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Shiutsa Update # 9
April 25, 2007
Folks, I merged all of the Shiutsa updates into this one thread... because there were just too many and it was so off the topic of IC. Unfortunately, it put the 8 posts in consecutive order from the beginning so rather than have you go through it all, I thought that I would just post the latest update, today's, at the top of this list!
Thank you all for your support. Today was Shiutsa's official launch day...
the first day when he was allowed to go outside all by himself. His leg has improved dramatically in the past week... to the point that he does not limp at all. So, he happily went out at 8:30AM this morning then sauntered back in, according to my family, at 11:30... ready for his afternoon nap. 
Of course, we agonized over this. Shiutsa is an outside cat who loves his independence and, luckily, we live on a hillside that is very safe overall. Very little traffic, etc. He managed to escape the house yesterday and had a blissful one hour with his girlfriend up the street and yowled angrily when we brought him home.
So, Shiutsa has spoken. He wants to get back to his routine rather than be left inside, which he hated. We think it's important that he do the things which make him happy and visiting his girl is one big thing to him! I am going to keep him inside in the evenings though so that I can give him his heart medicine!! Wish us luck! 
What a journey... wow! Thanks again for all of your support!!! - Jill)
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April 7, 2007
Well, as I sit here writing this at 11PM Saturday night, it is with relief and worry. My little cat, Sammy, had an emergency in the middle of the week when a small stick got caught behind her palate. I worked late, came home at 7:30 and notice her gagging. Asked my folks "does anyone know why sammy is gagging?" They hadn't noticed. She couldn't eat or drink without spitting up. Long story short, she had to have her throat scoped where they find this 1" long needle like thing wedged up behind her palate.
As a cat lover, I was up all night with her, gave myself a wicked stress induced IC flare (thank god for pain meds & muscle relaxants which I definitely used that night) and absolutely lost an entire 24 hours to worry. She's good now... and sleeping on my lap after recovering well.
Then, this morning, my other cat Shiutsa (I have 2 cats! ) was in the worst crisis of his life. I got up early to go to the ICN office to work on a project and went out in the garage to put some clothes in the dryer. I could hear him meowing but didn't know where he was. I thought he was in the attic above me... but he was actually deep inside a plastic tarp underneath an old family piano bench where he had crawled to safety. I dug him out frantically... it's a miracle he didn't suffocate... to discover that his right hind leg was completely dislocated or broken.
Mad dash to the vet... cat screaming in pain in the car and in the office. Jill rubbing his face for ten minutes in the room to let him know he wasn't alone. I think he appreciated that. Vet examines him and says that his leg isn't broken... that he suspected a dislocation. Thus, he's off to xray and I'm off to my car to drive home and wait "the news" and, of course, thinking the worst.
Four hours of agony later, we get bad news. It's not the hip that's dislocated but a joint next to the spine. It's about 1/4" off... but that's enough to damage the nerve that controls that leg. So, he's now tucked away on painkillers at the vet for a few days to see if he responds to steroids. The vet said that many many cats do respond quite well and get function back in their leg. If not, we're looking at an amputation. ::::sigh::::
Here's the hard part.... I have wicked neighbors who moved in with two feral cats who constantly attack Shiutsa. I don't know if he could survive on three legs. He hates being inside... loves being outside. And these neighbors could care less. Soooo... if we do amputate, it will probably be a few weeks of being forced to stay in the house and, gods, he's going to hate that. On the otherhand, his wounds are not life threatening at all.... and he's a great cat.
We don't think he was hit by a car because there were no fractures and because he was in our closed garage which requires a 5 foot jump, we seriously doubt that he could have done that with this injury. More likely a neighbors evil cat
(yes, we call them the evil cats because one literally throws herself at the windows to get to my cats in the house. 
it's creepy) was about in some nefarious way.
In any case, I would appreciate any and all prayers you can offer my Shiutsa and Sammy. They are my babies who comfort me when I'm not feeling well and I love them dearly.
