CLARENCE THE THREE-LEGGED KITTEN, Part 3: Healing
Click on the link to read Part 2: Adapting
Clarence was making strides forward each day. His gate was a hunched scamper, but it seemed to carry him wherever he wanted to go. Since his surgery had been only days before, I limited his exercise as instructed by the doctor at OHS. I also was given a set of range of motion exercises to help the remaining leg grow strong muscles that would serve to keep it in line. Clarence enjoyed sitting on my lap with the hot compress that came before the exercises, and he was okay with the muscle massage, but the PROMS themselves were a challenge. He was a kitten after all and preferred to play-bite my hand as I tried to rotate his leg.
A kitten, he was! As he grew stronger, I allowed him more space to run around with a limited amount of ball chasing and string batting. His favorite toy was the Turbo Scratcher, a cardboard scratcher inside a track where a ball spins around. Clarence could spin the ball to his heart’s content without getting out of bed.
He spent a good amount of time in bed. Sometimes he’d be sleeping but others I’d catch him looking at me. Those soft eyes, full of wonderment. I took up quiet projects I could do while keeping him company such as organizing my embroidery threads. When he wanted to sit on my lap, he’d try to raise his front legs but would fall. I’d lift him up, then we would watch movies on my phone or listen to NPR. When he was curled up next to me, I could feel his trust growing.
To be continued…
