Broken Hip, Orthopedic Surgery Tomorrow

[John Popp]

I'm glad to hear that Chongo is settling down - it is nerve wracking when they fight against the crate! Hopefully each day will be better and the next eight weeks will fly by!

Yes, nerve wracking and heartbreaking. He did let me get a good night sleep, only waking me up at a little after 5, so I'll take it. Things are definitely settling in and while we're sure there will be other challenges things finally seem manageable.

 

[Amanda]

John, I'm so happy to hear that he's doing well, even if he's squirmy. He has one good daddy!

It sounds like you could start your own business designing and selling specialty pet carriers/kennels.

 

[John Popp]

Just a quick update, things are going extremely well right now. The crate thing is pretty much figured out though less than ideal. Chongo will play with me through the crate as opposed to always needing to open the door. His calls are no longer distressed or bordering on angry, just rather quietly asking for attention which he is continually granted.

Trish stayed with him all day yesterday and he was very well behaved and it seems like I am the instigator to some of his more robust crate behavior. Takes his medication without any fuss and is more willing to stay put for new food and water (his crate at the surgery facility had the label escape artist on the door). In all we're just extremely happy he isn't giving us much grief while at the same time still being the very spirited kitten that made him stand out amongst his litter mates.

As for getting into the convalescing crate business, it's not in the cards for me. What I do plan to do is contact one of the premium crate vendors who also sells additional parts and order a custom one. That way they can either place it on their site to order or I can at least place the details of how to obtain one in a separate thread. The three really important things are width that coincides with the length of a litter box so as there aren't any pinch points to get caught up in, Height limited to around 20" so it doesn't promote climbing (better they need to duck than climbing the sides) and dual doors so you access litter easily. Perhaps a slide in divider that would make maintenance easier, just need to see how things go.

Again, I'll post a separate thread as I get the details nailed down and see what Chongo has in store for us. As mentioned, things are going well right now and many of the issues we were having have been remedied. Also, it certainly helps to have a patient that's being cooperative no matter how much he wants to breath the air of freedom that resides right outside the door of his crate.

 

[Patti]

I'm so glad to hear that Chongo is settling in for you - it's going to be a long haul, but at this point in time sounds doable.

 

[John Popp]

Thanks Patti!

Chongo is doing much better today. We removed the Fentanyl patch from his neck and his anxiety/agitation level has significantly dropped. Not sure if it was from the medication itself or having that nasty sticky ace bandage thing around his neck. Either way, no yelping for attention nor any rattling of the tin cup across the bars of his cell. He truly is the best of boys and pretty much gone at this like a real trooper.

Hopefully this means he'll let me get a full night of rest on my own schedule so I can return to my bed instead of sleeping on the floor. Either way, Trish gets to pull duty on the floor tonight as I'm out of town for a couple days on business and hopefully she'll forgive me for the hourly calls asking for updates.

 

[SV Dad]

...removed the Fentanyl patch from his neck and his anxiety/agitation level has significantly dropped.

My educated opinion (as humans are my specialty) is that these are known side effects. Those symptoms probably declined slowly over a period of hours as the drug remaining in the dermal tissues decreased.
Glad to hear the recovery is progressing nicely.

 

[admin]

John looks like i have missed quite a bit. I'm do fault Chongo is out of surgery and doing well. Fentanyl may have caused some of the anxiety...

Prayers that Chongo continues to improve and stay as quiet as a savannah can.

Thanks for being such a great savannah dad!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[John Popp]

His need for attention is overwhelming at times, as he can only be distracted with a toy for a few minutes. Never a problem keeping himself entertained outside the crate, but inside nearly every waking minute requires some interaction. We want to make sure he doesn't develop any esteem or social issues from being crated and we're pretty much on top of him all day.

6 days down, 50 more to go.

 

[jungle boy]

Chongo is TRULY blessed to own you as his human! Hang in there John!

 

[John Popp]

2 weeks from the accident and 11 days since surgery, Chongo is doing pretty well. I can get him in and out of his crate without any episodes, and for the most part he's fairly content. He does pretty much make a daily mess of things and at some point walk through his water. The helpless or angry cries have been replaced by a more positive tone asking for attention which is always granted.

The incision from his surgery has almost totally vanished and he'll regularly put weight on his repaired leg. With the few steps he takes hardly a noticeable hitch and certainly nothing resembling a limp. We're definitely grateful while also being cautiously optimistic about what the next 6 weeks hold. One thing for sure, is he's a trooper and has responded pretty well to what the new ground rules are.

His first follow up appointment is later this week and I'm sure they'll be happy with how well he's doing. He'll also have the opportunity to turn on the charm with the techs at the surgery center right after he's done letting me know how much he hates being in the car and in the carrier.