Gus Update and Details

First the update!
Good news! This evening, Gus is moving more freely. He's not dragging the leg as much and seems able to control the muscles enough to lift it slightly off the ground. At least he's not tripping on it, as he did yesterday!

He just about rushed the dinner dish, zipping from the bedroom of the "suite" to the feeding dish in the den. It was good to see him both enthusiastic and movin' quickly! He's been to the cat pan twice, and used it twice, since I've been home from work (who would have thought I'd be excited about pooping and peeing by an adult cat). And, he attempted to avoid his latest dose of the amoxi. Always a good sign!

Now, yesterday's details. Warning, more xray shots for those who are squeamish - sorry, I'm enough of a geek to think they are cool (except for that fact that they mean he's hurting, of course... it's seeing inside the body that's cool):

Before I left work to pick Gus up, one of my colleagues came by and dropped of a little help toward Gus' expenses. She handed me a gift bag and said, "You know, sometimes you just see the perfect gift for someone." I was soooo touched!

I opened it:



I've officially entered Crazy Cat Ladyhood! This achievement award is now proudly displayed on the wall of my office! ;-) Thanks, Kelly! I join my colleague, Amy, in being honored thusly.

The drive to Bel Air was excruciatingly long but uneventful. As I waited for the Doc to come talk to me, I met Ralph, the other greeter at the practice. He was a bit camera shy, but I did manage to get a shot. Here he is greeting the next arrivals...
Soon the Doc came for me. He showed me the xrays they took, both pre and post surgery. Two different views of pre-surgery Gus. You can see how far displaced the bones are in both. It's officially recorded as a long oblique mid shaft fracture of the left femur. Some good news: based on some whisker breakage and other signs, the staff doubt it was the kid with the bat who caused the break. It was more likely an encounter with a motor vehicle.

I admit, even though xray technology has been around a long time, I still experience a little awe when I look at the insides of critters (including me!). I especially liked this resting xray, because you can also make out some organs, even though that's not what they were "shooting" for. Look at that supple spine, will ya!

Finally, Doc Hess showed me Gus' brand, spankin' new plate and pins. He explained that this fix should suffice even if Gus grows some more. This is called an open reduction internal fixation bone plate. What a mouthful!

When we were done discussing Gus' prognosis, Miss Janet went through the discharge orders, which are blessedly simple! Just amoxi 3 times a day. Gus can engage in any activity he feels up to, but may not go outside. So far, he's left the incision alone, but I need to watch to be sure he stays good. We go back to have the stitches removed on September 14th. Two months from now, there will be follow up xrays, just to be sure everything is going well.

After saying goodbye to Ralph (lovely Alice was in the back, checking on the other patients), we piled back in the car and headed home.

Don't know if I've mentioned this, but Gus is an excellent traveler. He hasn't uttered a word in any of the trips we've been on. Not to the ER vet, not to Doc Andrew, not to or from Doc Hess. And Doc Hess is a 35 min ride! In fact he was so relaxed, I snapped some pics of him with my camera phone. Here we are at a red light:
And here we are zipping down I95. Now don't get in a huff... I'd glanced over and thought, gosh, he's sooooo relaxed. Nobody would ever believe this. So this was a "blind" shot, taken with one hand, that just happened to turn out... no, my eyes never left the road!

There's not much to report about last evening, other than what I told you yesterday. Gus wasn't feeling too sporty and hung out under the bed.

Last night I did stay in the guest bedroom of the "suite," on the floor with Gus. Yes, that nice soft mattress sitting two feet above my head called to me, but I resisted its allure... LOL! Unfortunately, there's not enough room in the guest bedroom to pull the mattress to the floor, so it was a quilt pallet for the both of us. He was such a snuggle bun. Gus came over, jammed his head under my chin and, plastered against me, settled down for a long, long purr. That's the way we fell asleep.

These are the rewards of fostering, folks! I felt so honored to have that kind of trust and affection from a little guy who was hurting - and who probably should have associated at least some of that hurt with me.

When I came to this morning it was late... I had been dead to the world... slept right through the alarm (Thank you, Karen, for understanding! Have I mentioned I have a terrific boss?). Gus was about a foot away and came right over. After a very quick snuggle, I dashed to get to get ready for work, and he took his dose of amoxi without complaint. And the rest you know from the update, above.

I have a very touching story about something that happened today, which I'll tell you later and I'll try to get a video of Gus getting around with his new leg tomorrow. Should we call him the bionic cat or perhaps catenstein, I wonder?? LOL!