Eli's home!
I got a call from the vet this morning at work and she said that Eli's catheter was out and he was able to pee on his own. Also important, since Eli wasn't eating this past weekend, he was eating ravenously. I'm not surprised, because he was throwing up all Thursday and into Friday morning and probably hasn't eaten in three days. Eli's discharge was scheduled for 6:40 this evening.
Josh and I went to pick Eli up and speak with his doctor, who gave us Hill's s/d Feline canned food to help dissolve the crystals in Eli's bladder. Eli will be on this food for the next 6-8 weeks and even if he doesn't take to the food, we can give him non-prescription canned food. It's most important to increase his water intake.
The first couple hours home were nerve-wracking though. Morty was hissing at Eli, and swatted him a few time, most likely because of the way he smelled like the vet's office, and Eli had gone to the litter box three times in the first twenty minutes he was home. I panicked because one thing we're supposed to monitor is frequent trips to the litter box. Thankfully the doctor called back in just a few minutes and said that everything was fine because Eli was actually peeing in the box and not just straining due to a clog. So nothing to worry about with that! It's quite funny how Josh and I are jumping up every time Eli heads toward the bathroom. As for Morty, he should calm down within the next couple days as Eli grooms the smell of the hospital out of his fur.
Poor little Eli had part of his foreleg and his "crotch" area shaved, but he's got his trademark cattitude back! He's eating his food (and some of Morty's), stomping around the apartment, and even forgave his mommy and daddy for taking him to the hospital. Surprisingly, he gave us head butts and even purred for me. I'm so happy he's home, and we're going to keep such a close eye on him during the next couple weeks.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Eli-Weli in the hospital
Eli gave us quite a scare last week, and has once again proven to be a money pit. Not that we don't love him, and not that this may have been prevented by us.
On Thursday, he was vomiting repeatedly and we thought he just had a tummy bug. But that night, he was lethargic and not acting like himself. Eli normally meows and brrrs a lot, and exhibits lots of cattitude in his stomping little walk across the apartment, but there was none of that. At that point, I decided he'd go to the vet. Eli was even more lethargic the next day, and I was worried that he might not make it to the appointment I made for the afternoon. As I write these words, I'm so thankful that he actually did make it, because he very well could've passed away.
The vet, upon palpating Eli's abdomen, discovered that his bladder was extremely swollen and that Eli tensed whenever she was squeezing it, and believed him to have a urinary obstruction, and he would require immediate treatment and a few days in the hospital. She also gave us an estimate that it would cost between $1000 and $1200 for everything. It didn't matter though, even though the treatment cost almost a month's rent, because Eli is our baby and we can't imagine our home without him. In fact, in the few days he's been gone, we notice that it's a lot quieter and Morty is sticking to us instead of his usual hangout spots.
The vet's update on Friday evening told us that the catheter was working and that a lot of grit had been cleaned out and his bladder was draining. After today's update, Eli's urine is clear (no longer bloody), but he doesn't want to eat. I hope that it's just because he's in a scary place rather than a sign that he's really still not well. He's coming home tomorrow and I hope he gets better and takes to the prescribed diet that's supposed to dissolve the crystals that caused the blockage in the first place.
Apparently, Eli had Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD), something that occurs frequently in male cats, but there is no exact cause. Crystals build up in the bladder and block the urethra, and since the urethra is narrower in males, this disease afflicts males mostly. The vet and a lot of my Googling has told me that it's most likely due to Eli being on a 100% dry food diet, which means that certain minerals build up more, and he's getting less water. I'm a bit frustrated with myself because we stopped feeding them wet food when they stopped eating it. We thought they were just growing out of it, but if I'd known about the high risk of FLUTD, I would've made greater efforts to keep them on a wet food/dry food combo diet like they were on when they were kittens. I'm also angry that I never got Eli pet insurance, and now I won't be able to have these medical expenses covered because even if I got insurance now, it would be a preexisting condition and they wouldn't cover it.
