Day of Surgury
We all thought that making the decision to amputate was difficult, but taking him to the vet the day of surgery was worse if possible. Leaving him was awful, he was energetic and cuddly, so we kissed him on the nose as long as he would let us hugged him and left. That was the longest day ever! The vet called in the afternoon and said he had had a lot of emergencies and was just getting ready to operate. Finally about 7pm he called and said he did really good and we could pick him up the next afternoon.
When we went to get him, we were not prepared for the first shock of seeing him. Tears welled up, but we all knew we needed to be strong for him. HE WALKED DOWN THE STAIRS AT THE VET OFFICE, FOUR STEPS. We got him into the car, and headed home with our baby home.
Now recovery starts, we are still worrying if we are doing the right things for him. We won’t eat, he has been drinking some water, and doesn’t move around a lot. He urinated once, but we are worrying about not eating. Should we just give him ANYTHING HE WANTS TO EAT? Need a little help here…..
Loving Murphy even more
3 comments so far
3:04 am - 1-28-2016
If Murphy’s not wanting to eat yes give him what he will eat. Try to stay to easily digestible things like chicken and tuna. It’ll give him the protein he needs to start healing too. Sometimes their stomachs get upset from the surgery drugs and even the antibiotics can cause it. We always had boiled chicken breast for Max to take his pills with and we also would mix 1/2 can of tuna (low sodium) with his dry food. Good luck and keep us updated on your sweet Murphy. I’m sure others will pop in and give you more ideas too. You can always start a new topic on the forums too to ask questions. Sometimes these blogs go by so fast people can miss them. Feel free to post any question you want a quicker answer to on the forums. People tend to check those out on a regular basis. Hang in there you’re at one of the hardest parts of the journey and in a few days things will look much brighter. Hugs!
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Max
3:26 am - 1-28-2016
Recovery is never easy but you are doing great! I say yes! Give him anything he wants to eat. He deserves it and it’s not a lifetime of spoiling.
Cherish this time with him.
Kerren and Tripawds Kitty Mona
4:43 pm - 1-28-2016
Murphy you are such a handsome boy. I can see why your family thinks you are pretty special!
If it has only been a day or so, then I would try not to worry too much about the eating. He’s been drugged up, had major surgery and probably hasn’t been that active. All of that can mean that he’s not got a big appetite right now. Drinking is really important though (the vets were always more concerned that he drank than ate). In terms of what to feed him, most of us seem to throw out the rulebook and pretty much give whatever it takes! You can always go back to the usual stuff later…..
Now, if his lack of eating continues longer than the immediate post-amp, it is certainly something I would raise w/ the vets. We ended up giving Ellie a course of Cerenia (anti-nausea medicine) which worked well for her.
Denise, Bill and Angel Ellie