[Lexi's Mom]

I'll apologize in the beginning for the long post. I wanted to take the time to answer some of the questions posed. Here goes our update.

I picked Lexi up at 5pm. The vet tech brought her out in her arms. She was more alert than I expected and shaking like crazy. I asked a million questions so I'll be able to share the information with anyone interested.

1) Eating/drinking: I was told to not give her ANYTHING until 8pm. I asked about Nutrical since it will have been 26 hours since she had any food and 23 hours since water. They told me "absolutely not". If she started to throw up then she would pull her stitches. I finally broke down at 7pm and gave her some Nutrical. Just a few tastes to make momma feel better. I watched her for over an hour and she seemed fine so at 8pm I gave her some baby food chicken. She ate about 1/3 of a jar and then it was off to bed.

No vomiting, very sleepy, acting "drugged" and very quiet.

2) Stairs/jumping: This was a big concern for me as my house has three levels. She can't even go potty outside without going down two steps and over a foot bridge. I was told to carry her last night and by today she'd be fine. They were right. She's doing stairs and her stitches look just fine. I asked about jumping and he said that she wouldn't want to jump - WRONG! She's already jumped up on the couch twice, despite the stool I put there to assist her. I will just keep a closer eye on her.

3) After care. Here's what the paper I got from the vet reads:
PROPER AFTERCARE FOLLOWING ABDOMINAL SURGERY:
*Keep incision clean and dry. Use hydrogen peroxide with cotton or kleenex to clean the incision as necessary.
*Observe incision for signs of irritation (redness, heat, and swelling). Return your pet if these signs show up.
*Call if your pet becomes ill (vomiting, depression, or appetite loss).
*Allow your animal to lie on clean dry surface. Avoid letting the pet lie on dirt or grease.
*Please call the office if there are any problems or questions that arise.
*Do not allow your pet to lick, chew, or scratchthe incision or sutures.
*The sutures are not dissovable. Please return your pet in 10-14 days, when the incision appears healed.
If your pet's surgery was done today, please do not give food or water til tomorrow.

I have more information on aftercare following anesthetic for anyone who's interested (too long to post here). PM me.

One thing that I noticed that has not been discussed was her labored breathing all night. My husband convinced me it was due to the tube that was down her throat and her small body trying to shake off the anesthetic. Every time she took a breath, she would make a sound in her throat and shake all over. It was very scary. That disappeared in the middle of the night. It might have something to do with the vaporizer I used in our room to ease her throat. She is shaking VERY little today and breathing normal.

I caught her trying to lick her stitches so I put on one of her longer tshirts. It covers the incision and she doesn't seem to want to go under the tshirt to get to it.

Today she ate a few pieces of kibble and the remaining baby food from last night. Now if I could get her to drink some water we'd be almost back to normal. I've been assured that she received plenty of fluids via i.v. and she's pottying like she's been drinking water.

In a nutshell, it really was alot easier than I expected it to be. I took today off work in order to spend four days with her on my lap but she just wants to sleep and potty and play! Like a normal day (almost).