Sassy cats – The healing goes on

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Gus: It’s been a rough two weeks!

It’s the peep again. Gracie is taking a sabbatical of sorts but promised to return next week.

Gus went back to the vet to get his stitches out this week. (Back story – Man cat Gus had surgery two weeks ago to correct urinary obstruction issues. The surgery was on his man bits.)

After two weeks of wearing a surgical cone and no ability to clean the booty, it stank. (Stink, stank, stunk!) I asked the vet tech if they could clean him up and they did. I couldn’t believe how good he smelled afterward.

The vet said all was good. He’s healing as expected but I should keep the cone on for a few more days. He “suggested” until the weekend. It was Tuesday. On the drive home, I discussed what “weekend” could mean with the beloved husband. I landed on Thursday morning as the weekend. (The beloved husband had no opinion on this, wisely staying mute while I mulled this over.) I would keep him coned (and hope he didn’t re-stink) until Thursday before breakfast.

He stayed coned all day Tuesday but on Wednesday morning, after breakfast (the cone comes off so he can eat), he refused to have the cone put on him. I chased him around the cat room. He had enough. In the end, I was more worried about stressing him or hurting the surgical area and I let it go. I thought I’d try later but he was wary of me all day. He didn’t climb in my lap. When I fed him, he waited until I moved away before he ate. He kept out of my “handling” distance.

Sometimes you have to listen to the cat. The wash he had at the vet loosened up most of the scabs and by Wednesday very few were left. He’s a cat so he was going to check it out and make sure he didn’t end up stinking again. By the end of day the very few tiny ones were gone.

Sasha was delighted to have her boy toy back again and this time he didn’t stink. All is right in her world.

I must learn how to manage food. He should be on a urinary track diet. I have four cats who eat each other’s food. Either they all eat the UR food or Gus will steal non-UR food. We’ll figure it out. He needs a dental, but he also needs a break from all things vet-related (and so do I!). When we go in for the pre-dental exam in a month or two, I’ll discuss diet with his primary vet. (The surgeon said advice about food was not in his wheelhouse.)

We are hopeful that the surgery will eliminate the UR episodes completely with or without a special diet.

Gus thanks you all for your hugs, purrs, barks and general caring. We hope with this trauma done, we can return to a more normal life (or as normal as we get).

Happy together!

63 thoughts on “Sassy cats – The healing goes on”

  4. Gosh I would have moved “the weekend” up like you did too – after all there’s only so much “cone time” a cat (and his human) can handle. Sounds like it all worked out and Gus is no longer “Mr. Stinky”. Maybe the surgery has changed things for him and the special diet he’s supposed to be on but hates won’t be needed (or needed less – like maybe mixed with a little bit of something he DOES like?). Good luck!

    Hugs, Pam

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    • We are officially at the weekend and nothing bad seems to have happened. We’re working on the diet thing. I’m mixing it up and feeding everyone the same thing so they even if they “steal” from each other, they get the same thing. Fingers crossed.

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  12. So did he have unblockage surgery or unmanning surgery? Poor baby. I feed Meesker separate because of his urinary food. All the other cats are now on special diet which sadly for bunnies is rabbit. I might need to start taking in laundry or something.

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    • They removed his penis and widened his urethra. It’s difficult with multiple pets. I’m working to get into a routine where I can feed all the cats the same food (that I can afford and they will actually eat!). The UR brand that I am using has chicken, turkey, chicken and beef, ocean whitefish and salmon flavors. I try to keep the seafood to a minimum and rotate among the rest. When I was trying to find a food that Gracie wouldn’t barf, I tried duck and limited ingredients. Sadly that dang cat won’t eat anything but rotisserie chicken and Fancy Feast chicken. I put up with the barfing these days.

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  13. You and Gus both need a break from all things vet for a little bit. Hopefully his dental can wait. I wonder if you can mix some of the UR food with other foods and they could all eat it.

