Tuesday July 17.

(sorry, just realized this got long)

Went over to mom's today with some Whiskas milk. She was worried he was bleeding and might need another transfusion - and she showed me his blanket from overnight.

There were spatters with blood in them; bloody but not pure blood. He is swallowing sometimes when he is quite awake - and his poop is black. I am not really worried about this, as the surgery was in an area LOADED with blood supply - I am surprised he needed only one transfusion!

Mom has had to wrap him in a towel to syringe-feed him. I helped with the first feeding tonight by filling the syringe a little ways. She would then put it into the corner of his mouth and squirt it in.

I said I wished there was a better way to feed him - as the stress would raise his blood pressure and wouldn't HELP what bleeding there was.

He was a bit dehydrated when I arrived - he also got a couple of doses of Whiskas milk with a bit of water.

A few minutes later, he was hydrated.

Second feeding time - Mom held him and I just held the syringe - this all happened naturally - when he went "MOW" I shot the contents into his mouth from the front. He licked and smacked and swallowed. Got at least 5 good shots in - he was SO much calmer, I think because food put near the back of his mouth triggered a gag reflex. From the front - and mouth open already - it was easier.

I have so much office work to do at home....Pyka is going for a checkup tomorrow at the vet. Mom will ask for a hydration and a B12 shot. Hopefully he will perk up and start to eat on his own soon. He's SO bony!

Interestingly - I opened a window to cool the place down. Pyka went and sat in the window and sniffed the outside air. He sneezed a bit, and I got a damp cloth to wipe up the spatter. He looked down at the newly wet surface I had cleaned and put nose down and SNIFFED. I hadn't seen him do that yet! Of course, when Mom went out for a 20 minute walk, I stayed with him while he napped, and put an open bottle of Vicks under his nose. His tad of a sniffle cleared up after a few minutes.

After Mom came back, I put the Vicks back - and he turned his head away from the strong smell! WOOHOO! That's what I was hoping for, just to dry things up a bit.

Mom will ask the vet about something like this tomorrow.

QUESTION: Does anyone here think using a good ionizing air filter during the next few days of recovery is a good idea?