Nini Love

Day 1

The first thing I did when I woke up after Nini’s first night home was to get her up on the bed. She spends every night sleeping on me and I thought it would be really therapeutic for both of us if we had some snuggle time. I tried putting her on my lap, but she wasn’t interested and just kind of rolled off. She also loves to get under the covers so I made a fort for her, and that helped. She seemed content but still like she can’t quite get comfortable.

I can see her trying to move her missing leg as she shifts her weight around, trying to get comfortable. Her stump moves around under her skin where she was shaved. It was hard to see this and it did make me sad. She’s trying to do what’s she was used to pre-surgery and doesn’t quite fully realize what’s happened to her. It’s a little heartbreaking to watch, but I’m determined to stay strong for her.

After some time under the covers, I move her into the sun. Nini is 100% solar powered and gets a little depressed even after a couple days of no sun, so I knew it was imperative to get her soaking up those rays. I sat a few feet away from her because I didn’t want her to feel overcrowded. However, my partner comes downstairs to check on us and isn’t worried about this at all. He lays right down in the sun with her and talks to her quietly. This gives me the opportunity to do some tidying up around the room. And when I come back, Nini is totally relaxed, resting her head down, eyes closed and looks very blissed out. It was the first time I’ve seen her rest her head down since we brought her home, and I’m very happy to see her finally fully relaxed.

Once  the sun moves out of our room, we go back to the bed, and spend the rest of the night watching Netflix and cuddling. Nini seemed very relaxed and content the whole time.

She was not interested in eating or drinking the first day. I’m not so worried about her not eating, as she was always a picky eater. But I am more concerned about her not drinking. But I will try to be patient and not freak out too much!

Day 2

I slept in the bed last night and left Nini in her enclosure on her heating pad. I hope she’ll do ok without me on the floor next to her. My partner was the first one up this morning and the first to check on Nini. He got two yawns from her! We call them ‘love yawns’ because it’s her way of saying hello and I love you at the same time. And she was purring when he pet her. Yay! These are the first signs that our sweet girl is coming back to us. It’s a small but encouraging milestone.

She was also ate a little bit for the first time, and woofed down her medicine with treats. She even sat up to eat the treats. And she had her first drink of water. I was worried yesterday but already she’s showing so many signs of improvement!

We alternated between being on the floor in the sun and up on the bed. At one point when she was on the bed, I was straightening the covers and took my eye off her for a second, and she jumped off the bed (!) and landed perfectly on all 3 legs. Of course, I was a little freaked out that she jumped off, but happy to see that she was able to balance on just 3 legs.

It’s also a good reminder to really keep my eye on her. She’s very athletic and I don’t think she fully understands that she now has some limits. She’s back in her familiar environment and wants to get back to her old routine. It seems like there’s a little disconnect between where her mind is and where her body is. I’m going to have to keep an eye on her until her body can catch up to her mind!