I haven't posted for some time because we have had an incredibly difficult couple of weeks.
It began when we took Mojo in to get her fixed. Maggie called to say the vet had bad news -- when trying to sedate her for the procedure, she crashed and it took them 45 minutes to get her stabilized.
I went to get her that afternoon (Tuesday, July 8) and she was basically unconscious. The next day, she still hadn't come back around. Her front legs were curled up and becoming stiff, and she couldn't even sit up.
By Wednesday afternoon she had started opening her eyes a bit more and moving her head around but still couldn't sit, much less stand.
We would leave her at the vet during the day and bring her home at night, feeding her a mixture of cat food, electrolytes, and water with a syringe. We had to give her physical therapy every couple of hours, stretching out her front legs for her and trying to get her to stand.
After another day or so she began trying to stand, but she was weak and unsteady. She still couldn't walk, she'd fall over and we could tell she was getting very frustrated.
We also had to learn how to express her bladder, because she couldn't use the cat box at all.
Friday, the vet managed to help her have a bowel movement. However, through the entire weekend she never had another, nor would she eat or drink from a bowl, and Maggie and I became increasingly concerned.
While talking to one of the vets over the weekend, I confirmed my suspicion that Mojo had lost her sight. The vets think she might see a little light and shadow, but she's definitely blind.
Monday the 14th we took her back in again so they could work with her. To complicate matters, we had our annual show at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center that week, a massive undertaking for which we prepare for months. (You can see pictures of the show HERE.)
Knowing we couldn't be home Tue-Sat night, Maggie and I sat and did some hard thinking. We worried that our baby was suffering and that she wasn't going to have a good quality of life. We decided that we'd give it a couple more days then if we had to, we'd let her go.
Tuesday, Maggie called me from the car on the way to the vet. Mojo had used the cat box inside the carrier! At least, she tried -- although she kind of missed :) She had to have a bath when she got to the doctor's office, but it was a huge relief for us.
Meanwhile, she kept working on her walking. She'd bump into walls, furniture, other cats... but she didn't slow down. More and more, she'd get up and "map" her surroundings. Her balance improved, and soon she wasn't falling any more.
By Wednesday, she began somehow sensing when she was approaching a wall or other large object. Don't know how to explain it, but she'd get within a foot or two of a wall, stop, and turn away.
Then, I found that she had wandered over to one of the food bowls and was working hard at trying to eat the dry food. For some reason, she has a really hard time with it... she can get the kibble in her mouth, but then tends to drop it as she attempts to chew.
Seems that the more she tried, the angrier she got -- and the angrier she got, the more she tried! She had gotten the hang of eating wet food out of the bowl, and learned how to drink water without submerging her whole face in the dish.
Thursday, she began to play... and when I put her on my lap for a bit so she could take a nap, she purred -- one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard.
Mojo has begun discovering toys, and she likes to charge at sounds. I'll scratch on the carpet, and she'll get into "kitty charging mode" then suddenly pounce. She doesn't do anything when she finds my hand, but seems pretty proud that she located her "prey."
The other cats don't really know what to think about her, they surely know there's something "off" about her but they still don't quite trust that she won't launch another of her attacks, as she was wont to do before her crisis.
Now we're dealing with issues like keeping her from falling off the second floor landing, since she's bound and determined to go upstairs. That's interesting, because when she still had her sight she went up there maybe once or twice. She turned up there last night and again this morning, and as I left for work Maggie was stacking boxes around the base of the stairs and Mojo was busy knocking them over and trying to get past them.
I have taken a lot of photos and even some video during this lengthy process but with the show (and work, where I"m a week behind on several major projects) I haven't had time to do much with them yet. I will try to get some posted soon...
Mojo has taught me just how brightly burns the spark of life, and how patience and will can tackle incredible adversity. To say she's special is a gross understatement. That she has touched our lives goes without saying.
(8-{)
Russell Mills
Online Content Director
KJRH-TV Channel 2
PO Box 2 Tulsa, OK 74101
(918) 748-1560
The FIRST and ONLY station in Oklahoma to broadcast local news in HD!