In between changing my future and planning new plans, Felix got sick. You remember Felix? He's our giant black and white cat, weighing in at 18 pounds 11 ounces, prompting us to give him the middle name André (for André the Giant). He was fine when we got home only a little over a week ago (how has it been only a week?), but a few days ago he started acting mad and yowling when we picked him up. Then he began to spend his time by the litter boxes, acted as if he would urinate on his scratching pad, and the yowling became so sad and unbearable. So on Thursday morning, quite early while the sky was still gray-- not yet melted into blue-- we took him to the emergency vet.
Let's just be upfront: Felix lives. Thank goodness. But there were a tense couple of hours where I wasn't sure what his condition was, and I was worried he was "blocked." Male cats can get "blocked" urethras that then keep them from urinating, stretching their bladder and even killing them. Felix was only partially blocked and had a UTI, but he had to spend the night at the emergency vet so they could give him subcutaneous liquids, run tests, and start him on a round of antibiotics and pain meds. He's home now, and we're very grateful, though giving him pills sucks. Yesterday wasn't too bad, but he's gotten wise about how to spit them out now, and he clenches his jaw shut so we can't get the pills in without a fight. We tried putting a pill in wet food but, predictably, he ate around it.
I suppose the moral of this story is, if you have a male cat, make sure he gets plenty of liquid and don't wait too long to take him to the vet if he starts acting odd. We were lucky Felix was only partially blocked (and our wallets were lucky, too), but I've read about cats who get totally blocked and need emergency surgery for this condition-- both risky and expensive. So take care of your pets and love them, because can you imagine how sad it would be not to have a giant pillow-cat sleeping at your side every night?
Rupert had his first UTI this summer and he didn't like his antibiotics either:( Every day twice a day for two weeks. But I love him and he's healthy. Thanks for this reminder and I hope Felix feels better soon!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Felix is okay! (And I'm glad there are two of you to wrestle him into taking his medicine, because that would be a little tough for you on your own.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love you. You know why. ;)
I've only just checked my blogger page for the first time in about a month. Oh no, oh no, oh no!! That was my first thought because as I read the blurb that shows up on my blogger page, it cut off with "the yowling became so sad and unbearable. So on Thursday morning, quite early...". I am glad the outcome to the story was not what I had pictured in my head.
ReplyDeleteOuchies, blocked bladders are pretty painful. Poor Felix!! I bet he's happy to be home. And I hope Rhett appreciates having his buddy back.
Try putting the pill into butter. It helps the pill to slide down a bit easier. And also try to tilt his head back if at all possible. The action of tilting the head back causes the mouth to automatically open, like with humans. I'm also a big fan of once the pill is in the mouth, jamming the mouth shut and stroking the throat to try and induce swallowing. And I use the phrase "jamming the mouth shut" only slightly tongue in cheek. And that is your free veterinary advice for the day, which I'm sure you already knew!
And now I'm off to read all your posts that I have missed out on!
The tilting head back thing has helped immensely! We were already jamming his mouth shut... :) Yes, it was a pretty scary night and then waiting at the vet to hear his diagnoses, but it ended up being SO much better than it could have been both for him and for us. Poor Felix. But he seems to be doing well here at home. He dislikes his Urinary S/O, but Rhett loves it so... I guess there's that. I miss you so much! And I owe you an e-mail!
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