...at least that's what it boils down to.
I won't tell you what it cost to determine that!
Let's just say we noticed Tucker had been sort of throwing up a little - but not productively. Just a little bubbly mucous. And the day after the Halloween party he seemed lethargic or mopey. This instantly had us flashing back to Notch's situation before we lost him. It was Sunday evening, and we were panicking - do we hold out til Monday morning to get him to our vet? What if we wait too long?
So we opted to go to Metropolitan 24/7 emergency animal hospital about 30 minutes from us. We'd never been, and were pleasantly surprised with the wonderful and caring service. That night Tucker got x-rays and bloodwork - they were concerned he could've had a foreign obstruct obstructing his small intestines - nothing foreign was showing up in the x-rays, but his intestines were clearly bunched up in places - not good!
So we let him stay there the night for treatment and observation, but no surgery yet.
The next morning he was good - hadn't thrown up and was lively. I picked him up bright and early and drove him back to our vet, where he stayed for the rest of the day and was on more meds (antacids, and other good stuff). Long story short, our baby had gastroenteritis, and had to be on meds and special foods for nearly a week. Three types of medication every 12 hrs (ugh, he and I both hated dealing with THAT!), plus moist and easy to digest food.
It's a week later, and you'd never guess we were worried we were going to lose him just a week ago. (I guess he could've ruptured and "gone septic"...very bad!) He's back to being his usual loving and obnoxious self. As I type this, I can hear him rummaging through something in the laundry room and threatening to knock something off the washer because he's being ignored. Such a sweet baby - sooooo relieved he's still with us! :)
These pictures are from just after we brought him back home...he was not happy, but relieved to be home!
I won't tell you what it cost to determine that!
Let's just say we noticed Tucker had been sort of throwing up a little - but not productively. Just a little bubbly mucous. And the day after the Halloween party he seemed lethargic or mopey. This instantly had us flashing back to Notch's situation before we lost him. It was Sunday evening, and we were panicking - do we hold out til Monday morning to get him to our vet? What if we wait too long?
So we opted to go to Metropolitan 24/7 emergency animal hospital about 30 minutes from us. We'd never been, and were pleasantly surprised with the wonderful and caring service. That night Tucker got x-rays and bloodwork - they were concerned he could've had a foreign obstruct obstructing his small intestines - nothing foreign was showing up in the x-rays, but his intestines were clearly bunched up in places - not good!
So we let him stay there the night for treatment and observation, but no surgery yet.
The next morning he was good - hadn't thrown up and was lively. I picked him up bright and early and drove him back to our vet, where he stayed for the rest of the day and was on more meds (antacids, and other good stuff). Long story short, our baby had gastroenteritis, and had to be on meds and special foods for nearly a week. Three types of medication every 12 hrs (ugh, he and I both hated dealing with THAT!), plus moist and easy to digest food.
It's a week later, and you'd never guess we were worried we were going to lose him just a week ago. (I guess he could've ruptured and "gone septic"...very bad!) He's back to being his usual loving and obnoxious self. As I type this, I can hear him rummaging through something in the laundry room and threatening to knock something off the washer because he's being ignored. Such a sweet baby - sooooo relieved he's still with us! :)
These pictures are from just after we brought him back home...he was not happy, but relieved to be home!
That red bandage on his leg is from where he had a catheter. And he's not really arching his back at Moxie in the third picture - he's just walking funny and shaking his leg.
Oh, and PS - all THREE cats are now on meds for a possible case of giardia. Simon's had explosive diarhea since we got him, sometimes worse, sometimes better. He's stool specimens checked, his belly felt, a dry q-tip shoved up his butt (poor guy!) and his temp taken soooo many times! While he tested negative for giardia, they felt they didn't get a good specimen from him, and figure we'll try these meds on all three cats. At least it's easier than the stuff Tucker was on - just mix the powder into some canned cat food and let them eat!
Cross your fingers that this does the trick! We went for years with no cat problems, and now it's one issue after another!
4 comments:
I'm happy to hear that Tucker is okay now, and that he's home safe and sound...thank goodness :)
Poor Tucker... Give him a head rubbing for me and a little chin tickling..
Poor babies! Glad Tuck's okay, and hope they all get straightened out soon (fingers crossed!)
Trust me, he's had lotsa loving since he got back, and it was all wonderful for the first week since he came back home. This week he's decided to revert back to his old ways, waking us up before 5am, meowing, batting at the blinds, etc... Would a sleeping pill be bad for him!? ;-)
Now if only we can get the digestive track ON track with Simon and Moxie... People keep suggesting pumpkin in their diet, but first we're going with the vet's suggestion of a lower grade, non-fancy kitten food. None of the Iam's Diet fancy stuff, but something less rich. Cross your fingers for us!
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