Ella.

WARNING : This may be long to read.


During my abscence from this here place, Ella the oldest (4yrs) of our pride has been involved in yet another RTA.

A week before Christmas, the OH, has gone out with colleagues for a staff party, miserable grumpy teenager is being a pain, me is trying to drag myself up from I am not sure where.

Knock on the door, it is the next door neighbour, has a poorly cat in his garden. Miserable teenager decides he will go see if it's one of ours. 2-3 minutes pass, miserable teenager comes back with neighbour carrying said cat in tow, miserable teenager says "I think it's Ella"

Neigbour says he found her by our garages, and she did not move. I immediately grabbed her, thanked him and said I need to get this sorted. I straight away knew she was in trouble, her back end was 'floppy' and she was very subdued. I got my phone out and rang our vets, looking at the clock it was 10 to 7, they close at 7, but it is less than 1/4 mile away, receptionist says come straight away, no sooner said than done.

It is not looking good, and I am fearing the worst.

After an examination, Simon (the vet) says we need x-rays, do it says I. Nothing broken ! But their could be damage that cannot be seen, she has to stay in, they will take good care of her.

Next day, after a pretty much sleepless night, Simon rings, and says she is ok, but paralyzed from her middle down ! We were lucky that we had got her to him, she was only 20 mins or so from leaving us forever, as she had started to shut down

The relief, that she had made it through the night was immense.

Further examinations confirmed that there was no breaks in bones or owt like that, the damage is to the nerves, and time will tell.

Ella came home and was caged (which the vets kindly supplied) for 6 weeks, after which we decided she was in need of more space, we started to leave the cage door open, but made sure the door to the room we had her in was closed.

As the weeks went by it became noticeable that she was getting stronger on her right rear side but the left rear was almost useless. Vet advised we do physio, which we did twice a day, she loved the cuddles bless her.

Nothing really changed on the left side, we carried on and carried on, 2 weekly visits to the vets, eventually we had to have a discussion !

Now 4 months on, Ella is in good health, but the left leg needs to be amputated. Seeing her scooting around the house is a blessing and funny at times. She comes out into the garden and bathes in a warm sun on the decking. Just this morning she played with a mouse brought in by her daughter Clover, then left the finalities to the others.

We have to save up a few pennies to pay for the amputation as we have no pet insurance, but she should be having the OP in the next couple of weeks.

Just like any Feline, Ella takes advantage of the soft touch we are, and knows how to put on those eyes !

 

Aw Steve . Poor Ella's used up a few of those nine lives. Glad she's coping well after her ordeal and I'm sure she'll do the same after her amputation. They can manage fine on 3 legs.

 

Just a quick update.

Ella is booked in for Thursday this week, to have her left back leg amputated. Apparantley she will be able to come home that evening as long as all is well

 

All the best for her!

 

Thank you.

 

Just read all this about your Ella, Steve. I 'm sure she will amaze you with her spirit and will be up and about once she's mastered the balance and brain realignment. I wish you and Ella well on Thursday,
Jenny

 

@Gdnam ....I've only just seen this....Ella will amaze you...she's done so well with your care to get over the accident in the first place....her OP will be a walk in the park compared to what she's already been through....Wishing her well as soon asyou'll all be in my thoughts come Thursday...there'll be no holding her down once she's recuperated

 

Ella is home, she has made a fantastic recovery from the surgery, the Vet is very pleased with how it has gone. She was very happy to see us this morning, she scooted around the examination room like nothing I'd ever seen

Here is a photo of her enjoying her first meal back home...



As you can see, she is quite comfortable standing on the 1 back leg.

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts, from me and OH and of course from Ella.

I have copied this from my post in the Wakey Wakey thread

 

Ella is sleeping now, it has been an eventful 24 hours for her.

She is on room rest, which means we have to keep her confined to a secure room (good job the weather is not so good). She seems happy enough, gave me and her Mum lots of cuddles and VERY loud purrs this afternoon.

We have to take her back to the Vets for a check up next Friday, but I cannot foresee any problems.

I still cannot get to grips at the speed of recovery from such major surgery, we have had Females neutered who have taken at least a couple of days to recover, Ella, well she has taken it all in here stride and bounced right back on her feet (no pun intended).

We could not be happier, and I have to say, from all the indications neither could Ella.

Thank you all for your kind words and support.

Oh and Ella says

 

I'm really glad she's doing so well.....she must be a tough little thing. I wish her a continued and speedy recovery. With you and Mrs Gdnam caring for her I'm sure she'll do just fine.

 

What a beautiful gal she is Gdnam. So glad it all went well for her. In a couple of weeks she'll be running about with Clover and all this will have been forgotten,
Jenny

 

Quick update.

Ella is coming along really well, she has adapted to her disability superbly. The vet does not need to see her again for a month, or unless we have any concerns.

She copes with the stairs and cat flaps easily, and enjoys keeping all the other cats in check. The only thing she misses is being able to jump up on to our laps for cuddles, but she now has a certain meow that tells us she wants picking up.

 

Great news @Gdnam glad she's doing well & adapting