Posts by carefully faded

35

Cat in Emergency Care - could use some support

by carefully faded in

jw
friends

i'm really nervous and scared right now.

i just brought my boy kitty to the emergency care clinic with a blocked urinary tract.. i noticed something was wrong last night when i came home and his sister greeted me at the front door (he is always the first one to greet me).

i went into my bathroom and saw that one of them had pooped on the floor - something neither of them had ever done before.

carefully faded

I'm worried again! It's been almost two weeks since he's been home - and I noticed today that he is making frequent trips to the liter box again. When I came home this evening, I was able to actually see him go pee and I noticed that just small squirts of pee were coming out. The more he went into the liter box, the smaller the amounts of pee he would go.

I noticed that his ears are pretty hot again - they were hot when I first brought him home from the vet. Maybe he has a bladder infection and he just feels like he has to go? But the weird thing is he is still on his antibiotics. I'm also noticing that he keeps laying on cooler surfaces like the linolium in the bathroom, or the toilet seat cover. I'm thinking he has a fever.

The good thing is that he seems to feel ok. I brought out his laser toy and he was running all over the house trying to catch the red dot! He was even jumping up on the walls to catch it. I don't think he would do this if he was in pain or felt sick.

I'm going to keep a close eye on him and bring him back to the vet on Monday. I'm hoping he doesn't get worse and need to go to the emergency clinic again!

- CF

48

I'm in love !!!!

by talesin in

jw
friends

yes, it's true!

meet the new love of my life, balmpot.

she fits in the palm of my hand right now, she is already mistress of the house, and i her devoted slave.

carefully faded

bttt

48

I'm in love !!!!

by talesin in

jw
friends

yes, it's true!

meet the new love of my life, balmpot.

she fits in the palm of my hand right now, she is already mistress of the house, and i her devoted slave.

carefully faded

Talesin, congratulations on your new addition to the family! She is beautiful!

A couple of minutes later, I felt little claws clinging to my pants leg, and there she was ,, climbing up into my lap. I picked her up (instantly, the motor started to run) and looked into her eyes. She pushed out her little nose, and 'marked' me on either side of my face. I set her down in my lap, and the kneading began. Before I knew it, she was all curled up, asleep.

My girl kitty chose me in a similar way. I picked up a couple of her siblings out of the box and they acted similarly; not really looking at me, doing that cute "meeew" in the squeeky voice, trying to hold their overly-big heads up (they were super young when I first met them, just a few weeks old). When I picked up my girl and held her in front of my face, she looked right in my eyes and stared for a little bit. Then she reached out with her little paws, grabbed my nose, gently pulled me closer, and licked and nibbled on the tip of my nose. I was instantly in love. Everytime I would visit her, she would gently hold my face with her paws, one paw on each cheek, and stare into my eyes.

Have a great time with your kitty. What is her name?

- CF

35

Cat in Emergency Care - could use some support

by carefully faded in

jw
friends

i'm really nervous and scared right now.

i just brought my boy kitty to the emergency care clinic with a blocked urinary tract.. i noticed something was wrong last night when i came home and his sister greeted me at the front door (he is always the first one to greet me).

i went into my bathroom and saw that one of them had pooped on the floor - something neither of them had ever done before.

carefully faded

Sad emo, thanks for the encouraging information about the heart murmur. How often do you have to give your cat her medicine? Is it pill or liquid form? Do you have any suggestions on an easier way to give them medicine? The antibiotics I am giving my big guy are in liquid form and it is a struggle.

Hi Billygoat. Glad to hear that your cat is doing well now. It's so hard to see them sick, isn't it? Thanks also for sharing your story about your girl kitty that is doing the same thing as mine. I came home from work today expecting them to have worked things out - it's been about 24 hours since he's been home - and she is still snorting, hissing and growling at him. Tonight, she even took a swat at his head. I feel so sorry for him - he's so happy to be home, and he looks at her with this expression as if he's saying, "what did I do?" Sounds like I need to give them more time to work things out.

Insomniac, the vet did recommend a certain food called Prescription CB. That's amazing how old your cats were! You must have given them a great life!

Purza, thanks! Me too.

