Another bake sale/raffle

The one improvement I see in Penny's movements is that it's easier for her to get up now than it was immediately after the surgery. When she gets up, she still limps heavily on her operated leg. Once she's been up, she starts using it a little. Her gait is funny. Her operated on leg looks bow legged and her other operated on leg looks pigeon toed. I hope that's progress.

We need to start thinking about raising more funds for her next surgery. I sent out an email request for baked items for another raffle/bake sale for Penny. It will be next Saturday from 11am-4 at Ideal Pet Stop (on Wilson, across from PCC). There will be lots of cookies, lemon bars, brownies, and hopefully some rice krispie treats. I've made krispie treats once and it wasn't fun. The marshmellow stuck everywhere -- I couldn't get the mixture to be flat in the cake pan. I know they're big sellers so I want to have them, but I was hoping that someone else would make the rice crispie treats.

Current baked items will include:
chocolate chip cookies
oatmeal cookies
ginger molasses cookies
oatmeal raisin cookies
turtle brownies
sugar cookies

There will also be book bracelets and cards.

The raffle includes:
dinner certificate
a book certificate
pet supplies
jewelry

Let me know if you have suggestions for the bake sale and/or want to donate to the raffle.

Thanks.

Conehead

Penny was licking her front paw on Monday evening. Rick had picked her up. Her paw was all raw from where she had been licking. I thought I could see a little puncture, but I wasn't sure.

Horace also was limping. So I took them to the vet. Horace has a little puncture, most probably from Gustof (an ongoing feud at my house... know of anyone who wants a black cat who may have asthma?) , so he has oral antibiotics. Penny has a little puncture, probably from a thorn or something. She has topical antibiotics and has to wear a cone.

She is so uncoordinated with the cone. She'll get stuck and will make no effort no move her head so that she can move again. She just stands there. I don't know whether she's being stubborn or whether she thinks that I'm am going to help her. She refuses to get in the car with the cone. She refuses to try to drink water with the cone. She walks slowly, despondently, with the cone.

But when I take the cone off, she starts licking again.

Stitches out

Yesterday, Penny had her stitches out. I didn't talk with Dr. Walker, but her tech says she looks good. She spent an hour in the car waiting for me to come out of the naturopath's and then she went to Ideal.

Kirsten bought her TWO new beds.

Today, she was limping. Enough for me to give her pain meds.

Tomorrow, we'll both hang out.

Upper body strength prevents fall

Penny has been using a ramp that Rick built to go up the back stairs. The last few days she's stopped midway up. I don't know what has caused her stopping. It may be the creaking that it does. I haven't figured out how her brains work.

Last night, she stopped and looked at Albro who was meowing next to the porch. Albro leaped onto the porch and we both looked at her. The next thing I know, Penny is hanging off the ramp, and straining to get back on the ramp. I couldn't move to help her because it would have taken too long to get around the ramp. I held on tight to the leash and encouraged her. She made it!

But, she limped even worse. She held her leg extremely high. I looked at the leg and I didn't see any damage, but who knows? She could have hit something. She could have strained her tendon even further...

I am worried about her. I don't know whether to take her to the vet or to my vet. I did give her anti-inflammatories and am hoping she'll be all right. I guess if she's worse tonight, I'll take her to her vet.

Every little bit counts

Yesterday, I went to see my friend, Barb's, art show at the UU church in Seattle. I hung out long enough to be asked to accompany them to an early dinner. Jane, Barb's partner, paid for my dinner and whispered, "Pennies for Penny." I'll transfer $15 into Penny's account.

Penny is doing... well, better. She's eating rice, cottage cheese, ground turkey and spinach. Still not real big meals so she is pretty hungry, but she's not licking her lips in a "my tummy's upset and I'm trying not to barf" manner. Since she's not eating much, she's not pooping as much, which is fine.

She's now suspicious of cream cheese, which is too bad. I used to be able to slather cream cheese on anything and she'd think it was a treat. But since those little horrid pain relievers that made her salivate, she looks at the cream cheese as if I'm trying to trick her. And I am. That's what I cover her stomach settling pills with. Two more days of that.

