Update on Hobbes

Thank you all for your purrs and good wishes to Hobbes. As I
reported, I took him back to the vet on Saturday and they felt that
the wound had enlarged simply because dead tissue had fallen away.
They did, however, recommend a medication to put into the wound to
generate tissue growth as well as recommending I use an e-collar so
that he can't irritate the wound. Because we had obligations that
took us away from home for a good part of the weekend, I asked if he
could stay with the vet until Monday afternoon. I simply felt this
was the better option for Hobbes at that time. They could confine him
to a smaller area than I could and make sure he was getting his
medicine as necessary and he could get used to the e-collar. I was
very concerned about bringing him home and having to leave right away
without seeing how he reacted to the e-collar and how Sammy reacted to
Hobbes in his e-collar. I didn't want them fighting. Plus, at the
time I just felt like I was out of my element with this type of
wound. It just looked so horrible and painful and I couldn't believe
I could take care of him. I picked Hobbes up on Monday afternoon and
the wound doesn't look a lot better but I'm more prepared now to deal
with what needs to be done. He came home with a very large e-collar
which I think was made for a d*g not a cat. I had a smaller collar
used at some time in the past which fits him well and works better.
His fructosimide levels were elevated so we're going to put him back
on insulin but at 1 unit twice per day for the moment to see if that
works. Hopefully it won't get as bad as it had previously.

If anyone has any suggestions of ways to make eating easier for Hobbes
while wearing the e-collar I would appreciate them. He is able to
drink water but so far he's having trouble grazing (which I guess he
really doesn't need to do anyhow, but I'll worry about diet after we
get past this crisis.). I take the collar off of him in the morning
and twice in the evening so that he can eat but if there are any
suggestions to make it easier for him I'd like to try.

Thank you all again for the purrs and the good wishes.
Julie and Hobbes

Hi Julie,

We had to deal with the same thing when Ted (RB) had a wound on her
butt from running away from an aggressive cat (eeeeuuuu!) and had to
wear an elizabethan collar for 10 days while the wound healed. We put
her food on a pedestal that allowed her to approach the bowl without
the e-collar getting in the way. Ted decided she liked food-on-a-
pedestal so much that she sulked when we put it back on the floor
after the e-collar was removed! I can't quite remember what we used
as a pedestal, but I think it may have been something terribly complex
like a bunch of tincans stacked up!

Hugs to you and scritches to Hobbes. I hope he's back to 100% very
soon!
Tish

On Mar 28, 7:09 am, "GaDragonfly" wrote:
Thank you all for your purrs and good wishes to Hobbes. As I
reported, I took him back to the vet on Saturday and they felt that
the wound had enlarged simply because dead tissue had fallen away.
They did, however, recommend a medication to put into the wound to
generate tissue growth as well as recommending I use an e-collar so
that he can't irritate the wound. Because we had obligations that
took us away from home for a good part of the weekend, I asked if he
could stay with the vet until Monday afternoon. I simply felt this
was the better option for Hobbes at that time. They could confine him
to a smaller area than I could and make sure he was getting his
medicine as necessary and he could get used to the e-collar. I was
very concerned about bringing him home and having to leave right away
without seeing how he reacted to the e-collar and how Sammy reacted to
Hobbes in his e-collar. I didn't want them fighting. Plus, at the
time I just felt like I was out of my element with this type of
wound. It just looked so horrible and painful and I couldn't believe
I could take care of him. I picked Hobbes up on Monday afternoon and
the wound doesn't look a lot better but I'm more prepared now to deal
with what needs to be done. He came home with a very large e-collar
which I think was made for a d*g not a cat. I had a smaller collar
used at some time in the past which fits him well and works better.
His fructosimide levels were elevated so we're going to put him back
on insulin but at 1 unit twice per day for the moment to see if that
works. Hopefully it won't get as bad as it had previously.

If anyone has any suggestions of ways to make eating easier for Hobbes
while wearing the e-collar I would appreciate them. He is able to
drink water but so far he's having trouble grazing (which I guess he
really doesn't need to do anyhow, but I'll worry about diet after we
get past this crisis.). I take the collar off of him in the morning
and twice in the evening so that he can eat but if there are any
suggestions to make it easier for him I'd like to try.

Thank you all again for the purrs and the good wishes.
Julie and Hobbes

GaDragonfly wrote:
If anyone has any suggestions of ways to make eating easier for Hobbes
while wearing the e-collar I would appreciate them. He is able to

Perhaps a semi-liquid diet like the KMR 2nd stage for kittens? Not good
for long term feeding, but should be ok for a few days.

Thank you all again for the purrs and the good wishes.

Lots of purrs!

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

GaDragonfly wrote:
Thank you all again for the purrs and the good wishes.

Purrs on-going to Hobbes. I thought of a pedestal, too. Maybe a small
but sturdy cardboard box?

