My Kitty Broke Her Leg

Hey everyone,

Apologies if things become delayed on Patreon, or with art in general. On the morning of 1/30, my 19-year old cat Pokey took an awkward tumble off the couch (that's my guess, around 6am I heard a big THUD from the other room) and fractured her distal tibia (shin bone near the ankle). She had been limping around and not putting pressure on it, but still managed to make it onto my bed, but then didn't want to get up.

With the way she was acting, it appeared like she merely had a sprain. I made the right call going to the first vet appointment I could. She even tried jumping off the vet table! She was a good girl for the vets, they said she was the sweetest!

They said it was too risky to do anesthesia and surgery at her age, her heart murmur, and kidney disease, so we loaded her up on pain meds and splinted her entire leg.

The first day was incredibly distressing seeing her try to get used to the splint, despite her appearing in good spirits - probably from the kitty opiates. She would get up and immediately topple over. I kept her confined to one of my bathrooms until I was able to get a 4 foot wide pen and other supplies to make the coming 8-10 weeks more comfortable. Now she can have company with me when I'm in my office.

Well anyway, here's a link to my ko-fi goal if you'd like to chip in for her vet bills. I also included the cost care items such as the pen, potty pads, and orthopad. https://ko-fi.com/tacocatarts

Also included in the goal is the upcoming expected costs of radiographs and associated fees when we get rechecked.

Thankfully I have pet insurance, so I already got a good chunk back - but my deductible resets this month, hooray /sarcasm. The only things with my schedule that will change are bandage changes every 10-14 days (or if her bandage gets soaked), monthly arthritis shots, and liquid pain meds orally twice a day (that's the hardest part, tbh). I don't remember the last time I've cried so much, either. It's been daily waterworks over here. My heart hurts knowing she was in pain, and seeing her struggle.

Thank you for reading! My sweet girl has been my best kitty friend for nearly 20 years, has been with me for just about every major life event, and she means so much to me. I want to take the best care of her that I can.