The Surgery's Aftermath

Valkyrie did well in her surgery yesterday. The procedure proceeded as it should, and she is now recovering.

She was quiet at the hospital and during the journey home, but once here, she became energetic and vocal. She is being kept with Sable in the cat-room, but that wasn’t to Valk’s liking. For the first hour or so, she banged on the closed door while other cats - especially her pal, Xandria - wondered what was going on.

After I spent some time with her, however, she calmed a little. She was very happy to be home again, and kept rubbing on me, bumping against me, rolling and twisting, kneading the air and purring.

My main concern was her incision, of course. She pried her cone off four times in a couple of hours. I couldn’t secure it more tightly without strangling her. But I watched her while we were together and she wasn’t insistent on licking her wound. Predictably, she removed her cone during the night, too, but her incision looked unattended this morning, so she didn’t cause problems even when she had access to it. However, the pain-killers given to her after her surgery will have worn off by the time I return home; I hope she doesn’t feel too much discomfort until then. If so, she may try licking the wound.

I was also worried that Sable would be upset by Val’s incarceration in the cat-room with her. Certainly, Sabe stayed in her enclosed cat-bed the whole time that I was in the room. But this morning, the litter-box was in a very messy state, with litter thrown out and urine balls smashed into small, inconvenient pieces. These are Sable’s trademarks. She also pooped too large for it to be mistaken for Valkyrie’s deposits. As well, it looked like Sabe had eaten a good portion of the soft-food left for her, and probably much of the hard-food. While her temporary roommate is likely a bother for her, Sable isn’t so disturbed as to have her bodily functions disrupted. And whether she wants it or not, she will have to become acquainted with her fellow beasts sooner or later.

This state of affairs will continue until Saturday, when Valk will be released. I will keep an eye on her, though, and if her shenanigans with Xandria become too rambunctious, I may have to separate them again.

All in all, then, the surgery and its aftermath have gone well. Though problems can still arise, the chances become slimmer with each day.