She's still not taking any anti-inflammatories and so her little eyebrows are wrinkled with pain. Tonight, if I see no signs of stomach upset, I'll give her the new pain reliever to help her sleep a bit better. This morning, we both overslept. Not used to Daylight Savings Time.

Snarfing cat food

Penny is on her second day of her fast. I've given her a little chicken broth this afternoon and again this eve. She's kept it down, so far.

Tomorrow, we'll do cottage cheese and rice. Maybe a little ground lamb. She'll be so hungry by then, she'll eat anything.

She keeps trying to get into the kitchen to eat some cat food when I let her out while I get ready for her potty breaks.

Girly has an upset tummy

Last night, I gave Penny her Rimadyl and then her dinner of Natural Balance cereal and 1/2 can of venison and sweet potato. About 1/2 hour later, she vomited it all up. So, that's the 2nd vomiting incident that she's had.

This morning, she was was a three-legged dog. I, being of a suspicious nature, suspected that my housemate may not have controlled her as much as she should be. Rox denied it, but did say that Penny did pull a lot when she went out for potty break at the same time I was leaving to go to the emergency room. (Gustov bit me so I headed to the emergency room for antibiotics and a lecture about infectious cat bites. I drove to Rick's and he drove me to Swedish. Since this is a blog about Penny, we won't get into details.) Rox pointed out that Penny vomited up her pill when she vomited up her dinner. I now think that's what happened.

I calledACCES this morning about 8 am. Dr. Walker doesn't work on Fridays, but she had told me to that the staff could get a message to her. In the meantime, I had to take Horace to the vet because he was limping too so I planned to ask Dr. Heino. Dr. Heino was very concerned about the vomiting. He said once was not a big deal, but two means its a cycle, regardless of how many days separating the two incidences. So, he told me to have Penny fast for a couple of days. I can let her drink a little water today, and then the eve of the second day, she could have some chicken broth. If she does well, she can have a bland diet on Sunday. Baby food or cottage cheese. Or both. I got 2 kinds of medicines that will coat and calm her tummy and help it heal. I got a different anti-inflammatory pills that she can start taking on Monday.

Penny, Horace, and I will both be pill poppers. Horace has a bite on his foot and will be taking antibiotics 2 x a day, I'm on antibiotics for the cat bite, and Penny will be taking 4 pills 2 x a day.

ACCES called while I was at Dr. Heinos. According to Ursula (I love that name!), Dr. Walker said only be worried if Penny seemed in pain. I explained that she was in pain but that Dr. Heino was more concerned about the vomiting. Ursula asked that they get some sort of report about her current medication. I relayed the message to Marlena, but I am unsure whether that report will be faxed because Rainier Vet is in the middle of transitioning ownership from Dr. Heino, who I love, to Dr. Kung. The office is even more chaotic than usual!

Sneaking upstairs

Penny is not supposed to walk up stairs. She's not supposed to jump up or use her knee for pushing for the next 8 weeks. Maybe more. Dr. Walker says that because Penny has to climb upstairs to enter our house, she'd rather that Penny not climb upstairs for bedtime for the next 8 weeks.

So, I was really aggravated at myself and the world around me when Penny walked upstairs last night. I had gone upstairs to help Rox clean out a wound where her skin had cracked and thought that Penny was occupied with a bully stick. But, a few minutes later, I saw her stick her nose in the bathroom.

I didn't know whether I should have ordered her downstairs immediately or whether I should pull out her bed from beneath the bed, fluff it up, and have her lie down on it. I decided that she should lie down and that's where she stayed for the next 8 hours. I got to sleep on my bed for the first time in a week, too.

Woke up to Gustof fighting with Graham at 6 am. but that's beyond the scope of this blog....

Hyperventilating for no reason

Penny seems fine today. Her gash looks fine. Her leg bruises are fading. She is currently laying on her bed in front of the gas fireplace in the X-pen. What a life.