And the scariest thing is that urinary blockage in a male cat can be fatal if it isn't treated quickly enough. Most websites say that the cat will go into a coma and pass away due to renal failure within 48-72 hours. It's horrible thinking about how those four hours I was working on Friday may have been more vital than they actually were. And we're not out of the woods yet. Eli may block again if there are more crystals in his bladder, and he's high risk because he wasn't eating at the hospital, and that food is supposed to help him dissolve the crystals.
So please think good thoughts toward Eli, that he'll eat his prescribed food when he comes home, and that he goes back to being his tenacious and outspoken former self.
On Thursday, he was vomiting repeatedly and we thought he just had a tummy bug. But that night, he was lethargic and not acting like himself. Eli normally meows and brrrs a lot, and exhibits lots of cattitude in his stomping little walk across the apartment, but there was none of that. At that point, I decided he'd go to the vet. Eli was even more lethargic the next day, and I was worried that he might not make it to the appointment I made for the afternoon. As I write these words, I'm so thankful that he actually did make it, because he very well could've passed away.
The vet, upon palpating Eli's abdomen, discovered that his bladder was extremely swollen and that Eli tensed whenever she was squeezing it, and believed him to have a urinary obstruction, and he would require immediate treatment and a few days in the hospital. She also gave us an estimate that it would cost between $1000 and $1200 for everything. It didn't matter though, even though the treatment cost almost a month's rent, because Eli is our baby and we can't imagine our home without him. In fact, in the few days he's been gone, we notice that it's a lot quieter and Morty is sticking to us instead of his usual hangout spots.
The vet's update on Friday evening told us that the catheter was working and that a lot of grit had been cleaned out and his bladder was draining. After today's update, Eli's urine is clear (no longer bloody), but he doesn't want to eat. I hope that it's just because he's in a scary place rather than a sign that he's really still not well. He's coming home tomorrow and I hope he gets better and takes to the prescribed diet that's supposed to dissolve the crystals that caused the blockage in the first place.
Apparently, Eli had Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD), something that occurs frequently in male cats, but there is no exact cause. Crystals build up in the bladder and block the urethra, and since the urethra is narrower in males, this disease afflicts males mostly. The vet and a lot of my Googling has told me that it's most likely due to Eli being on a 100% dry food diet, which means that certain minerals build up more, and he's getting less water. I'm a bit frustrated with myself because we stopped feeding them wet food when they stopped eating it. We thought they were just growing out of it, but if I'd known about the high risk of FLUTD, I would've made greater efforts to keep them on a wet food/dry food combo diet like they were on when they were kittens. I'm also angry that I never got Eli pet insurance, and now I won't be able to have these medical expenses covered because even if I got insurance now, it would be a preexisting condition and they wouldn't cover it.
And the scariest thing is that urinary blockage in a male cat can be fatal if it isn't treated quickly enough. Most websites say that the cat will go into a coma and pass away due to renal failure within 48-72 hours. It's horrible thinking about how those four hours I was working on Friday may have been more vital than they actually were. And we're not out of the woods yet. Eli may block again if there are more crystals in his bladder, and he's high risk because he wasn't eating at the hospital, and that food is supposed to help him dissolve the crystals.
So please think good thoughts toward Eli, that he'll eat his prescribed food when he comes home, and that he goes back to being his tenacious and outspoken former self.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
A birthday like no other
For my birthday, I took Friday off from work so Josh and I could get an early start down to PA to visit Annette and Mark for the weekend.
We dined at Cuba Libre on Friday evening, and the food made me want to find a great Cuban restaurant close to us. Sadly, there aren't any in Park Slope, but there are some I'm going to look at in Manhattan.
Yesterday, on my actual birthday, Annette and Mark taught me how to shoot a gun and were fantastic instructors on the basics and gun safety. I found out that I'm a real wuss and prefer to stay with the .22 caliber pistol because I found myself being afraid of the recoil that I knew was coming with the larger caliber pistol. I would definitely go again, but without the rednecks in the lane next to us rapid firing a shotgun at five yards and screaming "WOOOOOOO! That's a mean gun!" afterward.
