

The pictures here were recorded yesterday, late afternoon and evening, after Parker’s return. There is blood on his paws that he didn’t want me to wash off. Most of it is gone this morning, so he performed his own ablutions. He is a clean fellow.

16 comments:

  1. Ahhh sweet Parker, you sure have been through and ordeal. I am so glad you are back home and starting to feel better. Continued purrs for rapid recovery.

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  2. Dear Parker. What an ordeal - I suppose the pain will take awhile to abate with time. I sympathize with poor Parker - both Holly and I have been patients in our respective health care settings this summer - both complaining about pain and medications and wearing collars (Holly, not me.) we hope Parker continues to recover. His lovely spirit, though, seems to come through.

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  3. Oh, the sweetheart. I feel for him. Derry and Nicki feel for him! Derry's first dental entailed 9 extractions, Nicki's first was 8. Poor Parker. His mouth should heal quickly (fingers crossed) and yes, he'll adapt. Give him a cuddle from me. The boys send loud purrs. ♥

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  4. Oh, Parker! What an experience, and now a few days of stuff squirted down your throat! Poor kitty, but you look as handsome as ever.

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  5. Parker, all my love sweet boy. And lots of Tennessee snuggles when I get thru my tunnel to you.

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  6. Thanks for the update regarding Parker. Nine teeth extracted - ouch!! Luckily cats can still eat even though they are missing a lot of teeth. (My Joey had to have all of his teeth extracted due to ulcerative stomatitis, and nothing keeps him from eating!) But Parker came through the procedure with no problem, and he has medication to keep him comfortable, and that's that's the important thing. Get well soon, Parker!!

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  7. dood...sorree buddy bout all yur teeth; but if yur mor healthee.....well....hope bye now yur eatin a bit mor N feelin aye oh kay... given ya just came home yesturday....heerz sum good healin wishez frum R pal St francis ....N we R sorree two bout all de UGH...medisin ~~ ♥♥♥

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  8. Good for him. That has to be a rough go for them. Our Lily, (gone now at age 18)had all her teeth removed at age 7 when I rescued her. She had been malnourished and her gums had reacted badly. Within a week of having all teeth removed she was back to eating her crunchies, too. I hope he feels better tonight. xo

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  9. I am glad Parker still wanted to eat. There is a lot of moisture in canned food so he probably doesn't feel thirsty right now.

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  10. I'm glad to know Parker is home and eating and purring, God bless him! Seems a little remiss that he was sent home without adequate analgesia. Thank goodness you were able to give him his pain medication in a timely fashion. Having to introduce something orally into his freshly surgerized mouth must have been traumatic for you both. We are hoping there is a quiet and uneventful night ahead for you both. We're sure you and dear Parker could use a little uninterrupted sleep.

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    1. I have been very fortunate in regards to my cats' dental surgeries. They have all recovered swiftly and without complications. Parker is doing very well, and may be included in that lucky group.

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  11. Dear sweet Parker. He will feel so much better once his mouth has healed, but it is distressing for us when we can't explain to them why we are putting them through it. Thankfully, cats are very forgiving and (hopefully) know we are only doing it to help them. Give him a hug for me.

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  12. poor Parker - that certainly is a rough day. but we know he is in great caring hands and will be feeling better in no time

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  13. I'm glad, that Parker is at home now! He'll definitely feel better now, just give him around a week and he'll be able to eat everything. My cat (also toothless) can eat everything he likes - meat, cans, some time ago he ate dry food (now we're changing cats diet, so he doesn't eat dry food).
    Did I understand well - he's diabetic? It's possible, that the glucose will be lower and higher after narcosis, you have to check it more often than normally. It'll stabilize after few days I think :)
    Hug him from me, he's so brave!

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    1. You are certainly well-versed when it comes to cats. Yes, Parker is diabetic. My veterinary told me that Parker's numbers would vary considerably for a while, so I am checking them before each injection.

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  14. Good boy Parker. Pops was back to normal pretty soon after her teeth were out.

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