Merry Christmas from Amber and I! Wishing all our fellow tripawds a safe and happy holiday! As you can see Amber enjoyed the box much more than the little dress I put her in!

I hope all my fellow Tripawds had an amazing Thanksgiving! Amber is officially past her 2 week post-op milestone! She is doing great and continues to amaze me every day. I am happy to report that her biopsy came back and there was “no evidence of cancer near the margins” and “little to no chance that the cancer will return.” A huge sigh of relief there and it’s comforting to know I made the right decision for her. Amber also gets her stitches out in 2 days.

Here is Amber enjoying some highly supervised time without her cone in her favorite place during the holidays: under the Christmas tree.

Amber also got one of her Christmas presents early for being such an amazing trikitty. As you can tell, it quickly became a new favorite!

Amber has also finally taken a liking to a bed we got for her as a kitten. She looks kinda funny in it though! Like someone trying to squeeze into a pair of skinny jeans!

I think I may just be blessed with one of the most amazing cats ever! Amber is doing great one week post-op! There have been virtually no issues so far during recovery and even one week in, I have not noticed any pain signals or phantom limb pain from her. We also have enjoyed many post-surgery cuddles. While it sounds a little cheesy, I am truly cherishing the time I spend with her right now.

There have only been a few kinks and they were human error only.

The morning after her first day home, I panicked for a minute because I couldn’t remember if her Buprenorphine could be given at the same time as the Gabapentin. Luckily, the specialist I took her to has an emergency department and they were able to advise me.

I also think I am giving up on the onesie idea. The first set I ordered fit waist-wise but were way too short. After buying a larger size that could have worked, I realized that due to the incision being too close to her tail, I would not be able to have it cover the entire incision and create a tail-hole large enough to not restrict bathroom capabilities.

The other mishap I had was I accidentally gave her a dose of Gabapentin when she was actually due for Buprenorphine. It was totally my fault and it was likely a result of being tired after working a full shift.   In a panic, I called her veterinarian. Luckily, there were no major consequences for my mistake. She was just a little extra sleepy that night. I definitely have been MUCH more careful since then.

Another thing I want to note is the reaction of other people. I hear a lot of “ohhh poor thing.” I actually make an effort to correct them and tell them how great she is doing by showing them pictures and videos of her progress. I haven’t given Amber any pity since she came home. I honestly think my positive attitude has kept her spirits up and has contributed to her recovery process.

Here is a video from today! Her walking and movement has improved exponentially! I could not be happier! The weird, gaspy sounds you hear are actually her meows. She can meow fully (usually if she is crying for attention or is mad we are taking her to the vet), but often when she is happy and content her meows will only come out half way. Its a quirk she has had ever since she was a kitten and I absolutely love it about her.

Amber getting close and personal!

While I have generally kept her away from stairs, she was feeling rather daring on Tuesday and went up AND down a few stairs before I caught her. Much to my surprise, she had no issues here!

All in all I couldn’t be more happy how well she is progressing and I look forward to her continue to amaze me. I expect the biopsy results to be returned this week and will update then!

As Day 1 after Amber’s surgery comes to a close, I am no longer feeling any regret. It has given me a lot of hope witnessing how strong and resilient she has been! Tonight, she rolled on her back for a belly rub and purred away. It was such a sweet moment!

Amber is officially home from surgery!!! YAY!!! Things seem to be going quite well so far. The surgical site was not nearly as jarring as I thought it would be. That was definitely a fear of mine. I was nervous that the I would find the surgery site hard to look at and that would project unintended negative energy towards her. The veterinarian prescribed Gabapentin every 8-12 hours and Buprenorphine every 12 hours. For now, she seems pretty comfortable. I was happy to see her eat a little canned food! I don’t expect her to be too thirsty since I am pretty sure she received IV fluids during and after the procedure. She also has pooped and peed in the litter box so that’s very exciting LOL! Right now she’s resting in her bed. I will note that she is quite wobbly still and I believe she is frustrated by this. She let out a few low, kind of groaned meows when she was hobbling around. They were the same meows she usually makes when she is frustrated so I don’t think they were indications of pain. She let out that same meow when I caught her trying to slip past me and escape the large dog cage she is staying in and I gently pushed her back in! I plan to update again on how she is doing this evening!