I was concerned that her attempted escapes might have caused problems, but the vet was absolutely delighted with Miaowrini's progress. Out came the stitches, much to Miaowrini's relief. The vet admitted that he hadn't expected the operation and recovery to go so well, and was careful to warn me that it could all still go horribly wrong. We need to wait for scar tissue to form and stabilise the knee joint: the nylon holding the bones together won't last forever. Nevertheless, if we follow recommendations, there is every possibility that Miaowrini will make a full recovery.
Unfortunately for my peace of mind, one of the recommendations is that Miaowrini is kept "quiet." She mustn't go out just yet (not really a problem), and she isn't allowed to do much in the way of jumping about.
That's rather more of a problem. I'm not entirely sure how one is supposed to ensure that a cat doesn't jump.
Part of me is tempted to keep the cat in the cage for the rest of the recuperation period. Much easier for me - and I won't have to worry about Miaowrini over-exerting herself. But the more sensible part of me knows that she has to be allowed to get the knee properly mobile again, and that means walking about on it. The cage just isn't big enough for that. So, after a bit of thought, I decided that I would let her out of the cage during the day while I am at work. I can shut her in the one room, and she can look out of the window, or sit on the sofa or under the table...
Yes, I did think about letting her out when I'm at home in the evening, but I thought that it would be a lot harder to "persuade" her to go back to her cage first thing in the morning when I'm busy getting ready for work. I reasoned that, by the evening, she'd be hungry and ready for attention...
So on Monday morning I let her out of her cage and, with trepidation, left for work. By Monday evening I was berating myself for my poor judgement - Miaowrini was limping noticeably by the time I got home. However, she seemed pleased to see me, and was very cooperative when I put her in the cage for the night. She ate a bit, took her medicine without complaint and promptly went to sleep.
Wracked with guilt, I contemplated leaving her caged up this morning. But when I went to feed her breakfast, she seemed to be alert and raring to go, so I decided to see how she coped, with the option of keeping her confined the next day if she appeared to be overdoing things.
This evening she was waiting for me by the sitting room door. She still has a bit of a limp which makes her move in a rather crablike fashion, but it's much better than Monday evening. But I was so pleased with her progress that I decided to take a video of her with my snazzy phone...
I think that the local pigeons have had a bit of a reprieve. I doubt that Miaowrini will be up to her usual bird-catching antics for some considerable time. But pigeon pie isn't completely off the menu...