During the fall of 2018, Buddy was getting better and better about being around me without fear, and even started exploring the house more. He endured an urgent trip to the vet to get his ears checked on and was treated for ear infections. He was also scheduled for much needed dental surgery. The day before he was due to go into the vet for his dental appointment, I made a poor judgement call. I took down the baby gates thinking he wouldn't roam around the house too much. Not so! I lost track of him and panicked. I finally went downstairs into the basement and found him wedged under the stairs, so far back I couldn't get him. There was no way to get him in the carrier to bring him back upstairs, and all attempts just made him more scared. I took a break and thought about what to do. Then it hit me - leave food outside the under-stair closet, and he will come out on his own. About an hour later, that's just what he did - and he retreated to the safety of his bedroom. Woo!! Disaster averted.
The following morning I got him in the carrier by backing him into the corner of the closet. He eventually gave up and got in, very unhappy about the whole situation. He was so scared he "auto-pooped" on the carpet. No biggie, at least he was safe inside the carrier. I dropped him off at the vet, worried about how things would go. Putting an animal (or a human) under general anesthesia is not without risks, but his bloodwork showed he should be fine.
A few hours later, the doc gave me a full report. Buddy now had a whopping 4 teeth left in his poor little head. His mouth was a disaster zone of rotten teeth, infection, and all around badness. Fortunately they were able to remove everything and used dissolvable sutures to close up the gums. But he would need to come back in a week or so for a follow up to make sure he was healing okay for both his teeth and ears. Thankfully I was able to hide all his pain meds in his wet food, which is all he could eat for several days while his gums and mouth healed.
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| You can see the shaved leg where the IV was |
I took him back for his follow up and figured I'd have to leave him since he is literally unmanageable at the vet's office. To my happy surprise, two of the vets put their heads together and were able to scruff him and do the whole exam (ears and mouth) w/out sedating him! His ears has cleared up nicely and his mouth was healing well. I was told to keep him on wet food a few more days and then I could start re-introducing dry food. I was worried he couldn't chew w/ only 4 teeth, but they said they've done a total removal of teeth and cats can still eat dry food. They are remarkably tough animals.
After his dental surgery, Buddy started spending more and more time in the rest of the house. I was beginning to pet him much more, and interact with him, slowly, at his pace. It was almost as if he understood I was making his life better, even if things were scary sometimes. He felt so much better. And when you feel better, you're usually in a better mood. This was certainly true of Buddy!
In the next episode, I will cover the story of Clyde, the only cat Buddy never liked. (And with good reason!)
