Cone and Craziness

It's been 2 weeks since Lyra was spayed (at age 10 weeks!) at the animal shelter. We adopted her and Koto (he was neutered too)just about 24 hours after the surgery.

For reasons unknown, we were not given any post-op instructions from the shelter when we adopted the kittens. Both seemed completely up to speed when they came home, so we didn't restrict their activities, above trying to keep Lyra from jumping too much the first few days.

About a week later, I noticed Lyra's incision was weeping -- just a little, but a cause for concern. A trip to the vet confirmed an infection. An antibiotic (Clavamox) was dispensed, and she was given a plastic Elizabethan collar (e-collar) to keep her away from the incision. They had to cut down the cone just to get it to fit around her teeny lil neck.

She adjusted surprisingly well to the cone -- barely bothered her at all, even from the start. And the antibiotic took care of the infection. Unfortunately, the healing hasn't been going as well -- yesterday I thought the incision was healed enough to take the cone off, that is until what appeared to be a scab fell off and I saw that about a 1/8 inch wide area in the middle of the incision was still raw.

In retrospect, maybe the old "scab" was some litter/pus that had gotten stuck in the incision. But a new, real, scab has formed, so I have hope that in another week this will all be history. Meanwhile, she is still on the antibiotic - and still in the cone.

Don't feel bad for our little lady, though. She continues to romp about with her brother as if the plastic around her neck didn't exist. The worst part of the whole thing is that she is not able to clean herself after bathroom duties. So, some human intervention has been required to remove undesirable...er...substances from the fur at the base of her tail.

Both Lyra and Koto have proven to be sweet and affectionate...they transitioned into their new living situation without any problems at all. They purr like crazy, and Koto especially has this bird-cooing-like sound he makes when he wants either human or feline attention.

They play like maniacs and some of their favorite "prey" are balled up paper or paper towels -- which they will carry about in their mouths after vanquishing.

Koto protects the family from a vicious couch.

Meanwhile, at night and when we are out, the kitties remain confined to a bathroom -- I'm afraid to let Lyra roam freely unsupervised with the e-collar on. While they slept in the carrier for the first few days, lately they have taken to sleeping here: