This is Allie post-surgery wearing her collar. You should have seen the first collar they gave us, it was 2.5" bigger than this one. Poor thing couldn't do anything in it. This one keeps her from licking her incision but she can still function fairly normally.
Last Wednesday, I discovered blood in Allie's urine which would be the 3rd time that's happened. The first two times we treated her with antibiotics and she was better for a little while. This time, my vet suggested x-rays to see if she had stones in her bladder. Sure enough that's what it was and they were able to take her in for surgery on Friday. Now I did not want to go the surgery route but looking at months of pain if we tried to dissolve it by changing her diet versus a week of discomfort, I did what I thought was best. And once I saw the stone they removed, I was glad we went this route...it was huge!
Allie's surgery has slowed us both down a bit. All my plans for the weekend were immediately cancelled and the two of us have cozied up at home for a bit of rest and recovery. There are so many things that need to get done, shopping for Christmas gifts, getting ready for my trip to LA, but there is nothing more important right now that making sure Allie gets better. Yes, I am still leaving for LA on Wednesday but by then she should almost be done with her meds and feeling close to normal. Lucky for me I have the best cat sitters in the world, Zoe & Bob, who will take great care of her...even though I do feel guilty for leaving.
If you had asked me seven years ago, if I would ever think of a pet like my family, I probably would have said, are you nuts? I grew up with pets who would arrive one day and be gone a short time later so I never had that bond. When my friends would talk about their pets and what they would do for them, I didn't get it. I thought they were a bit crazy, but now, I'm part of that group. One of those people who treats their pet like their child. Yup that's me...one of the crazy ones...and I wouldn't trade if for anything.