Greetings, Olive Lovers, and Happy Spring!
We know that Olive will be delighted by the warmer weather because it means that she’ll be able to spend time outdoors. We cannot take her for walks (she’s not really the type to accept a harness anyway), but we do have an enclosure we can put up temporarily, and Olive gets to feel the grass under her paws and can take in all the outdoor scents. She really seems to enjoy this enrichment activity.
If you’ll recall, last month our girl was observed grinding her teeth on several occasions. I was certain that this was due to stress because of the ongoing construction at Tabby’s Place, but once again Olive proved me wrong. The teeth-grinding episodes were followed by several days of drooling after she was expressed. This is definitely not normal behavior for her.
Olive had her oral exam, and a few teeth were removed. She also had an area of inflammation in the back of her mouth, and we believe that was the cause of the teeth grinding and drooling. She received doses of injectable antibiotics and a pain/anti-inflammatory medication (think of the latter as a feline NSAID). Olive recovered nicely from her procedure and seems much more comfortable. As a bonus, while she was under anesthesia, we did a blood draw, and she was given a clean bill of health. Hooray!
A temporary door was put up in the hallway off the lobby as part of our construction, and we must be very careful that our feisty black-and-white doesn’t manage to get through it. That’s not as easy as you might think. Of course, if you’ve followed Olive for any length of time, you understand that she’s always the first one in the lobby to check out anything new. In addition, despite being paraplegic, this is one fast feline. When Olive is motivated, she can really move! I haven’t heard of any instances in which she got through the door, but I’d be surprised if she didn’t make at least one attempt before the door is removed.
It means so much that you’re willing to help us take care of this young lady. Thank you!
Your correspondent,
Stephanie