Gizmo's Surgery

I came home Sunday night to find my year and a half old kitty not in the greatest shape. He was hiding under my bed and wouldn't come out. I figured he was just upset that i had left him by himself while i was out of town. But once i coaxed him out of under the bed (with some treats) i saw that he has litter stuck all down one of his legs. I picked him up and put him in the bath tub to clean off the litter when he started yelling at me. After a few times i realized that he was yelling every time i picked up his leg. So i took him out of the bath tub and put him on the floor. That is when i realized that he was limping, badly.

Since it was Sunday night around 11pm i had to scoop Gizmo up and take him to the emergency vet clinic. Once there Gizmo was weighed (14.5 lbs, a little chunky) and then he was given some pain medication. One he was semi- sedated he was brought to the x-ray room. When the x-rays came back it showed that he had fractured his left hind leg's growth plate in his hip. This would require some surgery. The surgery recommended is called femoral head ostectomy or FHO.

So i left the emergency clinic with a broken Gizmo and a few days worth of pain medication. After a restless nights sleep i called the vet first thing in the morning to set up the surgery. The vet wasn't sure if he could perform the operation until he saw the x-rays. So on my way to school the next morning i dropped off the x-rays. The vet looked them over and said that he could do the surgery but it would have to wait until Wednesday when there was time available. Until then i had to keep Gizmo and inactive as possible and keep him medicated for the pain. (Poor guy)

Finally Wednesday morning arrived and i could take Gizmo in to have the surgery. He hadn't been eating or drinking well since the injury so when he was weighed he was already down to 13.6 (which is good because the vet said he had to go on a severe diet to promote recovery). Then came the hard part, leaving him until the next morning.

We have finally came to today, the pick up day. Gizmo was ready to be picked up at ten o clock this morning. I arrived at 10 on the dot because i missed my kitty. So i picked him him up, wiped out my savings account paying for the surgery, and bought some weight management cat food to help him lose weight, then i headed home.

I was only home for about an hour before having to go back to the vet's office for an e-collar to prevent Gizmo from ripping out his sutures. But other then trying to yank out the sutures he is doing much better. He wants to move around, but vet's orders require him to have limited movement for about a week. Right now he is on closet/bathroom rest. (I have a large walk in closet connected to a bathroom where Gizmo is currently residing) He is not to fond of the e-collar, but it is either deal with the collar or ripping out his sutures and having to go back to the vet and risking the chance of infection and further complications. So the e-collar it is!

Here is a picture of what Gizmo looked like right after i brought him home. AKA- pre-e-collar.

P.S.- my other kitten,Gadget, (6 months old) is absolutely miserable not being able to play with his big brother. They are best friends and he cannot wait until Gizmo is well enough to play. So keep your fingers crossed for a speedy recovery!