Mancat Monday: Evan and His Ear

Hello, friends! I'm so sorry that I'm still doing terribly at the whole timely posting part of this blogging thing. I'm blessed that currently none of my kitties or pup have any serious ailments. That said, Evan's aural (ear) hematoma is causing him all sorts of trouble, and so he and I have been in and out of the vet lately. The hematoma popped up when he was shaking his head and sneezing a lot due to an upper respiratory infection at the end of January. Antibiotics at that point cleared the URI right up, but the hematoma remained.

I don't think we ever showed you a photo of Evan's ear hematoma at its worst. This was taken on February 3, when his pinna, that being the ear flap, had pretty much fully filled with blood.

The hematoma itself is now finally, slowly getting smaller, which is what we want. But, Evan now has a secondary ear infection that somehow didn't even show up until after the hematoma did. The infection likely developed because when the hematoma was at its largest, his ear was so swollen and flopped over that his ear canal was getting very little air flow and was not easily accessible for cleaning, which was not a great combo. After some email conversations with the vet on Friday evening, I picked up some antibiotics for Evan on Saturday morning. This morning, Evan's vet did a little recheck of his ear, and he's already happy with how the infection is drying up.

Hematomas can and usually will heal on their own over time. Evan's veterinarian deemed that the best option for him, so as to hopefully avoid surgery for a variety of reasons. Evan is already a complicated case with various health issues, and the vet would like to avoid surgery if the hematoma will ultimately heal on its own without putting Evan through the procedure and recovery process. That said, given some of the complications Evan has now had, the vet wants to see how Evan's ear is doing by the middle of next week. If at that point the hematoma is still the same size as it is now, he would then likely recommend the surgery. I'm hoping we can avoid that, in no small part because even a minor surgery is a worrisome thing, but we'll see how the next week and a half goes.

I think what's making me the most upset throughout this whole process is that Evan has, at times, started avoiding me and hiding. When the hematoma first showed up and was at its worst, the discomfort might have played a part in that, though he was and still is on pain and anti-inflammatory meds that help reduce any discomfort. Honestly, I think Evan is giving me distance at times because some days I'm medicating him up to 7 times. Though he lets me medicate him, he absolutely does not enjoy it. So, between all of his meds for his urinary and bowel issues, extra medication dosages to reduce discomfort from the hematoma, and now the new antibiotics, Evan is just sick and tired of me. He's still my little momma's boy, but I can't wait until we've gotten past all of this so that he stops being suspicious of me and running under the bed when he thinks I'm about to pounce him with a syringe or pill.

I know the photos above look sad, and that what I said about him running and hiding from me is just as sad or sadder, but Evan is still overall a happy boy. When it's time to settle in on the couch for the night, he's right by my side. He still cuddles this here momma of his and purrs for me, and he of course still loves his treats. Still, though, I cannot wait until this hematoma has fully regressed and he's back to only getting his couple of medications a day, because I feel like such a bad cop to this poor boy right now.

Happy Monday to all of you!

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Doodle of the Day

I'm sure I've mentioned here before how drawing is often a coping mechanism for me. When something upsets me, sometimes if I turn it into art, I feel a bit better. So, I drew Evan with his little floppy ear. I did this in no small part so that, when Evan's aural hematoma is all healed up and gone, I can look back on the above photos and this doodle and remember them as the past. Anyway, here you go.

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Tip of the Day

Today's National Cat Health Care Month tip is all about those litter boxes. Especially if you have multiple cats, make sure that you have enough litter boxes with regard to the number of kitties in the home. It is often recommended that you have as many litter as you have cats, plus one. If there are not enough litter boxes, it is possible that cats might quickly find the litter boxes too filled or dirty, or that there might even be some bullying or battles over use of litter boxes. This could lead some cats to have to hold onto their urine or stool, which in turn could lead to issues such as UTIs or constipation. Or, some cats might simply begin looking for other areas in the house to urinate or defecate outside of the box.

Other litter box issues that might lead to health concerns or unwanted behaviors include litter boxes that are not cleaned enough, litter boxes that are in an area that is too high traffic for some cats' preference, litter boxes that are hidden too far away for certain cats' liking, or litter boxes that contain a type of litter that certain cats simply do not prefer. Obviously, issues such as holding urine or stool, resulting UTIs and constipation, and out-of-box urination and defecation are not ideal. For these reasons, do be sure that the litter box situation is suitable for all cats in the house, so that all the kitties involved can stay as happy and healthy as possible.