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.
Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/
Pics at http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o185/frankiennikki/
http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

"GaDragonfly" wrote:
It just looked so horrible and painful and I couldn't believe
I could take care of him. I picked Hobbes up on Monday afternoon and
the wound doesn't look a lot better but I'm more prepared now to deal
with what needs to be done. He came home with a very large e-collar
which I think was made for a d*g not a cat. I had a smaller collar
used at some time in the past which fits him well and works better.
His fructosimide levels were elevated so we're going to put him back
on insulin but at 1 unit twice per day for the moment to see if that
works. Hopefully it won't get as bad as it had previously.

Continuing purrs for Hobbes. It must look bad, but at the same time,
it's not nearly as sinister as the more hidden conditions that Sam or
Selena had.

GaDragonfly wrote:

Thank you all for your purrs and good wishes to Hobbes. As I
reported, I took him back to the vet on Saturday and they felt that
the wound had enlarged simply because dead tissue had fallen away.
They did, however, recommend a medication to put into the wound to
generate tissue growth as well as recommending I use an e-collar so
that he can't irritate the wound. Because we had obligations that
took us away from home for a good part of the weekend, I asked if he
could stay with the vet until Monday afternoon. I simply felt this
was the better option for Hobbes at that time. They could confine him
to a smaller area than I could and make sure he was getting his
medicine as necessary and he could get used to the e-collar. I was
very concerned about bringing him home and having to leave right away
without seeing how he reacted to the e-collar and how Sammy reacted to
Hobbes in his e-collar. I didn't want them fighting. Plus, at the
time I just felt like I was out of my element with this type of
wound. It just looked so horrible and painful and I couldn't believe
I could take care of him. I picked Hobbes up on Monday afternoon and
the wound doesn't look a lot better but I'm more prepared now to deal
with what needs to be done. He came home with a very large e-collar
which I think was made for a d*g not a cat. I had a smaller collar
used at some time in the past which fits him well and works better.
His fructosimide levels were elevated so we're going to put him back
on insulin but at 1 unit twice per day for the moment to see if that
works. Hopefully it won't get as bad as it had previously.

If anyone has any suggestions of ways to make eating easier for Hobbes
while wearing the e-collar I would appreciate them. He is able to
drink water but so far he's having trouble grazing (which I guess he
really doesn't need to do anyhow, but I'll worry about diet after we
get past this crisis.). I take the collar off of him in the morning
and twice in the evening so that he can eat but if there are any
suggestions to make it easier for him I'd like to try.

Thank you all again for the purrs and the good wishes.
Julie and Hobbes

We continue to send lots of healing purrs and best wishes,
Polonca and Soncek

GaDragonfly wrote:
Thank you all for your purrs and good wishes to Hobbes. As I
reported, I took him back to the vet on Saturday and they felt that
the wound had enlarged simply because dead tissue had fallen away.
They did, however, recommend a medication to put into the wound to
generate tissue growth as well as recommending I use an e-collar so
that he can't irritate the wound. Because we had obligations that
took us away from home for a good part of the weekend, I asked if he
could stay with the vet until Monday afternoon. I simply felt this
was the better option for Hobbes at that time. They could confine him
to a smaller area than I could and make sure he was getting his
medicine as necessary and he could get used to the e-collar. I was
very concerned about bringing him home and having to leave right away
without seeing how he reacted to the e-collar and how Sammy reacted to
Hobbes in his e-collar. I didn't want them fighting. Plus, at the
time I just felt like I was out of my element with this type of
wound. It just looked so horrible and painful and I couldn't believe
I could take care of him. I picked Hobbes up on Monday afternoon and
the wound doesn't look a lot better but I'm more prepared now to deal
with what needs to be done. He came home with a very large e-collar
which I think was made for a d*g not a cat. I had a smaller collar
used at some time in the past which fits him well and works better.
His fructosimide levels were elevated so we're going to put him back
on insulin but at 1 unit twice per day for the moment to see if that
works. Hopefully it won't get as bad as it had previously.

If anyone has any suggestions of ways to make eating easier for Hobbes
while wearing the e-collar I would appreciate them. He is able to
drink water but so far he's having trouble grazing (which I guess he
really doesn't need to do anyhow, but I'll worry about diet after we
get past this crisis.). I take the collar off of him in the morning
and twice in the evening so that he can eat but if there are any
suggestions to make it easier for him I'd like to try.

Thank you all again for the purrs and the good wishes.
Julie and Hobbes

{{{Julie}}}

Purrs to Hobbes for a swift recovery.

I am not good at e-collars at all. All I know is that you have to make
sure the wide end isn't so long that they can't eat. Could you trim it
slightly??

Ginger-lyn

On Mar 28, 12:06 am, Takayuki wrote:

Continuing purrs for Hobbes. It must look bad, but at the same time,
it's not nearly as sinister as the more hidden conditions that Sam or
Selena had.

