Jack the kiwi cat

Jack is eating, working out how to catch the dreaded feather wand with one less paw (the “dive-roll” technique is gaining adherence) and trying his best to escape on an adventure outside.

There is no swelling around the joint and you can see him moving the phantom limb then doing “oops, that’s not doing what it used to” and trying something else. He is hiding less and sulking more (lots of sitting with his back to the humans after they inflict things such as medication on him).

His stripes are coming through on the new fur which feels like really high quality velvet.

Hard to believe it is only 7 days.

Here is a picture taken by Jenny with Jack this morning. You would not guess he was a recent (Day 6) tripaw. They were out watching birds, then he spotted the cat-nip is just starting to sprout again. Up on the pot for a nibble…like he’s been bouncing around on three paws all his life.

He will see the vet on Friday, and it will likely be stitches out if they haven’t started coming out of their own accord. It was a good thing the breeze had come up a bit and melted the frost on the hills as he is still very bald on his shoulder, but has firmly told us he is NOT going to wear a cat-jumper. Not ever.

I was teasing Mum that Jack is now stringing her along to see how much he can worry her after I went over and got him to cheerfully take his meds in kitten food.

Sardine water is still working as a good source of fluids, and we will reintroduce some limited dry chow in the next day or so.

Jack a master at finding spaces to hide and when I found him curled up asleep shoulder side down under a dresser I figured if he can lie on the shoulder it’s not that sore. He let me have a good feel along the wound and there is a bit of inflammation but nothing to worry about.

It will be a relief when he starts playing a bit more but he is enjoying his sedate escorted walks onto the decking area (this is a verandah with no access to the garden and we’ve adapted it to be cat proof) with Jenny as his escort. Once he gets a bit more agile we will have to put some shade cloth extensions on the railings to prevent him trying to jump onto the top of the railings before he’s allowed out unsupervised.

 

I’ve come to look after Jack while Mum is out for the evening. Armed with sardines in spring water, I got Jack to take his meds and eat a bit (his appetite has been poor.)

He let me feel around his scar and there is a bit of swelling but it is clearly not sore. He was purring loudly. As this is winter it is amazing to feel the difference in the heat between his shaved skin and his fur…

He’s back under Mum’s bed which is a favourite hiding spot 😉

I think he’s getting better…fueled on sardine water

 

 

He’s a bit glum today and like all unwell cats has spent a lot of time hiding in corners. Currently he’s asleep on the shelf in the coat cupboard on top of the Scrabble box.

He’s not really eating so on discussion, we agreed he needed pain meds and antibiotic given orally. This is where Jenny who works in a nursing home is so helpful – she’s used to dealing with stubborn military veterans who won’t take their medication, so a cat is a breeze.

I pointed out to Mum that Jack went crazy for the kitten food when she was fostering Niko, Mau and Hirra (three kittens from the SPCA) a couple of months back and she could try that to tempt him.

Our biggest worry is him not drinking much and although it is midwinter the atmosphere has been quite dry and we have to make sure that he’s not getting dehydrated. I’m going to be working with nurses tomorrow and will see if they can give me some irrigation syringes to feed him some water if needed.