Woe is me: A post from Princess Daisy Thistlechaser

Oh woe is me, kitties!!! Over the past two weeks I have been poked, prodded, had my teeth stolen, and poked and prodded some more. Settle in and I will tell you my tale of woe. You see, it started with me losing weight. At my prime I weighed about 9 lbs. Mom also noticed that my breath was horrible. She took me to my regular vet. That was about two weeks before Christmas. I was weighed and was down to about 6.5 lbs.  The vet said I was dehydrated too, and that my gums were inflamed. I was given fluids and a B-12 shot. This was one a Monday evening.

I had a more extensive appointment with a different vet at a different clinic on the Thursday of that same week. I had a more thorough exam. The vet agreed that I was underweight. She tried to look in my mouth and I screamed at her. I didn't mean too. It's just that my mouth was really hurting. The technician took me into a different room where they stole some blood and took pictures of my mouth. The vet who examined me wanted the pictures to show to another vet who does the dental surgeries. I was given more fluids and an extended-release shot for pain control.

My lab work came back on that Saturday (December 17). There was nothing unusual there. The dental vet had looked at the pictures of my mouth and said that some of my teeth needed to be removed. She said there was a possibility that all of my teeth would have to go, but she couldn't determine that until she actually got into my mouth. My dental surgery was scheduled for January 3. Mom would drop me off at the office on the evening of January 2.

I had two more visits at my regular vet's office for fluids and B-12 shots. One was on the Friday before Christmas and the other was on the Friday before New Year's.

My dental surgery didn't start until the afternoon of Jan. 3. I did fine, but because it was so late in the day it was decided that I would stay overnight. When the vet spoke with my mom, she told her that I had all of my teeth removed except for my two bottom fangs. Some of the teeth broke off and the vet had to cut the roots out. So I also had stitches in my mouth!!!! Let me tell you kitties, stitches in your mouth sucks!!! I had more fluids and was given a warm blanket and I slept.

Mom picked me up after she got of work the next day. I meowed all the way home! She made a place for me in the spare room, but I hated it. She thought it would be good for me to have a place to stay where the other cats wouldn't bother me. I was so miserable being by myself that I convinced mom to let me out the next day.

I had a follow-up visit at the clinic on Saturday. I had lost weight and now weigh just under 6 lbs. The vet looked in my mouth and said everything was healing nicely. She even found a little food stuck under my upper lip. She rinsed that out for me. I was given more fluids, another B-12 shot, another shot of the long lasting pain meds, and 1/4 of an appetite stimulant tablet. The vet told mom to make sure I stayed on the antibiotic. I perked up quite a bit and yesterday I was more social. I've been grooming, drinking water on my own, and I'm more interested in food.

I'm not out of the woods yet though. The struggle is to get some weight back on. I don't like canned food, so that makes it harder for me to eat. My mouth hurt so much for so long that I'm a little put off by food. But I'm trying to eat so I will feel better.

And now a brief update on mom. Katie Isabella wanted to know how mom was doing since her surgery. Mom is healing up nicely. She had a brief setback by going back to work too soon. She ended up with an infection in one of the incisions. She ended up on another round of Clyndimicin and a round of Bactrim. She had to take both for two weeks. She also rolled over in bed and caught her bad arm beneath herself. She pulled out some of her stitches!!! She left a trail of blood drops from her bed to the bathroom sink! That happened the night that she felt so bad (before she went back to the doctor).

Mom's incisions look so much better now. She is doing a little more with her right hand, and she even did a little knitting over the weekend. She still can't lift much. The doctor said it will be 3-6 months before she has full strength back.