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twas the spay before xmas ....
Dec. 15th, 2006 08:10 amYesterday Asha and Vati were spayed. I was pretty anxious about the procedure though they both (seem to) have gone through the operation successfully. We brought them home about 6 last night and they were exhausted and thrilled to be home. They were so sedate and out of it that I removed their cones so they could sleep. Which they did, very peacefully and curled up on their bed together for about an hour. It was so sweet. They purred and acted like they both remembered and loved us and were glad to be home. There was general eating and drinking and much lethargic yawning. After an hour and half or so of being the sweetest kitties with shaved bellies on this entire planet, rwr and I settled down to an evening of dozing and keeping an eye on the little ones. We hadn't gotten much sleep the night before primarily because the kitties kept alerting us to the status of their food bowl -- absent -- and their general unhappiness about that situation. However, we were expecting to make up for lost sleep tonight because our kitties were exhausted and (supposed to be) sleeping off the drugs from the vet. So far, their behavior conformed to our general expectation which was reinforced by all we had read on the net and at the vet. Suddenly, with no warning at all, both cats leaped up and started caterwauling and racing around. In the blink of an eye they were transformed into crazy demon kitties. Nothing consoled them, not petting or favorite blankets and toys or even cuddling. We were no longer convinced they either one recognized either of us. Everything I read said they would be out of it and exhausted for 24 to 48 hours. Instead they were more hyper than ever before, racing around, making noises I had never heard from Vati before (Asha was still mostly quiet). By 8:30, after I was at petco, buying sherpa bags, inflatable collars (because reattaching the cones was a joke -- it took Vati 15 seconds to remove hers, even tied as tightly as half a finger give around her neck), collars with bells for reattaching the cones because that was what the emergency vet suggested, and some Organic Cat Be Calm which is essentially chamomile tea for your cat.
The inflatable collar, made for small dogs, was too heavy for their necks, though it did slow down the desire to lick everywhere and most especially the incision and, because it made the kitten top-heavy, stopped the running about. However, since they could barely hold their head up with the inflatable collar one, we took it off. Once ensconced in the sherpa bags, Asha was pretty calm though Vati continued to act like a crazy creature. She ripped up the fluffy bedding, clawed fiercely at the screened sides and cried and cried. This lasted until about 1am. Asha freaked out one time, making little mewling noises I had never heard her make but once released she drank for about 5 minutes and then calmly returned to the bag. We let them out about every 30-45 minutes to eat and drink and offer them each a chance to pee. Then, after shoving them back in the sherpa bag, we spent about 10 minutes calming ourselves down from the spectacle of our freaky kitties snarfing food, drinking gallons of water and trying to climb the tv, the couch, the futon, the toilet, and the post which was on its side to discourage this behavior, our legs, the vet box, you name it, they were trying to climb it. They protested every inch of the way back into the sherpa bag, crying and wailing and generally acting like creatures from Planet Psycho Cat. Finally, about 1 even Vati collapsed for a little sleep and rwr and I divided the night into sleep shifts so we could make sure it was not possible for them to escape and ensure they would not soil themselves in the sherpa carriers.
Nothing prepared me for the out of control kitties they were last night. There was nothing helpful on any kitty board I could find talking about this kind of post-spay behavior. Apparently everyone else's cat IN THE WORLD comes home and sleeps for 2 days before generally acting like stiff and itchy girls. Or, because their cats are trying to destroy the world, other people with this problem don't post to support groups or bulletin boards because the behavior is so distressing while it's happening and completely exhausting once it's over. I totally melted down and sobbed for a while, despairing of this entire enterprise because the vet was closed and the net had nothing to help. Images of their intestines spilling out, aided by stories from the net, were all I could see ending the night of insanity. I know spaying is the right thing to do but there must be a way to do it where the animal isn't a crazy, hallucinating, wild thing afterward. This happened with my boy cats after their snippage but that was nearly 20 years ago and somehow I expected that the anesthesia technology would have advanced. Apparently not. Or I just always have cats with terrible reactions to anesthesia. I did find one little post about kittens hallucinating after anesthesia but that was after an emergency surgery rather than a routine procedure. Still, it helped explain the way Asha and Vati would drink and then smack with surface of the water, shaking their paw as though surprised it had gotten wet.
To add insult to injury, there is a cricket in the apartment. It started chirping about 10 and has added a rhythm track to the general cacophony of cat crying, clawing and licking.
I hope the next two weeks aren't like this. Poor kitties. (Poor us.)
The inflatable collar, made for small dogs, was too heavy for their necks, though it did slow down the desire to lick everywhere and most especially the incision and, because it made the kitten top-heavy, stopped the running about. However, since they could barely hold their head up with the inflatable collar one, we took it off. Once ensconced in the sherpa bags, Asha was pretty calm though Vati continued to act like a crazy creature. She ripped up the fluffy bedding, clawed fiercely at the screened sides and cried and cried. This lasted until about 1am. Asha freaked out one time, making little mewling noises I had never heard her make but once released she drank for about 5 minutes and then calmly returned to the bag. We let them out about every 30-45 minutes to eat and drink and offer them each a chance to pee. Then, after shoving them back in the sherpa bag, we spent about 10 minutes calming ourselves down from the spectacle of our freaky kitties snarfing food, drinking gallons of water and trying to climb the tv, the couch, the futon, the toilet, and the post which was on its side to discourage this behavior, our legs, the vet box, you name it, they were trying to climb it. They protested every inch of the way back into the sherpa bag, crying and wailing and generally acting like creatures from Planet Psycho Cat. Finally, about 1 even Vati collapsed for a little sleep and rwr and I divided the night into sleep shifts so we could make sure it was not possible for them to escape and ensure they would not soil themselves in the sherpa carriers.
Nothing prepared me for the out of control kitties they were last night. There was nothing helpful on any kitty board I could find talking about this kind of post-spay behavior. Apparently everyone else's cat IN THE WORLD comes home and sleeps for 2 days before generally acting like stiff and itchy girls. Or, because their cats are trying to destroy the world, other people with this problem don't post to support groups or bulletin boards because the behavior is so distressing while it's happening and completely exhausting once it's over. I totally melted down and sobbed for a while, despairing of this entire enterprise because the vet was closed and the net had nothing to help. Images of their intestines spilling out, aided by stories from the net, were all I could see ending the night of insanity. I know spaying is the right thing to do but there must be a way to do it where the animal isn't a crazy, hallucinating, wild thing afterward. This happened with my boy cats after their snippage but that was nearly 20 years ago and somehow I expected that the anesthesia technology would have advanced. Apparently not. Or I just always have cats with terrible reactions to anesthesia. I did find one little post about kittens hallucinating after anesthesia but that was after an emergency surgery rather than a routine procedure. Still, it helped explain the way Asha and Vati would drink and then smack with surface of the water, shaking their paw as though surprised it had gotten wet.
To add insult to injury, there is a cricket in the apartment. It started chirping about 10 and has added a rhythm track to the general cacophony of cat crying, clawing and licking.
I hope the next two weeks aren't like this. Poor kitties. (Poor us.)
