Never have I seen my cat so happy as the days post-operation when she was flying high on pain relief (I personally remember being quite grumpy the days after I had a tooth removed, but Bluebell seemed entirely unphased), but that doesn’t mean bringing an animal home from an operation is plain sailing.
The initial internal struggle of a vet student handing their beloved pet over to fellow vets is shortly followed by the hurdles of “medication dose mathematics” and valiant attempts to get said pet to ingest said medication.
I once thought myself quite adept in the arts of pill-giving when Bluebell was on a course of steroids, up until the day when she’d had enough and spat it back out directly into my jacket pocket.
However, once these hurdles have been mastered, teaching my parents to do the same can be a whole other ball game…
A little knowledge goes a long way
I think having even a little veterinary background can be a useful thing when you bring a pet back home from something big like this. You are reassured by the knowledge of what to expect and what can be counted as “normal”.
Whether it’s coming downstairs to a very full litter tray in the morning – as was my poor mother’s experience – or dealing with some temporary behavioural changes, a reduced appetite, sleepiness or cleaning up after the occasional accident.
Forbearance
It’s all part of the process. No human wakes up right as rain the day after a big procedure, and when you’re only small, even a minor operation can be a huge ordeal. As with most things, patience is the key.
I do feel quite sorry for the animals who undergo to the trauma of an operation and are then forced to return to the scene of the crime a week later in the guise of a “check-up”.
But, thankfully, when we bundled Bluebell bottom-first into her carrier for the second time, all was well.
Fang facts
In fact, we learned she is managing to lose not only weight – which, since she’s always been a bit of a chonker, came as a nice surprise – but teeth!
Only one in the actual teeth clean however – apparently another five have been lost at some point in her life, with all of us being entirely none the wiser!
Luckily, I think the fact that she is still a chonker is evidence enough that losing those teeth didn’t phase her in the slightest.
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