Slash Endures the Downside of Sedation

I apologise for this long overdue update on Slash.

I was planning on blogging a fun post about his return from a mystery trip.
Unfortunately, things did not go as expected
and I had to take a few days off to care for him.
(Many thanks to The Flyer for filling in during my absence.)

This was what happened...


DAY 1

On Wednesday morning,
I brought Slash to the vet for grooming.
I was expecting an uneventful recovery from the sedation.

But when I brought him home in the afternoon,
I realised that something wasn't quite right.

To show you the stark contrast in his condition...

This was Slash and Bronzy giving each other a furious hug
before we left the house.

And this was Slash when we got home.
The poor boy was still stoned from the sedation.

Slash had recovered quite quickly from the last sedation with no ill-effects.
So it worried me that it was taking extra long this time.

I laid Slash down on my bed on top of his comfort blanket
(aka. my fleece robe) to help him sleep off the effects quietly.

I then checked his body for injuries.
There were several lesions from the last grooming
and I was hoping there would be none this time.

Thankfully, there was only one nick.

Poor Slash was so out of it, he didn't even close his eyes as he slept.

I tried to shut them for him, but he kept waking up.

So I decided against disturbing him anymore.

I felt so sorry for the poor boy.

For him to be this still, even in sleep, is unheard of.

Slash is a very skittish, high-strung cat.
Everything, however small and harmless, alarms him.

So while I knew the sedation was necessary
to get him through the grooming,
I felt so sorry that he had to be put through all this.

I wish I could help him avoid the groomers altogether.
But Slash will not allow his underside to be touched by anyone or anything.
So he gets badly matted underneath.

Here is a close-up of the "lawn lines" on his chest.

Slash finally roused from his sleep after four hours.

But he kept his activities to the absolute minimum,
preferring to sit and stare into space.

By the time we were well into the night,

Slash was visibly more alert.

However, he remained inactive and aloof.
He would get upset if I tried to approach him or stroke him.
So I kept my distance.

At some point he decided that he hated his new look and
tried to redo his new do.

I took that as a good sign that he was slowly settling back in.


DAY 2

Slash took an unexpected turn in his condition.
He became hyperactive, agitated, aggressive and super sensitive to everything.
He was so jumpy that he was constantly spooked by phantom things.
It broke my heart to see him run for dear life
from whatever it was that scared him.

So I didn't take any photos on this day.
I didn't want to add to his stress.


DAY 3

Slash seemed to have calmed down significantly.

He finally allowed Bronzy and I to touch him.

Bronzy had missed her brother a lot and was determined to show him how much.

The poor boy still spent a lot of the day knocked out in his bed.

But I was relieved that the worst was finally over.

~5-Cat Style