Driven!
Jellicoe models his recovery cone
With his head securely surrounded by a blue recovery cone of washable material, Jellicoe is prevented from scratching or grooming. The hood is fastened with draw cords around his neck, and protects the site of the oesophageal tube insertion while it heals, as well as his eye. He did manage to remove the cone one day, and immediately scratched his neck and made it bleed, but we were able to replace it instantly, and no lasting harm was done.
Every day brings another small improvement in Jellicoe’s recovery. On Sunday, he headbutted me, something he had not done since his operation. It is a sign of affection and bonding, and I hadn’t realised how much I had missed it.
He is not a cat who overgrooms. Some cats wash for hours after eating, or being touched by humans, but Jellicoe and Herschel do only what is necessary and no more to keep their fur in good condition.
However, the urge to groom is extremely strong, and he licks his paw, as he would normally, to scrub his face, and works hard to complete his ablutions, ‘washing’ the exterior of his hood. It looks very endearing, but I wonder if he is frustrated by not being able to complete the task effectively. The rasping of his tongue on the material is persistent and quite loud. Eventually, he stops, and then attempts to satisfy an itch, again being able only to scratch his collar.
Gilbert quickly overcame his consternation at the sight of the wavering blue object making its way around the house, and realised it was only his little friend in strange head gear. The cone accentuates the lateral movement of the head common to all cats, wild or domestic, as Jellicoe saunters across a room.
The eye is not completely healed, but looks much less sore. Jellicoe does not appreciate eye drops being applied, but the cat heroin he is still having once a day soon sends him off to sweet dreamland.
In a few days’ time he will return to the Aura, for his condition to be assessed. Hopefully, he will not need any further surgery.
Veterinary medicine and surgery are extraordinarily advanced. There are significant overlaps and coordination between the two disciplines. For example, research into Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) has contributed to AIDs research for almost forty years, leading to the development of antivirals for the treatment of HIV.
Advances have also been made in the study and control of zoonoses. The ‘One Medicine’ concept advocates studying diseases across species, to the benefit of increasing knowledge in human and animal pathology.
