When it became obvious that Manny had torn a tendon, we knew he needed surgery.

If the Achilles tendon (or common calcaneal tendon) is completely torn, then the hock cannot be flexed. For a cat, that means walking ‘flat-footed’, and losing a lot of jumping power. If we left it, then Manny would have problems with agility and might end up having trouble using the leg properly.

So off to surgery he went.

The surgery to repair his tendon went well, but Manny was not a good patient. He received good pain relief, what we call ‘multi-modal analgesia’, but still woke up agitated and upset by the splint on his leg. He immediately tried to remove or destroy it. He took it out on anyone nearby.

He did enough damage during that time that the stitches in the tendon were pulled out and the surgery site was destroyed.

So it was back to surgery the next day, to repair the repair. This time, a cast was used (harder to destroy), different and higher doses of pain relievers were added, and the Elizabethan collar (cone) was good and tight.

The second recovery was less angry, but still he needed close monitoring. He spent nights at home with our doctors, and the pain relievers were gradually decreased.

After a few days, he was comfortable, although he hated the cast.