Paddling Along

Jack is doing really well, he's eating and drinking, and doing the deeds in the litterbox as well. He is starting to pick up speed when he walks now, and has no problems jumping down from places. I told Markus he doesn't hobble along, he paddles along. He still isn't jumping up, but maybe next week. The biggest issue now is watching him from biting his stitches out. I had to work today, so we left him with the big plastic collar on. He is so dramatic with that clunky thing on. He bangs into corners and trys to back out of it by falling over. Next Monday he can have the stitches out. Then, all will be excellent. Thank you all for thinking of us.

Time to Heal

Here is Jackson, bathing after a snack. He is home and sleeping a ton. He seems to be doing well. He purred for a couple hours the first night, was super happy just to be home. We are on cat-care duty for a couple days as he learns to get around and ensure good healing of the wound (he wants to lick it and may not). He insisted on going up the stairs yesterday, 36 hours after surgery. He went slow and took breaks, but he did it.

As you can see he has shaved areas on both front paws (from the IV) and a large shaved area in the back. It's quite a wound with 22 stitches, very graphic. In 10 days or so, he can have the stitches out. I'm sure by then he'll be bolting around the house. 

A Broken Leg/Heart

Oh Jackson! My beloved cat had a really hard day. Jack broke his leg last night after a run in with a car. I found him in the backyard with the bone exposed, bleeding and separated...it was a terrible moment but I didn't vomit like I thought I might, so that was good. We made it to the emergency clinic and got him some pain meds...he stayed there overnight. Today we consulted with the surgeons and vets. After many tears and questions and much discussion we decided the best option for Jack was to amputate his leg. The healing time will only be 10 days, vs 8-12 weeks for surgery. The surgical outcomes weren't super promising, little chance of normal function, risks of infection, arthritis later on, or limited function with fusing the joint. We decided he would go nuts in a crate for 2-3 months healing with a cast or external fixiter (crazy looking hardware)...and it's better just to get him recovering and moving around. He would be miserable to spend the summer in a crate. I would never wish this decision on anyone else. I hope we made the right one. It breaks my heart to think of him hobbling around at first, getting used to it. We just went with what would be a fast and good recovery....the vets told me two things that helped. One guy said, "Cats are three legged animals with four legs." Meaning they do great with three...and the other vet said "It will not affect his quality of life." I hope Jack feels the same way, but the funny thing is that he won't even know we had to make a choice. Also, most vets say that cats aren't attached to their limbs the way people are, like he won't be pissed that he can't get his groove on dancing the way he used to. I knew a three legged cat once, it was a stray, a big black male cat I named Galileo who lived outside at my grandparents house. He was a great cat who got around just great. I pray that Jack will adapt with ease. Tonight they will do the surgery. Let's all send him some good love and healing. 

Current Events

So, I am starting to read the news again. I haven't decided if it's a good thing for me or not. It's totally interesting though to compare news sites...

for instance:
Top Headlines on CNN today...
The apprentice winner gets a new job and fiancee
A boy in China had a third arm successfully removed
Man burned using gasoline to wash clothes
High School Kids find body on field trip

OK, not that I don't care about the baby with three arms, it's great that it was successfully removed and now he can start months of physical therapy to learn to use the other one...but is it really breaking news? But of course I want to see the picture, who doesn't?? But then again, we can all picture a baby with three arms, so why am I drawn to click there? Now about the guy who washed his clothes in gas (what the $%&# did he expect)? Is it news that gas burns?

I don't get it.

Anyway, the BBC has such a huge variety of news, and they missed most of the above headlines. They did mention the boy in China. Also, a volcano and Iraq. Newsworthy stuff.

The two bits I found interesting were these:
Being an entreprenuer and self employed, and/or loneliness is genetic. This is the kind of news I read, and then I think....am I better knowing that or not knowing? I think all this research in genetics is going to take the mystery out of "personality" really fast. So, that's the news for today.

Lost Shoes

Has anyone seen my green shoes? I loved sailing with them last year. I can't find them anywhere...that's OK though. I didn't really remember I had them until I saw this picture. Isn't that funny? That must mean I have too many shoes, but don't tell my husband I admitted that.