Thanks, Ruth! Trying to keep the faith.
Eddie is ok with eating, drinking, kittyboxing but he hisses and growls when he's in high numbers. There's an additional issue that I really haven't discussed and it really matters to Eddie's well-being.
Before his hypophysectomy, Eddie was a very affectionate and communicative kitty. He followed me everywhere, like Blue. Apparently at the surgery, a drill overheated and they were concerned he may have sustained some damage. Then, after the surgery, he had dehiscence of the incision wound in his palate, twice and had to have other surgeries to close that wound.
Ever since then Eddie is a different cat. He will seek me out but rarely and when he does I am thrilled. But more often than not, he is reactive, hissing and growling. He does not strike out, nor does he bite. It's as if he's just afraid as if he is reacting to a threat. It breaks my heart. On his good days his eyes are clear and gentle. On not so good days, he is reactive. The issue may be that he sustained some damage to the hypothalamus. I did a lot of research and found this old refereed research paper from the 1940s where laboratory tests on cats were being conducted and the "researchers" were purposefully creating lesions on the hypothalamus and one of the results of that was fear response and what they called "sham rage" because the cat would hiss and growl but not react in a violent way. I fear that's what happened with Eddie. I love him all the same. This is who he is now but it makes it harder sometimes. I sometimes think he acts as if he has Tourette's because he's not really angry but is kind of swearing in general. When he's growling, for example, I can put my hand up to his face and he will lick it as if he remembers it's ok.
Anyway, thanks for listening. Hoping for a better night for Eddie.
