The last time I visited Colleen, I found her hiding, or — hmmm — posed underneath the table in the Community Room. Strange, I thought. Of course, there was a new batch of kittens in the room, and Colleen has a history of trying to avoid those furry little creatures. But the kittens were still being contained in cages at this point, so that couldn’t be the issue. Was there something else causing Colleen to be a bit less social?
Then I read the latest medical update on our beautiful girl, and I thought, oh my, if I had to have all my teeth removed, I’d hide under the table, too!
You read that right! Col’s severe dental disease has progressed to the point where a full mouth extraction seems to be in her best interest. Now, it isn’t so unusual to remove all of a cat’s teeth, but still, my heart goes out to our brave girl. With her delicate health issues, Col will need extra fluids to support her kidneys before the dental surgery begins later this month. This recommendation for dental surgery, by the way, came from a consult with a specialist, so I felt reassured that Colleen was in good hands.
But that wasn’t all. Colleen was also diagnosed with a heart murmur. This means that Colleen will also be seeing a cardiologist before her surgery.
The end result will hopefully be that Colleen will be more comfortable and happier. Colleen’s mouth hasn’t been right for quite some time, and surgery should hopefully eliminate the need to treat the inflammation with more aggressive antibiotics (which have been rough on Colleen’s gastrointestinal tract). The surgery should also help with her facial pawing.
Tabby’s Place’s Development Director, Angela, tells me that, at the meeting where all of Colleen’s medical issues were discussed, Jonathan’s reaction was simply, “Colleen is beautiful. That’s the result.”
So needless to say, when I last saw Colleen, I scooped her up in my arms and gave her the biggest hug! Keep her in your thoughts.
As always, Colleen and I thank you for your generosity. Have a lovely spring!