Herschel
Does my life revolve around animals? Yes, four-legged and two-legged. On Monday last week, it was Herschel’s turn to spend a day with the vets. He arrived at 8:45 and had four teeth extracted. By half past three in the afternoon he was home again, and very pleased to be in his normal surroundings. He rubbed all round the dogs, purring loudly. We were told that he had been a very good boy and let the veterinary staff do all they had to do without fuss.
Two days later he was due to have a routine check to make sure everything was healing properly, but in the morning he was not very interested in his breakfast and was only persuaded to eat it with the addition of some chicken broth. He licked up the liquid very readily, but still left the meat, so his appointment was brought forward. The vet could find nothing wrong but felt he must be in pain, so prescribed some pain-killers for him. She gave him one before he came home and he was a very happy boy. We thought he might be a bit high on the drug as he was charging around the house, and we wondered if he would ever settle down to sleep that night.
The prescription was for a minute amount of liquid to be squirted into his throat, where it would be absorbed through the mucous membrane. Cats don’t take kindly to having things sprayed anywhere near them, let alone into their mouths. To add insult to the process, the medicine obviously tasted foul. Even worse was the fact that it had to be administered three times a day.
Herschel is a very forgiving cat. He struggles to get away when he senses what is about to happen. but never scratches or bites. A quick scruffing and the job is soon done, the pain is alleviated and peace is restored. He is now eating normally again. Long may it last!
Yesterday, when Charlie (9) and Jack (6) were with us for the day, both Herschel and Jellicoe received an extraordinary amount of attention. To Charlie’s delight, Herschel went to sleep on his lap and remained there for a long time. This served a double purpose. Sleep is good for healing and recovery, and Charlie was where we could see him and not able to slope off to nick more trifle!
Poor Hershel! Hopefully he feels better after having the teeth removed. Zoey had 7 done last year, her breath was horrible!
ReplyDeleteThe breath is the kicker to action! 😳
DeleteAaw, poor Herschel, having teeth extracted and then suffer the unpleasantness of medication three times a day. But what a good cat he sounds!
ReplyDeleteI often wonder how come humans have invented so much amd even managed to travel to the Moon and back, but still have not created medicine that our pets take willingly and easily.
If it's pills they will take those wrapped in cheese or meat. I must say that dogs are generally easier to medicate than cats. Cats are so cautious about anything unusual, as their digestion is not as robust as a dog's system.
DeletePlus most cats are less submissive to their humans than dogs.
DeleteHerschel on babysitting duty. Literally.
ReplyDeleteQuite so!
DeletePoor Herschel...Glad he was getting the extra attention. we all want this especially when we feel bad.
ReplyDeleteThat's very true.
DeleteI've tasted that liquid pain reliever and it tastes horrible. I never give anything to Precious without a taste test, lol. Hopefully Hershel is well on the way to total recovery. 4 at one time, that's a lot to recover from.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's almost a week now, so his gums should be hardening nicely.
DeletePoor Herschel, but glad things sounds like they're improving for him.
ReplyDeleteThat's good, Herschel is eating again and feeling more like himself.
ReplyDelete