sasha seems to be turning the corner, he ate on his own today..he was still looking hungry when i got home so i fed him some more and he dived right in. yay sasha and whew! and big kudos to our staff for pulling him thru!!!
i want to say something to anyone who cares for rescued cats in shelters or foster homes...it is critically important to know exactly what the cats are up to every single day. this can be challenging with rescues that house many cats. caregivers need to make a point to really look at, touch and pay attention to any subtle or dramatic changes. any cat who has not eaten in 24 hours immediately needs to see a vet. if they don't start eating again even with meds within 48 hours..they need to be syringed fed. cats sometimes die unnecessarily in communal, free run care due to not eating with no one knowing they are not eating until it is too late. cats can literally die of fatty liver disease in less than a week of not eating...sometimes depending on the size of the cat, within 3 or 4 days..it is scary, we need to be on our toes and KNOW how they are each doing every single day.
we need to look, we need to focus and observe and if we are not sure, we need to get sure asap by isolating them alone in a room or a cage so we can see if they are eating/drinking...peeing and pooping. assuming, wishful thinking or guessing has no place in rescuing cats, make sure we know for a fact so we don't unexpectedly end up with a dead rescued cat.
lecture cat rescue 101 is done.
miley had her xrays..as suspected both cruciates are totally blown. her hips aren't great but they are not horrible either. the plan is for miley to go in next wed to repair the right knee. once that is healed in a couple or three months, then we will go after the left knee. this is going to be tricky because miley's wrecked left knee is not going to be able to support her weight during the recovery process of the first right knee surgery. she will be on very, very strict bedrest for weeks and her hind end will have to be supported with slings to keep the weight off of both of her knees. if she was a senior, i wouldn't bother..i would just let them heal with scar tissue and treat the resulting arthritis medically. but she is not a senior, she is only 5 or 6 years old, she is still a young dog and hence we will be doing the surgeries because they are in the best interests for a young wants to be active dog.
she was so happy to see me when i went to pick her up from the clinic...sweet, sweet dog..