Jill
April 25, 2007
Folks, I merged all of the Shiutsa updates into this one thread... because there were just too many and it was so off the topic of IC. Unfortunately, it put the 8 posts in consecutive order from the beginning so rather than have you go through it all, I thought that I would just post the latest update, today's, at the top of this list!
Thank you all for your support. Today was Shiutsa's official launch day...
the first day when he was allowed to go outside all by himself. His leg has improved dramatically in the past week... to the point that he does not limp at all. So, he happily went out at 8:30AM this morning then sauntered back in, according to my family, at 11:30... ready for his afternoon nap. Of course, we agonized over this. Shiutsa is an outside cat who loves his independence and, luckily, we live on a hillside that is very safe overall. Very little traffic, etc. He managed to escape the house yesterday and had a blissful one hour with his girlfriend up the street and yowled angrily when we brought him home.
So, Shiutsa has spoken. He wants to get back to his routine rather than be left inside, which he hated. We think it's important that he do the things which make him happy and visiting his girl is one big thing to him! I am going to keep him inside in the evenings though so that I can give him his heart medicine!! Wish us luck! What a journey... wow! Thanks again for all of your support!!! - Jill)-------------
April 7, 2007
Well, as I sit here writing this at 11PM Saturday night, it is with relief and worry. My little cat, Sammy, had an emergency in the middle of the week when a small stick got caught behind her palate. I worked late, came home at 7:30 and notice her gagging. Asked my folks "does anyone know why sammy is gagging?" They hadn't noticed. She couldn't eat or drink without spitting up. Long story short, she had to have her throat scoped where they find this 1" long needle like thing wedged up behind her palate.
As a cat lover, I was up all night with her, gave myself a wicked stress induced IC flare (thank god for pain meds & muscle relaxants which I definitely used that night) and absolutely lost an entire 24 hours to worry. She's good now... and sleeping on my lap after recovering well.
Then, this morning, my other cat Shiutsa (I have 2 cats!
) was in the worst crisis of his life. I got up early to go to the ICN office to work on a project and went out in the garage to put some clothes in the dryer. I could hear him meowing but didn't know where he was. I thought he was in the attic above me... but he was actually deep inside a plastic tarp underneath an old family piano bench where he had crawled to safety. I dug him out frantically... it's a miracle he didn't suffocate... to discover that his right hind leg was completely dislocated or broken.Mad dash to the vet... cat screaming in pain in the car and in the office. Jill rubbing his face for ten minutes in the room to let him know he wasn't alone. I think he appreciated that.
Vet examines him and says that his leg isn't broken... that he suspected a dislocation. Thus, he's off to xray and I'm off to my car to drive home and wait "the news" and, of course, thinking the worst.Four hours of agony later, we get bad news. It's not the hip that's dislocated but a joint next to the spine. It's about 1/4" off... but that's enough to damage the nerve that controls that leg. So, he's now tucked away on painkillers at the vet for a few days to see if he responds to steroids. The vet said that many many cats do respond quite well and get function back in their leg. If not, we're looking at an amputation. ::::sigh::::
Here's the hard part.... I have wicked neighbors who moved in with two feral cats who constantly attack Shiutsa. I don't know if he could survive on three legs. He hates being inside... loves being outside. And these neighbors could care less. Soooo... if we do amputate, it will probably be a few weeks of being forced to stay in the house and, gods, he's going to hate that. On the otherhand, his wounds are not life threatening at all.... and he's a great cat.
We don't think he was hit by a car because there were no fractures and because he was in our closed garage which requires a 5 foot jump, we seriously doubt that he could have done that with this injury. More likely a neighbors evil cat
(yes, we call them the evil cats because one literally throws herself at the windows to get to my cats in the house. it's creepy) was about in some nefarious way.In any case, I would appreciate any and all prayers you can offer my Shiutsa and Sammy. They are my babies who comfort me when I'm not feeling well and I love them dearly.
Jill
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