Month: February 2019

Day 1 after surgery

I delivered Lyla to our Vet office around 8am. No food past midnight, water was okay. I’m going to attach a photo of my paperwork as I think it will be helpful for everyone’s pain management. I actually received a text when surgery began and ended making it approx 1-1/2 hours in length. They kept her for the night and I picked her up Wed at 10am. Remember we were lucky enough to have access to a board-certified surgeon and this facility has 24 hour around the clock care, I was able to phone at any time to see how she was doing.

She was more alert than I expected. I was told her Fentanyl patch was put on at 3pm and lasts 4-5 days in cats, hers is above the base of her tail. When we arrived home to the recovery room she was a bit confused and disoriented. I took her cone off as to pet and brush her for a bit. She seemed to enjoy this. Some purring being home and some extra purring. She ate about noon and a full portion, Which was good as it was time for her liquid Gabapentin. This went okay but she hated the gross cherry syrupy flavor they sent. I followed it up with a squeeze up treat and that did the trick. Also I phoned the office to call in a fish oil formula at a specialist pharmacy and had a friend pick it up for me. She finally used the litter box around 7pm. This was quite hard to watch as it was a struggle. I bought a low side entry box on amazon listed as puppygohere dog litter box, I use the swheat scoop litter. Luckily the next pill -Yunnan Baiyo was at 8pm and she took it in a pill pocket. Plus more Gabapentin. She finally drank some water at 11pm. She didn’t really sleep and neither did I, she was quite restless. I also iced her 3x for 5 minutes and then applied neosporin ointment…I have ordered the one recommended on here but it hasn’t arrived.

A copy of our bill just in case y’all interested:

The beginning of our journey


Two weeks ago we felt a large hard growth on Lyla’s (5year old Maine Coon Cat) rear right leg. We took her to the ER Vet and that’s when we were informed an amputation would be necessary if the osteosarcoma hadn’t spread to her lungs. Needless to say it was quite a shock. We were informed it looks quite aggressive. To this day she is still not showing any signs of pain, no limping, still jumping and quite active. The only giveaway would be she hides that leg and grooms it more than usual.

Another concern for us was that at 1 year old Lyla had a FHO (femoral head ostectomy) on the rear left leg where she fell and broke her femur at the growth plates locale. We have been assured it should be able to handle the load and to keep her weight in check.

Last week we visited our Vet office for chest X-rays and blood work. The results were good and Lyla is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. A board certified surgeon will be doing the procedure. She is not allowed food past midnight.

Due to some of the advice on this site I have pre-purchased some supplies: Burt bee’s pet wipes, plain infant Pedialyte, pill pockets, Vetoquinol l-lysine, catmilk, squeeze-up catfood treats, frozen peas for cold compress, organic low-sodium chicken broth, and a low easy entry litter box w swheat scoop litter (which is what we normally use).

We have also transformed my home office into a recovery room. Downloaded an app called baby monitor on the computer and iphones which have child/parent units to watch her when we can’t be present. A futon has been put on the floor so there are no hiding spots that we can’t keep an eye on her or reach her. Also there is a salt lamp for nighttime so we can see in the dark. Lots of comfortable places for her to lay and some familiar toys plus her hairbrushes. Litter area separate from food area. This is also a time to not be afraid to ask for help when you need it, I have a few really great friends who are on call as my husband is out of town for this first week and I will be doing this alone in the beginning. 🤞🏼 All goes well. My gut has been wrenched for weeks now.