What's that saying, No news is good news. There's no news.

Waking up to a gagging girl

I feel like a nervous mother. I am a nervous mother. Penny woke me up this morning with some gagging or coughing sounds. Oh, oh, I thought, I wonder of it's the rimadyl. But, I also realized that she had more treats than usual yesterday, especially peanut butter, which were a gift from Sophia, a cute pit whose mom comes to Ideal for treats and food.

When I got up about a half an hour later, I called Animal Critical Care and Emergency Services.

The woman who answered the phone told me that they don't worry if it is just one bout of vomiting. They want to hear about it if it occurs again. Of course it doesn't help that I think her tongue is paler than usual and that she's less energetic than usual. (But, I'd be less energetic if I had an upset tummy.)

I am planning to check in on her about 3. I have a doctor's appointment at 1:30 and will stop by there. Hopefully, there will be nothing to report.

Home alone

Penny spent her first day home alone. She's never had to spend more than 5 hours by herself and so I was a bit worried. Circumstances played in her favor... My car, I found out when I parked in a garage this morning, doesn't have any headlights, so I have to leave early. I left with enough time to swing by Ideal, pick up fresh produce, and still arrive home with plenty of daylight left.

Penny spent 7 hours alone and seemed to survive just fine in her X pen, with a bully stick, a raw bone, and a bowl of water. When I arrived, she opened up her eyes and was ready to go outside.

Her poops and her appetite on back to normal. I am happy about both. She might even be a bit more hungry than she usually is... Perhaps it's her body expending energy to repair itself, perhaps she's bored. I don't know.

Status on 3rd day

Penny has spent two nights at home after the surgery and seems relatively comfortable. She is walking on both legs, and seems to be putting some of her weight on the left leg (the leg that had the TPLO surgery). No more toe touching for this kid!

Her leg is quite swollen and there is a 3-inch suture on it. She still has redness on her calf that will turn purple and yellow as it heals.

She's chewing anxiously. Rick stopped by yesterday and stayed with her while I ran to Ideal and bought raw bones and bully sticks for her. She occasionally licks the sutures and I tell her "no." I plan on stopping by Ideal again to pick up her E-collar that I left there from she pulled her toe nail out by jumping on a crack, wedging in the nail, and then jumping away. Ow!

Yesterday, I also bought pill pouches while I was at Ideal. They don't work. Thankfully, she likes the Rimadyl, which is a liver-flavored large bill that is supposed to reduce swelling. The antibiotics, Cephalexin, also are not a problem. They are two-toned green capsules that I can just coat with cream cheese> Once coated, they're just another treat! The pain reliever, Tramadol, is what she can't stand. These little white pills must taste odious because they make her salivate excessively. I've hidden them in cream cheese, natural balance sausages, cheddar cheese, and the pill pockets. She knows their smell and refuses to open her mouth for the supposed treat. If I can get the pill into her mouth, she spits it out, regardless of the yummy tastes surrounding the pill. I've taken to pilling her, which is a far cry from pilling a cat.

With pilling a cat, all you do is open the cat's mouth and sling the pill down the throat as far as possible. If your aim's not good, maybe you poke it down a bit with a finger. Then, you close the cat's mouth and massage her throat. I'm an expert pill slinger -- with as many cats as I have, I've got to be. With Penny, pilling is a little bit different. You open up her mouth and then push the pill as far as you can down her throat. I need to put my entire hand past my wrist in her mouth to make sure she doesn't spit it out. Uggh. Then you pull back your hand, close her mouth, and wait for her to swallow. After that, you go to the sink and wash your dog spit covered hand and arm off.

Thankfully, Dr. Walker said that she doesn't need this pill. But, she's so anxious at night, I've been giving it to her to help her sleep. And, it does help her sleep. She's been sleeping very peacefully in her X-cage. I know because I am sleeping right next to her on three couch cushions. The cats prefer to sleep on the bed, especially when I leave the electric blanket on for them. And, there's more room for them to sprawl out.