goodbye pink bandage, hello tiny paw

Monday was another big day for Koa. She had an appointment with Dr. Randy for the removal of her pink bandage. Before I left for work, I crushed up some Benadryl and mixed it with crushed antibiotic and her breakfast. Heh heh! This was going to be so easy. The plan was to go to work, come home mid-afternoon, pick up a drowsy animal, gently and lovingly place her in her carrier, and off we'd go.

But ha-hah! I was foiled again. When I returned home, Koa hadn't eaten a bite of breakfast. I petted her for a little on the bed, and then went into the study to read email.

At the appointed time, I went back to the bed and sat on the edge. I rubbed the top of her head. My heart was pounding, I reached, I scruffed, and I had her. I carried her to the cage, put her inside, and off we went. She cried. But we had to do it.

Dr. Randy was of course wonderful. The wonder vet tech, Matt, held Koa securely on her side. I stroked her forehead. She nearly relaxed. Meanwhile, Dr. Randy carefully snipped away at layer after layer of the bandage, alternating with much unwrapping. She was slathered with some kind of healing ointment. Once her paw was exposed to the air, Dr. Randy gently and thoroughly cleaned above and below until all the crud was off.

Koa was perfect. She laid still, she didn't cry, she didn't wiggle, and she didn't growl. I was amazed. I asked "Do you think she knows we're taking care of her?" and Dr. Randy replied "It looks like it."

We talked for a while about how to proceed. The healing had made progressed well but wasn't complete. Her stitches haven't dissolved yet. Some of the options were to bandage her up again, leave her paw out in the air but put an Elizabethan collar on, or just to trust that she wouldn't pop her stitches. We finally agreed on the latter course. We decided that if she did pop her stitches, I'd need to somehow get an E-collar on her and probably bring her back.

So I took her home and crossed my fingers. And so far so good. Her paw is pristine and as much when she lets me look at it, I see the ends of the stitches sticking out. (They're self-dissolving, so they'll eventually go away on their own.) I also have to mention that in its current shaved state, her paw is tiny and delicate. She is starting to put weight on her thumb.

She is a much happier animal and seems to have even greater resilience to her setbacks and stressors. She's been purring a lot and is happy to be affectionate. Of course, we're still working on kitty issues -- the psychological healing isn't complete by any means. But I'm pleased with the progress so far.