Misha's stitches were removed about 10 days after her major surgery. Her surgical wound has healed nicely, no obvious scars. But her tummy is botak and patchy. It will take some time for the fur to regrow.

About a week after that, Helmy noticed a small puncture-like wound on the right side of her tummy. It was small at first, barely noticeable if not for the missing patch of fur around the area. It was not something to be alarmed by, just a small cut, like a tiny scrape, but after one day, it turned out looking really gross because it got bigger/wider and I could see the fleshy 'insides'. Eiiiiiii.... takuuuuuutttt!!!

Helmy did a thorough inspection of the cage to see if there was any sharp or pointy edges that could've caused the wound but he did not find anything. I looked for traces of blood on her blankie (which is an old towel that we no longer use) but found nothing. It was impossible that she was in a fight cause we don't leave her outdoors. And it was also highly unlikely that it was self-inflicted. Would cats/animals do that to themselves for attention? *ponders*

I panicked, obviously... I know I know... "so what else is new?" you ask. Not to say that I got terrified at the sight of blood, but I immediately became weak in the knees when put in a bloody situation. Is that the same thing? Oh well... whateverlah.

We rushed her to the vet immediately. Luckily the hospital was still opened and my favorite our most-trusted vet** was on duty that day.

Upon inspection, the Vet told us it was possible that Misha had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics that was administered during the previous surgery. Other possibilities could be a puncture wound caused by a sharp object, but this we had confirmed was not possible. He was actually quite shocked to see the size of the wound too. He further explained that the cells around that area were 'dead' (caused by the antibiotics I think), and hence the skin sorta ruptured, resulting in the gross-looking wound. Ughh.


The wound was cleaned with antiseptic before being stitched


The bad news was since the hole was quite big and deep, the Vet needed to stitch it, so we ended up leaving Misha at the hospital again for a few days.

The good news was (according to the Vet) allergic reactions like this is usually 'localized', so we can safely expect that this will not happen again in other parts of her body.


Cage-rested and recovering


Termenung jauh mengenangkan nasib?


I am proud of Misha for staying strong despite all the pain that she had gone through the past month. Alhamdulillah.


**Our Vet is really good with Misha. I would stare in awe watching him do this do that, probe here probe there, and the way he handles her that made her calm and relaxed while he did whatever he needed to do. Mind you, our Vet is a tall, charmin', quite good-lookin', rawker-like guy, very laid-back and cool (I hope he never ever reads this!!! *blush*) and he's got shoulder-length hair which he sometimes ties up into a ponytail. I am starting to wonder if Misha was just finding excuses to meet him...
The Vet (Dr Finn) in Grey's was cute too, kan?? *giggles*

I didn't plan on the rather abrupt ending in the previous update on Misha's uterus removal.

I wanted to write more but I had to attend the weekly staff meeting (which Zan got to ponteng since she was on leave *winks at Zan*). And after the call, I didn't feel like continuing the update. Dah takde mood dah.

I wanted to continue writing the update at home but I had TAR to watch last night.

Thank you all, for your well-wishes. I am happy to tell you that Misha survived the very costly operation... Alhamdulillah.

Last Friday, the Vet called me about 30 minutes before the surgery to tell me that everything looked okay, so he will proceed as planned.

He called me about an hour and a half later to tell me that the uterus (and ovaries) had been removed and Misha was sleeping; still knocked out, sedated with anesthetics. He had to put her on IV drip to avoid dehydration.

The Vet mentioned that the removed uterus was already quite severely damaged (looked swollen with thick-lining wall and felt 'plasticky'). What Misha had is called "endometrial hyperplasia". I had to g00gle this medical term to find out more. Grey's Anat0my tak pernah tunjuk case macam ini.

As the article suggests, cats with this illness do not appear sickly. I had mentioned in my earlier post that I only noticed her bloated tummy. Her behaviorial patterns and eating habits were the same, nothing abnormal. Endometrial hyperplasia is a uterine infection due to hormonal changes but not as serious as pyometra.

Misha was kept overnight at the KL hospital so that her status could be monitored closely. She was sent back to the DU branch on Saturday evening. Helmy and I picked her up that evening itself because the Vet said she looked very tensed and refused to eat/drink.

...

I have to admit, I was very scared the whole time. Me, the scaredy-cat. I actually had nightmares the night before the surgery. I dreamt about losing her. I dreamt I was blogging about her death, sobbing heavily while I wrote her obituary. I dreamt of naming, in the years to come, a new female kitten Misha, too, in memory of my first Misha who had passed on. Nauzubillah. Jahat sungguh syaitan ni.


Misha is now at home, recovering but still a bit weak, and on antibiotics. I was told to allow very minimal movements and to have her confined to cage-rest until she gets better. Doctor's orders, must follow.

Helmy and I have to tackle her twice a day to pry her mouth open to pop the tiny antibiotic tablet inside. Not very easy to do this you know. I must say Mr famyBoy is actually getting really good at this antibiotic-feeding task. This morning he managed to feed her without my assistance. heh heh. Terrer lah you, Sayang.

Misha has a doctor's appointment next week to have her stitches removed. Eeiii... takuuuuut. And to think that I had gone through labor (24 and 30 hours, respectively), delivery pains and episiotomy... twice. Ugh.




Misha has to wear the collar thingy around her neck to prevent scratching or biting on her stitches



If all cats have nine lives, does this mean that Misha has eight more?
I don't remember her going through any other potentially life-risking situations before, apart from the really long flight from theUS to M@laysiaOhTanahAirku ten years ago. Semoga Mishaku terus dipanjangkan usia... insyaAllah.

Wanted to write but could not find time. Nor energy. Or mood. Sorry I haven't replied to your comments.

Misha had undergone a major surgery last week to have her uterus removed. What initially looked like a bulging tummy cum suspected pregnancy turned out to be accumulated fluid in her uterus and the only way to prevent infection to other internal organs is to have her uterus removed. Vet's advice, "Don't wait too long, but just to let you know that it would be a risky (and quite pricey) procedure to perform due to her (Misha's) age."

I had mixed feelings. The risk is there. But then again, the risk would be 'there' nonetheless. Just delayed, perhaps.

So, on Thursday evening, Misha was dropped off at the medical center in DU where she spent the night.

The surgery was scheduled to take place at the HQ in KL the next day.

I prayed and prayed and prayed that she would pull through it.