Belle is slowly improving

[chowmama]

She gets her last meds tomorrow. Her left hind foot still drags a little; you can hear a quiet scrape of the nails on the floor as she walks, but she's placing all her feet appropriately. She runs, she handles stairs ok, if slowly. Eating, drinking and using the litter pan like a champ.

Her left eye still can't close, but is moving more and more in that direction. There's a lesion (break) on the surface of the cornea that still needs to heal. She gets eye lube ointment to prevent any further damage until she can blink and while the healing happens. We hope this will be a temporary condition. If it's permanent, it's not the end of the world to keep applying the ointment.

She is a different cat, though. She seems much older. Before the accident, the world was safe and pain-free. Suddenly there was pain and confusion, and she's no longer the fearless fireball tomboy. Still sweet, but different. The other two cats, including her mother, can't figure out what's going on and why the dynamic has changed. I believe they recognize her, but are spooked enough to want her to stay away from them. We have to stand guard when she's roaming the house. It may take a few weeks for them to accept her again.

This is a months' long process. Nobody, including me, thought she would come back this far and she's not done coming back yet. She's a bloody miracle.