Thanks Tak and you're right, it looked nasty but he certainly didn't
act hurt. He must have been like Mark experienced, once the abscess
(or boil in Mark's case) erupted then the worst of the pain was
relieved. Hmmm, I'll post pictures of Hobbes abscess, Mark, if you'll
post pictures of yours. No wait...you have no shame, you'd post them
very evil grin.

Julie

On Apr 2, 4:33 pm, polonca12000 wrote:
GaDragonfly wrote:
Thank you all for your purrs and good wishes to Hobbes. As I
reported, I took him back to the vet on Saturday and they felt that
the wound had enlarged simply because dead tissue had fallen away.
They did, however, recommend a medication to put into the wound to
generate tissue growth as well as recommending I use an e-collar so
that he can't irritate the wound. Because we had obligations that
took us away from home for a good part of the weekend, I asked if he
could stay with the vet until Monday afternoon. I simply felt this
was the better option for Hobbes at that time. They could confine him
to a smaller area than I could and make sure he was getting his
medicine as necessary and he could get used to the e-collar. I was
very concerned about bringing him home and having to leave right away
without seeing how he reacted to the e-collar and how Sammy reacted to
Hobbes in his e-collar. I didn't want them fighting. Plus, at the
time I just felt like I was out of my element with this type of
wound. It just looked so horrible and painful and I couldn't believe
I could take care of him. I picked Hobbes up on Monday afternoon and
the wound doesn't look a lot better but I'm more prepared now to deal
with what needs to be done. He came home with a very large e-collar
which I think was made for a d*g not a cat. I had a smaller collar
used at some time in the past which fits him well and works better.
His fructosimide levels were elevated so we're going to put him back
on insulin but at 1 unit twice per day for the moment to see if that
works. Hopefully it won't get as bad as it had previously.

If anyone has any suggestions of ways to make eating easier for Hobbes
while wearing the e-collar I would appreciate them. He is able to
drink water but so far he's having trouble grazing (which I guess he
really doesn't need to do anyhow, but I'll worry about diet after we
get past this crisis.). I take the collar off of him in the morning
and twice in the evening so that he can eat but if there are any
suggestions to make it easier for him I'd like to try.

Thank you all again for the purrs and the good wishes.
Julie and Hobbes

We continue to send lots of healing purrs and best wishes,
Polonca and Soncek

Thanks Polonca and Soncek, the purrs and best wishes are working. The
wound is almost completely healed. In one week he went from severe,
open wound - to - almost totally healed wound. Julie

On Apr 2, 6:20 pm, Ginger-lyn wrote:
GaDragonfly wrote:
Thank you all for your purrs and good wishes to Hobbes. As I
reported, I took him back to the vet on Saturday and they felt that
the wound had enlarged simply because dead tissue had fallen away.
They did, however, recommend a medication to put into the wound to
generate tissue growth as well as recommending I use an e-collar so
that he can't irritate the wound. Because we had obligations that
took us away from home for a good part of the weekend, I asked if he
could stay with the vet until Monday afternoon. I simply felt this
was the better option for Hobbes at that time. They could confine him
to a smaller area than I could and make sure he was getting his
medicine as necessary and he could get used to the e-collar. I was
very concerned about bringing him home and having to leave right away
without seeing how he reacted to the e-collar and how Sammy reacted to
Hobbes in his e-collar. I didn't want them fighting. Plus, at the
time I just felt like I was out of my element with this type of
wound. It just looked so horrible and painful and I couldn't believe
I could take care of him. I picked Hobbes up on Monday afternoon and
the wound doesn't look a lot better but I'm more prepared now to deal
with what needs to be done. He came home with a very large e-collar
which I think was made for a d*g not a cat. I had a smaller collar
used at some time in the past which fits him well and works better.
His fructosimide levels were elevated so we're going to put him back
on insulin but at 1 unit twice per day for the moment to see if that
works. Hopefully it won't get as bad as it had previously.

If anyone has any suggestions of ways to make eating easier for Hobbes
while wearing the e-collar I would appreciate them. He is able to
drink water but so far he's having trouble grazing (which I guess he
really doesn't need to do anyhow, but I'll worry about diet after we
get past this crisis.). I take the collar off of him in the morning
and twice in the evening so that he can eat but if there are any
suggestions to make it easier for him I'd like to try.

Thank you all again for the purrs and the good wishes.
Julie and Hobbes

{{{Julie}}}

Purrs to Hobbes for a swift recovery.

I am not good at e-collars at all. All I know is that you have to make
sure the wide end isn't so long that they can't eat. Could you trim it
slightly??

Ginger-lyn

THanks Ginger-lyn. I actually used an ecollar that was smaller around
the face. It looked like a lampshade and just skimmed his ears and
face. Just enough that he couldn't get back to his bottom but small
enough that he could drink water and eat a little food. Purrs to you
and yours. I hope you are beginning to feel a little better now.
Julie, Hobbes, Lacey, Sam and Barnabus