Conference misery::feline_v1

    I'll be thinking of her Mary-Michael.  Keep us posted and best of
    luck.
      Nancy DC

    
    mary-michael...
    
    i am soo sorry to hear about belle!  when my stanley had his eye
    problems late last year, i went through such torture.  the eye bulging
    means the abrasion has penetrated to the last layer of the cornea.  the
    "eye flap" surgery you mentioned is necessary at that stage.  my vets
    were afraid stanley would need the flap, but he was lucky it did not
    get that severe.  we never figured out for sure if it was physical
    (claw in the eye) or chemical or viral in nature.  but since belle had
    trouble before, it makes sense that infection would strike her at her
    weakest point.  this is so distressing!  i keep a close eye (sorry, no
    pun intended) on stanley's eyes to make sure he doesn't have a
    recurrence.  still, you cannot watch them 24 hours a day.  don't berate
    yourself.
    
    sending good vibes your way are diane, stella, & stanley
    

    I will be praying for Belle's complete recovery too.  Don't beat
    yourself up about this.  We all do the best that we can, and sometimes
    it doesn't matter how much we do, nature takes over and things happen.
    Noticing it earlier probably wouldn't have helped that much anyway.
    
    Jo

    Please don't blame yourself for not noticing earlier.  Cats are so
    good at acting as though everything is okay, when they are actually
    getting sick.  Our thoughts are with you both.  An animal shelter
    I support (TreeHouse in Chicago) sends out pictures of cats they
    help, and fairly often cats have lost an eye and do just fine.
    Please let us know how things are going.
    

    
            Oh, the poor baby!  I'll tell my gang of 7 tonight, and we'll
    all say a little kitty prayer.
    
                                      Denise

    
    	Our prayers are with you and Belle.  I'll echo the sentment,
    please do not berate yourself because of this.  These things happen
    quickly and it's very difficult to notice as early as you want.
     Human kids can at least say, "Mommy, this hurts", cat's can't.
     It's certainly not your fault.  Good luck to Belle, and please
    keep us posted.
    
    	Bob, Smoke, Sneakers & Nova
    
    

    The gang and I will say a prayer for you.  Please don't beat on
    yourself!  As the others have mentioned before, these things happen
    quickly, & quietly.  Hang tough, I'm sure Belle certainly is.
    
    Take heart, a very good friend of mine found a stray w/kittens that had
    been trashed, literally.  Mary brought May-wee (the cat) and her
    kittens into Angell Memorial.  May-wee had a broken jaw, infected eye,
    dehydrated, malnourished, etc.  But she's a scrapy baby.  Her jaw was
    wired and she was brought back to health unfortunately, she lost the
    sight in one eye.  The vet decided to leave the eye in place.  Well,
    May-wee is a WONDERFUL kitty and a great huntress.  NOTHING gets by
    her!
    
    I guess what I'm trying to say in a windy way, is that if Belle should
    happen to lose the eye, she will adapt.  I know it's hard on you
    though.
    
    Chin up, think positive!  We'll be here for you.
    
    Roslyn, Escho, & Brandy

    
    
    		Sending good thoughts for you and your kiddo
    		from Colorado. 
    				kim and The Nipper!
    

    Poor Belle. I hope she makes a full recovery soon! I missed an abscess
    on Percy and I felt *GUILTY* so I think I understand how you feel. Don't
    be too hard on yourself - infections aren't obvious.
    
    
    Take care.
    
    
    Lisa plus Percy and Pookie.
    

         We're all pulling for Belle ...
    
    					- Andrea & Bigfoot & Loki

    Thank you all for your kind wishes and sentiments.  I will find out
    later this afternoon what the decision of the vet is.  They will open
    the third eyelid and see if the antibiotic has helped the eye any.  I
    called yesterday and they said they had given her some pain killers and
    she was a bit peppier and in good spirits yesterday.  If she would be
    in contact pain with the eye, I would rather have them remove it.  She
    is such a loving little kitty.  We spent about a half hour together
    Wednesday morning before the vet's office opened, and she just sat
    in my lap and looked at me and purred and patty-pawed non-stop.  I just
    want her to be healthy and happy.
    