- CF

35

Cat in Emergency Care - could use some support

by carefully faded in

jw
friends

i'm really nervous and scared right now.

i just brought my boy kitty to the emergency care clinic with a blocked urinary tract.. i noticed something was wrong last night when i came home and his sister greeted me at the front door (he is always the first one to greet me).

i went into my bathroom and saw that one of them had pooped on the floor - something neither of them had ever done before.

carefully faded

He came home tonight!

No damage to the kidneys. His urine is much clearer, and he urinated without the catheter today. While the doctor doesn't think this is dietary related, he suggested I change his food because his urine has a slightly elevated PH which would make him predisposed to having dietary-caused urinary blocks in the future.

Anyway, he's home and I'm so happy. His sister is acting very strangely though. When she saw him, she went up to him and smelled him, and then started hissing. She's been growling and hissing at him anytime he comes near her. Either she is confused by his "new smell", or she got used to being the only kitty at home and is now jealous that she has to share me now that he is back. I think it is a combination of both.

Thanks to everyone for your concern and well wishes!

- CF

35

Cat in Emergency Care - could use some support

by carefully faded in

jw
friends

i'm really nervous and scared right now.

i just brought my boy kitty to the emergency care clinic with a blocked urinary tract.. i noticed something was wrong last night when i came home and his sister greeted me at the front door (he is always the first one to greet me).

i went into my bathroom and saw that one of them had pooped on the floor - something neither of them had ever done before.

carefully faded

Insomniac, your cat sounded like a dear! He had you wrapped around his paw. Thanks for the encouraging words.

I finally heard from the doctor and she said that the preliminary lab results didn't show any crystals - which makes her think the cause isn't dietary. He did have quite a bit of blood with his urine and she said he does have an infection - so she thinks this may have been caused by a bacterial infection. She said there was quite a bit of blockage in his urethra and that they were able to get it out.

She also said he has a very small urethra which means he will probably have this problem again - I'm going to need to be very alert so that I catch it quickly.

From the xray, she could see that his heart was a little enlarged - which supports her murmur diagnosis. I will need to talk with his regular doc tomorrow about that.

Well, thanks to all for your support throughout the day. I'm going to try to get some sleep now - will be hard without him by my side. His poor sister kept looking around the house for him, so I explained where he was, that he was feeling much better, and that he would be coming home in a day or two (I know a lot of people will think that it's weird to talk like this to your animals, but I firmly believe they understand more than we think). She's stopped looking for him now.

- CF

35

Cat in Emergency Care - could use some support

by carefully faded in

jw
friends

i'm really nervous and scared right now.

i just brought my boy kitty to the emergency care clinic with a blocked urinary tract.. i noticed something was wrong last night when i came home and his sister greeted me at the front door (he is always the first one to greet me).

i went into my bathroom and saw that one of them had pooped on the floor - something neither of them had ever done before.

carefully faded

Everyone - thank you all so much for your concern and thoughtful words. I've called the vet again but was told the same thing - that she was busy dealing with multiple cat emergencies and that she would call me tonight. I completely understand that she needs to help the other animals, but I would think my $800 should entitle me to a phone conversation with a doctor at least within the first 8 hours!

Jourles - sorry about your cats partial renal failure. Will you need to continue the injections for the rest of his life?

Littlerockguy - so sorry about your Bengal. I will definately keep a close watch for signs of infection. I'm bringing him from the emergency vet to his regular vet tomorrow morning; and he should be staying there for another day or so. I would expect that they would watch/test for infection. Good luck with your ocicat. :o)

TrailBlazer04 - whew! Glad you found your baby! Mine are indoor-only kitties - so they don't wear collars. But, if they ever become outdoor kitties - I'll definately make sure to take your advice. Thanks.

Carla - thanks so much for your story. I'm sorry yours has gone through this several times, but your story has given me hope that mine will be ok too. The vet told me that I will most likely need to change his food. You mentioned the little warning signs (blood spots). . . I started noticing them a little while ago - but I didn't put two-and-two together. Not bright blood, but watered down, brownish colored little spots on my duvet cover. I'm cleaning house right now and will certainly know what's going on if I ever see them again. Thanks so much!

Sunspot - your story is so sad - I'm sorry! I'm lucky in that my friend told me about her cat's experience with urinary blocks; otherwise, I would probably have done the same thing you did, as my initial thought was that he was constipated. I do hope I caught mine in time. Thanks!

