A Tailgate Party For Oreo

This blog is not for the faint of heart. You will remember from a previous blog that Oreo, our most feral cat, has undergone surgery before~two times, actually. One was needless, the other necessary when he was neutered. The vet tried to spay him, but since Oreo's a "he," it didn't produce the desired result! 

Something bit Oreo recently and the wound developed into an abscess on his right jawline. The size of a golf ball, the abscess hadn't decreased in size, so we called Dr. Edgar Kayesa.

The first order of the day was trapping our wild cat, which is not an easy thing. But today the Lord gave Oreo into our hands and when he came in for food this morning, he was ours. Putting him in our bedroom until the vet could arrive quieted him down and drowned out his whining. Unfortunately, he wedged himself between the window and burglar bars and I couldn't get him out. However,
that predicament made it easy for
Dr. Edgar to sedate him.    


After Oreo was sound asleep he was carried out to the vet's truck where he was laid on newsprint paper. Cutting away the black and white fur, Dr. Edgar then proceeded to use a razor blade to shave the area down to the skin. While he works, the vet explains each step and fills me in on important veterinary information.  This would have been perfect homeschooling stuff~even on a Saturday. My kids would've loved this!


With a scalpel (more like a narrow box blade), the vet then lanced the abscess. After opening up the small incision with a pair of blunt forceps, Dr. Edgar waited as the pus began to pour out. He then squeezed the area until only blood came out. I've never seen so much pus~and the smell was none too pleasant!


An antibiotic solution was then injected into the area and Oreo was given two more shots~a steroid and 
an antibiotic. Several times Oreo stirred during the procedure, but that was due to the sedative. He was just letting us know he didn't want to be a lab cat! 


Dr. James Herriot, I mean, Dr. Edgar, then carried our pet into the house, holding two legs in each hand. Right now, Oreo is sleeping it off on a blanket in our bathroom. I first thought putting him in the bathtub would be good. But the vet thought being in a tub might scare Oreo, thinking he was in a drum some-
where. 

I hear Oreo stirring now, so I'll end 
this blog. It's exciting to me to be in
a place where vets come to your
house and perform operations you
can watch~whether they're on a
table in your sitting room, or on the
vet's tailgate, which Dr. Edgar is probably washing at the car wash right now. Life is indeed interesting
here in Zambia because we have an
interesting God!