    I will let you all know as soon as I find anything out.  Thank you all
    again for your support.
    
    Mary-Michael

    M-M,
    
    You know you take the best care of those kids - sometimes things
    like that crop up so fast it's amazing.  Try not to worry - 
    American's are very sturdy kids - they bounce back VERY FAST
    no matter what procedures are done.  You might want to consider
    taking her to Dr. Bachrach - he's the BEST.  
    
    All my kids send love & purrrs.
    
    E.T.

    Rusty sends his best to her.  He came home last night after five
    days at the vet's.  Don't be hard on yourself, you noticed soon
    enough to get her the help she needs.  
    
    
    Love from all of us,
    
    Lynne - Casey, B.K., Rusty, Pepper & Noel

     us too..
    kate

    My prayers are for Belle and my thoughts are with you.  I can
    understand your pain....but please know that a lot of people
    are here for you and wishing her a speedy recovery.
    
    Marilyn
    

    My prayers too.  I think you were very perceptive and checked on
    Belle when she wasn't there to see you off.  Someone else may have
    just thought she was resting and left.
    
    Flo and Oliver

    Poor little Belle.  You must be so upset.  Benj and I will say prayers
    for her.  Please keep us posted in this note.  
    
    Deb and Benj

    Well, the vet took the eye out on Friday.  She actually had 
    a hole in her cornea, and they said that there was no way they
    could save the eye.  The vet said the pain she must have been
    in was unbearable, but she never complained.  They believe the
    eye has been deteriorating for several months, but it was deteriorating
    well beneath where it could be examined routinely.  Poor little kitty
    has been growing up in pain and thinking that it was a normal way of
    feeling....
    
    She came through the surgery with flying colors (much better than
    Mom who was sobbing out in the waiting room) and she came home
    on Saturday.  What a different kitty!!!!!  She's playing up a storm,
    eating like a horse and talking like crazy.  Although I hate to see her
    lose the eye, I must admit the change in her is wonderful.  She's 
    acting like a real little kitten.  Her stiches will dissolve in
    3-4 weeks and she's on antibiotics for a few days, but other than
    that she's better than ever.  Wish I could bounce back from being
    sick like she did!
    
    She and I both thank you all for your kind wishes and prayers.
    
    Mary-Michael and Belle

    m-m...
    
    well, belle must be feeling such a sense of relief to be out of pain
    that she can now get on with her life.  she may even associate her
    former "dual-eye vision" with the pain, and may be glad to have
    "uni-vision"  now!  
    
    what wondrous creatures these animals are!  all my best to belle (and
    mom) for continued recovery and good outlook on life...
    
    diane, stella & stanley
    

    Poor baby  belle.  I'm so glad her pain has been relieved.  I hope to hear
    many kitty stories about Belle.
    
    

    Glad to hear that Belle is out of pain!
    
    Lisa plus P&P
    

    Mee too!  
    
    Pat Belle for me.

    
    
      I'm entering this for a friend....
    
       Hi Belle,
       My name's "Smokey", and I want to be one of the first to welcome you
    to the world of "handicapped Kitties". We are the "special" ones of the
    kitty world...we've all had serious problems that we've been able
    to--with the help of our super people--overcome.
       I was 'acquired' by someone who wanted me to be a mouse-catcher in
    their barn. My owners didn't know that a 6-week-old kitten isn't
    capable of catching mice..and in fact I shouldn't even have been left
    alone at that age. So, since it was late November, and I was cold, I
    crawled up inside this nice machine and rested on this nice, warm
    engine...until someone started it up and caught me in it's fan-belt.
    When my owners found that I was badly injured and would cost money to
    have me fixed up, they decided to discard me. My friend at the Vet's
    asked for me, and she fixed me up and I was brought up with Bassett
    Hound puppies...so I sometimes think I'm really a dog.... I got "smart"
    and figuted out how to get out the doggie-doors, and since I only have
    one front leg, and no claws on the good front leg, my rescuer decided
    very sadly to find me a home without doggie-doors... So I ended up in
    Charlton Mass...and my new owners have THREE GIRLS for me..(darn!! wish
    I hadn't had that operation..but I know we don't need any more
    kittens...)
    