JH and Elsewhere - thanks for your concerns. How old are your cats Elsewhere?

Nathan Natas - thank you for the education on our beloved tom cats. I'll be ready with the second litter box, but I think he'll be ok. He was trying to use his just moments before I left for the vet. I'll check out the Pam Johnson Bennet website.

Thanks everyone. I'll post an update if/when I hear from the doctor.

- CF

35

Cat in Emergency Care - could use some support

by carefully faded in

jw
friends

i'm really nervous and scared right now.

i just brought my boy kitty to the emergency care clinic with a blocked urinary tract.. i noticed something was wrong last night when i came home and his sister greeted me at the front door (he is always the first one to greet me).

i went into my bathroom and saw that one of them had pooped on the floor - something neither of them had ever done before.

carefully faded

Netty, thanks. I just called the vet. The doctor couldn't come to the phone because there was another cat emergency, but the receptionist was able to tell me that he came through the procedure just fine, it went well, and that he is sitting up in his cage looking around. So, I'm going to call again later this afternoon to check on him and speak to the doctor. I want to find out exactly what she found - was there a stone? Did he have a lot of blood in his urine? How long does she think he was blocked? I'm hoping I caught it fairly quickly so that the damage to his kidneys is minimal. I clean when I'm nervous . . . my house should be spotless by the time he comes home! His poor sister keeps looking around the house and then looking at me as if she's thinking, "where did you take him? where is he?" I'll keep you posted on his progress and please continue to keep him in your thoughts. - CF

35

Cat in Emergency Care - could use some support

by carefully faded in

jw
friends

i'm really nervous and scared right now.

i just brought my boy kitty to the emergency care clinic with a blocked urinary tract.. i noticed something was wrong last night when i came home and his sister greeted me at the front door (he is always the first one to greet me).

i went into my bathroom and saw that one of them had pooped on the floor - something neither of them had ever done before.

carefully faded

Hi everyone. I'm really nervous and scared right now. I just brought my boy kitty to the emergency care clinic with a blocked urinary tract.

I noticed something was wrong last night when I came home and his sister greeted me at the front door (he is always the first one to greet me). I went into my bathroom and saw that one of them had pooped on the floor - something neither of them had ever done before. I found him under my bed in his kitty bed. I thought something might be up, but I didn't worry too much.

I heard him growling and huffing once during the night, but I thought he was just fighting with his sister (something they occasionally do). I moved her away from him and went back to bed.

This morning, he wasn't sleeping on my bed as he usually does. I found him under my bed again in his kitty bed. He started growling and huffing again. I took him out and he seemed uncomfortable. He kept going into his litter box and sitting for a minute, then getting off, then going back, etc.

My friend had told me about her male cat that had a urinary blockage and that it could be life threatening if not treated immediately - as the toxins build up and eventually kill the cat. I called the emergency vet who said that it most likely is a urinary blockage and that I should bring him in immediately.

I raced to the vet and when I got there they took him immediately to check for the blockage. The doctor came in the room and said that he does have a blockage and that they were going to need to try to unblock it using a catheter. She also said that he has a heart murmur and that would slightly complicate how he would be treated with regards to fluids, anesthesia, etc.

I'm going to call the doctor in about 10 minutes to find out how the procedure went. Please everyone, think good positive thoughts for him - he's a pretty special big guy.

Oh, by the way, the estimate for the emergency care alone is between $550 and $850. That only covers his treatment until tomorrow morning at 8:00am - when I'll have to transport him to his regular vet. Right now, the cost is the last thing I'm concerned with - but come on! I wish I could add my furry kids onto my health benefits plan!

- CF

28

Emotional IQ test

by bikerchic in

jw
friends

from phychology today, this was interesting if you want to try it here is the link:.

http://psychologytoday.psychtests.com/tests/emotional_iq_r2_access.html.

my score:.

carefully faded

Here are my results:

Your score = 117

EIQ Score 117

I took a similar test several times a few years back and I always received an average or just below average score. I've been working very hard on some issues over the past couple years and felt that I've made progress. It's feels great to see now that I may have actually matured a bit on an emotional level.

- CF