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    • What I have been doing since he came home is to feed them all the same thing. Two days UR food, then the next regular. The other cats (Gracie excluded because she won’t eat much of anything) are eating the UR food as long as I keep switching it up. Gus initially liked it but then when I fed him the same flavor every day (chicken is his favorite in other foods), he stopped eating it. One reason to visit my old vet for a pre-dental consultation would be to talk about the PU surgery and food. The surgeon did not give me any info on that. I’ve read a lot of conflicting articles on-line. Most recommend UR diets but they talk about those cats who won’t eat them and the stats don’t show a difference in outcomes. They suggest he drink more water. We had that conversation and he gave me a side-eye. His obstruction is idiopathic. It is not caused by crystals or stones. I wouldn’t do a dental until summer at the earliest unless his teeth are hurting. Poor guy has been through so much but he is back to his old self, bouncing around. His back end is bare. He needs a toupee.

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    • I’m more worried about Gus preferring their food if they are not on the same food. Right now they play musical food dishes at meal time. If I put all of them on the UT food, it will be very expensive. I’m wondering if I can do a mix.

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  16. You’ve done a wonderful job of taking care of Gus. And Kudos to your wise husband for staying quiet while you mulled over the cone usage. 😉 Hope you, the hubs and all the kitties have a wonderful weekend (gonna be warm here).

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  17. Such great news! Gus looks like he is still on happy meds or just sleepy. I bet Gus is really thankful to not be a stinker! I am glad he made the decision about the cone… he was over it! It’s great to see him and Sasha “happy together.” Let out a long sigh… that was quite a long road for the Sassy Cats and the Peeps. I hope you are feeling the relief, Kate. OhMyGosh, I just read about the pre-dental exam! Enjoy your weekend, Sassy cats and Peeps!

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    • This journey started right before Christmas and Gus ended it on Wednesday. It was a long stressful time. I’m no good when my cats go under anesthesia and this was a serious op. Glad it’s all over and hope it works! Dental may be a few months down the road. I’m so not ready and neither is Gus.

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  21. Yay! No cone and no stink. What a relief. My son is always wanting to give the cat a bath and I am always telling him you only do it when absolutely necessary (i.e., they get in something potentially toxic). But I have been known to use a pet wipe!

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  23. oh how great that you can share such good news.. and that the vet tech cleaned your boy so he will hate the vet crew and not you… well done… have a super weekend… it is probably even a long one when it started thursday :o))

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  24. I’m so glad to see Gus and Sasha back together again – and cone free! That has to make everyone happy. I wouldn’t think that UR food would be bad for the other cats if you can find one that doesn’t require breaking rare Ming vases and that they all will eat. At least there are a lot of choices these days. But I’m with you and hope that the surgery has fixed the issue with or without the special food. Sammy (who didn’t have to wear a cone, I’m not sure they even had cats for cones back then) continued on his usual science diet and never had any trouble with the area again. So good luck to you all and please allow yourself to relax.

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    • You say usual science diet. Was that UR specific or just regular food. The other cats like the UR food but my pocketbook doesn’t. It will more than double the pet food costs. The cone was awful. I tried different ones but they were all awful. He doesn’t like his whiskers scrunched and he had balance issues. I don’t always follow cone instructions because I believe vets (especially the younger ones) are cone-happy. In this case, I thought it prudent that I followed instructions so he wouldn’t chew on the area. I also thought that 2 weeks was enough. I would have done another 2 days but Gus wasn’t having any of it.

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      • This would have been in the mid 90’s which was the beginning of special diets. As far as I can remember, Sam ate regular science diet. I’m not sure they changed it even when he became diabetic a few years later and took insulin. He was one of the lucky cats who did really well on insulin and lived out a long life. I think he was around twenty when he died.

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        • My cat Jake was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 9. He lived to be 18. He was on Lantas and was tightly regulated. He did very well too. The only diet change I made for him was to keep him off of seafood. That was easy.

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