After the range, we went to Ikea in this weird-named town and on the car ride, I suddenly realized how tiring shooting really is, and we'd been there for just over an hour. I've been lusting after these bowls for a while and I was determined to get them even though Josh kept asking, "Do you really need them" and "Where would you put them in our tiny apartment?" And guess what? On a mission to obtain a curtain rod and curtain, I came away with not only my desired bowls, but its accessory set, four white soup bowls (to replace our dumb flared lip ones), two big glass bowls, and two smaller glass bowls. Most of our china (if I can even call it that) is from a cheapo set we got for Josh's senior year at Rutgers and the rest is this horrible outdated set from Josh's parents. And we had swedish meatballs!
We made good time back to Brooklyn today and lounged about for a while, took a cat nap, and walked to Barnes and Noble so that Josh could stock up on his fantasy football research material, and I went because he said he'd buy me a book. Unlucky for him, he didn't specify how much I could spend.
We dined at Cuba Libre on Friday evening, and the food made me want to find a great Cuban restaurant close to us. Sadly, there aren't any in Park Slope, but there are some I'm going to look at in Manhattan.
Yesterday, on my actual birthday, Annette and Mark taught me how to shoot a gun and were fantastic instructors on the basics and gun safety. I found out that I'm a real wuss and prefer to stay with the .22 caliber pistol because I found myself being afraid of the recoil that I knew was coming with the larger caliber pistol. I would definitely go again, but without the rednecks in the lane next to us rapid firing a shotgun at five yards and screaming "WOOOOOOO! That's a mean gun!" afterward.
After the range, we went to Ikea in this weird-named town and on the car ride, I suddenly realized how tiring shooting really is, and we'd been there for just over an hour. I've been lusting after these bowls for a while and I was determined to get them even though Josh kept asking, "Do you really need them" and "Where would you put them in our tiny apartment?" And guess what? On a mission to obtain a curtain rod and curtain, I came away with not only my desired bowls, but its accessory set, four white soup bowls (to replace our dumb flared lip ones), two big glass bowls, and two smaller glass bowls. Most of our china (if I can even call it that) is from a cheapo set we got for Josh's senior year at Rutgers and the rest is this horrible outdated set from Josh's parents. And we had swedish meatballs! We made good time back to Brooklyn today and lounged about for a while, took a cat nap, and walked to Barnes and Noble so that Josh could stock up on his fantasy football research material, and I went because he said he'd buy me a book. Unlucky for him, he didn't specify how much I could spend.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Kitty in the sun
Life is really hard for kitties in the summer, lounging by the window in an air conditioned apartment.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
My shoes go out!
So the whole reason I bought my new red shoes was so I could have appropriate summer footwear for going on a plant tour, lest I lose some toes in a tragic printing press accident. I was a little scatterbrained the morning of my departure though, as Josh is away visiting relatives (he's been gone practically a month with all his vacations) and the cats needed to be prepped for a couple days without supervision. A car service came to pick me up and as I was about to walk out, I remembered to fill the cats' water fountain. Whoops! That could've been really bad.
We had a good trip out to PA and when we checked in, I found out I was staying in one of their deluxe rooms because they were absolutely packed. My boss got the super deluxe room. It's okay; I roughed it in my gigantic room with the gas fireplace and jacuzzi tub. After a three-hour car ride, it was heaven to walk into this quiet, beautiful, air-conditioned room with relaxing classical music playing subtly from the nightstand. The picture really doesn't do it justice. I felt so bad that I was enjoying myself so much with gourmet food prepared by a local celebrity and lovely accommodations while Josh was sweating it out in Florida at his grandmother's place. His grandmother does not believe in using the air conditioning. I don't even want to imagine what it's like. When I got home, the apartment was the warmest it's been all year, and the cats were stretched out on the floor to their longest extension, as though they had melted. Air conditioning on!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)