Happy New Year from Bentley and Barbara
I like to take the opportunity to give a quick update on Bentley….
who will be 8 in November of this year.
He is still doing excellent after his bilateral FHO
surgeries with no indication that he had these surgeries at all. He is a very happy
cat…. constantly chasing and catching rodents and lizards, eating and sleeping.
Bentley is pain free, happy and super spoiled! His Dad always say's that he can run like the wind!
I hope that all of our other furry friends talked about on this
blog are also doing this well!
My only wish for this blog is…. that we would get a few more
updates on each case as it progresses…. so that it would help new visitors searching
for information on the (FHO Surgery in Cats) with their decision making.
I am so happy… that with the help of this blog we could
prevent euthanization for some.
Happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all of you.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently fostering a post-FHO kitty for the local Humane Society and have found your blog very interesting and informative. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLori
Thank you, Lori
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, I know this post was a while ago but I read your comment about providing updates on our pets who have gone through the surgery. I reached out to you in August 2017 when my 1.5 year old boy cat had double FHO surgery. I'm pleased to report that he's made a full recovery and now almost three years later I can hardly tell he had major surgery at all. He acts pretty much the way he did before - minor jumping, moving around as normal - he wasn't a particularly active cat before so minimal jumping is not out of the ordinary for him. I will say I've noticed he uses more assistance than he did before to get up on things - like jumping from the low edge of the shower to the bathroom sink rather than making the full leap to the sink. He also sits down faster than he did before. I notice some of the habits he developed during his recovery (like lifting himself on his front paws only while his back legs stay down) he still continues. He also has very low tolerance for rough-house play with my other cat. But again, none of this is too abnormal for him. There are days I watch him go up the stairs and he does this double-legged hop thing and I worry he's in pain. But I have pet insurance now to cover anything that he might experience in the future. :D
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I wanted to say for those who might have a cat going through the surgery and recovery right now. The recovery was the hardest part. My vet ended up keeping him for a full week for which I was extremely grateful. They gave him PT and was able to get him nourishment through an IV. I visited him once and he ate his favorite treats with me. He's my skiddish cat and I worried this whole experience would traumatize him forever, but he was fine. Came back pretty much the same cat as before after recovery. Once I got him back, I kept him in my smallest bedroom, removing everything from the room he could jump on. I ended up staying in the room with him for the first 10 days to keep him company through the night. Getting him to move was extremely difficult. He did not want to. He did move from the big dog bed (he loves the dog bed, highly recommend for your recovery kitty) to the low futon mattress. And minimally went to the bathroom. He eating was irregular and happened mostly at night. I bought a dog gate for the door so the other cat could see him and jump over if he wanted to come in. It had a small door in the bottom which I'd leave open in case the other cat wanted to come in. Since he expressed no interest in moving I wasn't worried about him getting out. But one night (I can't remember how many days in, maybe 5?) he left the room in the middle of the night. I woke up to an empty dog bed and tore through the house looking for him. He was in the kitchen sitting. Good boy! After that he wandered around fairly frequently. When he finally climbed the stairs on his own to get back to his comfy bed I figured he was probably ready to be released to the rest of the house. It took 10 days before I felt like he was telling me - ok I'm done with this. I was also worried about running out of pain killers because that seemed to really help him. I used all of the doses the vet gave us (I think I had 6?) and ended up getting more from my regular vet, but I didn't need them! I worried for nothing, he was fine after 10 days. Still moved slowly and was very wobbly, but I could tell he was feeling much better. After that it was a long long road to watch his fur grow back. His fur hasn't been the same since. It's very course and I really think his back end is slightly lighter than his front.
But the bottomline - he made a full recovery. It was an expensive surgery - cost me $6,500 total. But he was only 1.5 years old when this happened. There was no way I was going to loose my precious boy when there was a 100% recovery rate. I strongly urge you to consider the surgery if you are able! Good luck everyone and safe recovery for our precious cats (and dogs!). Thank you Barbara for maintaining the website!
Hi Erica
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the extensive update on your furry kid. I wish we would hear some more people report back. It would be so nice to hear how all the other kitties are doing today after their FHO’s. I really appreciate that you took the time to post an update on your story.
I am so happy to read that your fur baby is doing so well. Poor little guy had a real tough go... since he had both hips done at the same time but from what I can see he recovered beautiful.
It just shows how resilient animals are!
I read that he sometimes does a little hop with both hint legs at the same time. I call it the Bunny-hop. Bentley does it too!
We started to give Bentley Glucosamine for felines and it seems to have made a difference for our Bentley.
Bentley has had off and on trouble with his right patella slipping in and out due to a slight twist in the femur. Just the way his leg positioned itself during the healing process post his first FHO.
However, since he has been taking the Glucosamine, he has had no further incidents...knock on wood!
You can buy it at your local Pet Store or you can purchase it also online. You do not need a prescription for the Glucosamine.
Bentley is going to be 10 years old this year. He shows no symptoms of having any pain in his hips or lower back at all. He can jump from the ground onto a table. However, he now, do to his age prefers most of the time to jump up in 2 steps, first onto a chair and then on to the table.
He did slow down a lot in the last year because of his Megacolon and constant constipation issues. Poor Bentley suffered from obstipation 5 times and ended up with another major surgery! This time he had to have part of his colon removed to avoid perforation and certain death. We almost lost him last year but Bentley pulled through again and recovered fully! Thank God for the Pet Insurance! I see that you have gotten it too…very smart to have as a pet owner!
He has since then gained quite a bit of weight. His Vet and Surgeon said that he finally started absorbing the nutrients in his food after the diseased part of his colon had been removed. He is currently on a low dose of steroids to control his IBD and also takes 2 stool softeners Miralax and Lactulose to keep his bowls soft and moving. He has had no more impacted stools for about a year now.
The Vets and I believe that Bentley developed his Megacolon before his FHO’s due to the pain from his fractured hips and therefore constant fear of squatting down to move his bowels. He would hold it in and stretched his colon which turned eventually into a Megacolon.
Megacolon is another disease many pet owners have euthanized over. Again megacolon is also very treatable!
An FHO is a tough one but I am still glad and don't regret that we did it and I am especially happy that so many others opt for the same decision with there feline friends …who are in need of an FHO.
They do recover fully and can live a very happy and long life after an FHO surgery.
Lots of love and thank you again for the wonderful update.
Bentley and I wish you all a very Happy and healthy 2020!