Saturday, June 4, 2011

Exhausted and Worried

Last night, the Friday night I'd been looking forward to with such anticipation, my plans for total relaxation were thwarted.  Midnight found us at the 24-hour emergency vet with Romeo...  we had started noticing that he was squatting and straining in his litter box, but not even producing one drop of urine.

The temptation to wait to take him to his regular vet during daylight hours was high:  after all, Romeo has been taken to the vet now on two different occasions for bladder issues, and both times we were told that it wasn't actually a blockage, but was related to stress.  And we all know from my recent posts that Romeo was under quite a bit of stress.  Eventually good sense won out though - we figured that NO urine produced couldn't mean anything good.  And something about his demeanor had me completely unsettled.  It was subtle - anyone with cats knows that it isn't that unusual for them to try to hide pain and illness from you.  But he didn't start purring immediately when I'd go over to pet him; in fact, he looked more annoyed than anything.  And his eyes weren't quite as bright as they had been.  We packed him up into the cat carrier and drove him to the nearest emergency vet, who we are sadly very familiar with.  We had hoped that it would be like the other times we've taken him him for bladder issues, and that we'd be sent back home and told that he was just having these issues due to stress and that it should clear up on its own.

Alas, this was not to be.  It was a good thing that we did take him in when we did.  As it turns out, he was blocked, and there were urinary crystals.

He is still at the hospital, on IV fluids and recovering from the blockage, catheterized until they're certain that he can pass urine on his own.  I don't know when he'll get to come home.  The vet said that an average stay is about 36 hours after the initial blockage is removed, so let's hope and pray that it is just an average stay.  Because of course I'm primarily concerned about Romeo's welfare, but from a pocketbook perspective as well, this is totally not what we needed.  We'll be fine - the estimate given to us was cringe-worthy, but not impossible for us to take on.  But there's nothing wrong with hoping that the final bill is on the lower side of the quoted estimate, right?

Anyway, I'm very worried about him.  I now think that last week's peeing on the floor incidents were an indication that something was wrong even then.  Though he DID start peeing in the box again once we got him upstairs, else he would have wound up at the vet sooner.   Maybe he was partially blocked then, and it all just came to a head last night?  Regardless, the vet's message this morning  (which must have been left when we were passed out cold from exhaustion during the wee hours of the morning) sounded confident that the crystals and the blockage were caught very early on, which is probably good news for Romeo.

Everyone keep paws and fingers and toes crossed for us!

11 comments:

  1. I've got everything crossed for you here. Just as well you took Romeo to the vet when you did. He is in the best place right now and I'm sure he's getting the best possible care. We won't go into vets bills. I'll have my fingers crossed that the final bill is lower than the estimate too! Good luck Romeo.

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  2. Will do! We're hoping Romeo is back on his paws in no time (and for a lower bill- ouch!)

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  3. Good luck, Romeo! We're all pulling for you from here!

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  4. Here's to hoping for free pees and no more blocks! Sounds like a good choice to not wait and get him the immediate relief - I'm sure he will thank you for the care you give him.

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  5. For the future, you might look into adding fresh, organic cider vinegar to the cat's drinking water. It works with dogs. Maybe there's a cat person who can give you information about the right proportions?

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  6. Thanks, everyone. While he's still at the vet's, they think that he's doing pretty well.

    Fern, I just posted over at your blog as well. I am so very sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to you - I know that you loved Bambi very much.

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  7. I am glad you took him in and will send purrs that he gets all better quickly. Many people don't realize how serious the blockage can be, and waiting can be deadly.

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  8. Oh lord I feel tears coming on, just reading about Romeo, and Bambi --

    I am so very very sorry they're necessary for Bambi --

    And so very very grateful and glad in Romeo's case that you "saw" him when you did and got him help. Timely, timely, no matter what the hour.

    Everything crossed over here. Will be checking back to hear.

    How very, very strange, tho, that I should be researching about oxalic acid and crystals, and kidney stones, and gout, just this afternoon --

    Looks like for humans, at least, a complex of antidotes is in order -- malic acid and black cherries and baking soda and celery seed -- all these have worked for me for years, to keep me out of trouble -- wonder what it could be for cats.

    With love for you.

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  9. OMG - it never ends, does it?

    I've got everything crossed here, too. If the vet sounds confident that it was caught early on, maybe the estimate will end up being more than the actual total?

    It's great that you knew to take him in. I would've done the same. I'd be worried that the one time I didn't take him in assuming it's just an infection would turn out to be more serious - and that's what happened. Great intuition!

    I hope everything works out for him. Poor Romeo - and poor you! Try to get some sleep at some point. I'll keep everything crossed for some good, less expensive news :)

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  10. Oh Dear! Wes all purraying for Romeo! Me, Kozmo and Bob and Sam our heairy slobbery sisters and Mommy and Daddy!
    We's knows how awfuls yous feels, but us cat's is super good at hiding how bad we is feeling.
    We is ending yous kitty kisses and doggy skobbers
    Nellie

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