      So, Belle, welcome to the world of the "special" kitties. Once you
    get healed up, you'll discover that your handicap isn't really such a
    handicap after all. In fact, my humans seem to pet and hug me even more
    than they do my three girlfriends and my nine dog-pals, and they get a
    lot of pets and hugs... 
    
      I'm happy toi see that you have a nice person who cares about
    you...there are so many of us who don't... You take care and rest and
    get well now....
    
       Your friend,
       Smokey McDonough
    
    
    JM  

    To live your whole life with pain and now to be pain-free.  What a
    wonderful feeling this must be.  I knew of a cat that had partial
    vision his whole kitten life.  Once he was operated on and could fully
    see and appreciate *seeing everything* I saw a new kitty.  He was into
    everything and checking everything that he couldn't see before.
    
    Best of luck to you and Belle.  I know you will enjoy your *new* kitty.
    
    Sandi, mom to Thunder, Lightning, Storm (woof), DejaVu & Patches
    
    

    Little Orphan Annie would also like to welcome Belle into the world
    of special kitties.
    
    I was found laying on the side of a street on a cold day after some
    cruel boys had beaten me.  A nice lady from the dog pound picked
    me up and gave me a warm blanket and cardboard box to sleep in
    underneath her desk.
    
    Two people from the humane society came by to pick me up for euthanasia
    but I talked them out of it on the way to the shelter.  I even talked
    them into getting me spayed, my ear cleaned, and because of the
    severe injury to my leg, I had it amputated.
    
    Boy, did I fool them!!!!  One day after surgery, I was so happy
    to be warm and fed well that I just ran all over the shelter thanking
    everyone.  I became the shelter mascot!!!
    
    I now live with the former shelter director and even though I only
    have 3 legs, it hasn't made any difference at all in my life....wait
    a minute, it has......maybe if I hadn't been beaten and found by
    such a nice person, I would still be looking for a warm place to
    sleep and someone to scratch my head.  So I guess I am lucky.
    
    Good luck Belle....you are SPECIAL!
    
    Little Orphan Annie Josephson (Annie)
    

    Hi,
    
    I grabbed Mom's terminal for a minute to write a special thank-you
    to all my Mom's good friends in FELINE for their wishes - and
    especially to Smokey and Little Orphan Annie for their kinds words.  
    Mom read me your notes, but she kept crying into my fur - yechhh! I 
    had to give myself a nice bath after she finished - and you all said 
    such nice things to me.  I am doing very well, I don't miss the
    eye at all, and I feel *so* much better now that it doesn't hurt
    anymore.  I can run and play and even Meow more now!  Why, I was so
    hungry last night, I jumped straight up from the floor onto Mom's
    neck while she was getting our dinner!  I scared her *so* bad - it 
    was real funny!  It makes Mom happy to see me having such fun.  Mom 
    tells me I am a *special* kitty now (oh and that makes Dream *so* 
    jealous!  I love it!) and that I will always have a special place in 
    her heart.  I'm a very lucky little girl.
    
    Thanks again....I gotta go play!
    
    Belle  

    Hello!  Belle,
    
    This is Scruffy.........my Mom just got back into the FELINERS once
    again, she's been having withdrawls being away from your mom and
    all the others...........
    
    I send my meow-wishes to you for feeling better........I live with
    my mom and my dad and they take care of alot of my neighborhood
    buddies.  Some get very sick, she does her best to help them.
    
    Yes, being "THE" special cat is neat!  So "MEOWWWWWWWWW!" and have
    fun!
    
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