Sassy cats – And the beat goes on

Gallery

Posted on by

I don’t feel good!

It’s the peep today. Gracie is reveling in not being the cause of the current mayhem. She took off to the casino.

It was Gus’s turn again. Yesterday after a nondescript afternoon, he turned funky. He started trying to pee (with no success) everywhere. He hollered. Loudly. He was either in pain or a drama queen. In either case he had me nuts.

It was 20 minutes before we were leaving for dinner at a very nice restaurant with our houseguest. It’s a seafood place. I was looking forward to some bounty from the sea but it was not to be.

Gus either had an acute UTI (urinary track infection) or a blockage. Both are more common in male cats. Jake would get UTI’s but not like this. Not with the hollering that could wake the dead.

It’s around 5:30 and many vets were closing soon. Getting him in anywhere would be tough. We have three local emergency vets. I called the first one. They were not taking more patients as they were slammed. The second said there was a substantial wait and the third was also turning people away.

We had the option of driving an hour for another ER but it may not be better, so we opted to go to the local one and wait. Just before we left Gus peed four drops. That was good. (We all cheered!) It meant he was most likely not blocked. Being blocked would be a big deal and require immediate surgery and it wouldn’t be local.

We got to the vet and settled in. They did triage and there was no blockage so we would be slotted in “our turn.” It would be hours. We had the option of checking in and going somewhere. They would call us when our turn came. When your pet is sick, you lose your appetite. We had a big, wonderful sub at lunch which kept us going although dreams of shrimp and scallops were dancing in my head.

After 3-1/2 hours we left with a confused and still uncomfortable Gus, meds and hungry (but not hungry – you know how you get when it’s 10 p.m. and you didn’t eat dinner) peeps. Even the pizza places were closed. Not even a Starbucks was open.

I had chips and water for supper. Our houseguest had wine and the beloved husband had a beer.

This is the second time this houseguest has sat in a vet office with us. Last time it was for a sick stray (or what we thought was a stray but belonged to a neighbor).

Gus is doing better but he is sequestered in our wetproof cat room. He still doesn’t always quite make it to the litter box but within a day he should be ok. In the meantime Sasha is devastated. Not only do we have a houseguest which is crimping her style but her best buddy is not available for huggies.

Sasha: I want my buddy back!

We all wish you a happy and healthy weekend with no leakage.

73 thoughts on “Sassy cats – And the beat goes on”

  2. Poor Gus! And poor peeps as well. Sounds like FUS? I take it that it wasn’t? I had a cat back in the very early days of understanding FUS who had an abnormally short penis and had to have his penis removed. Not long after that, my mom’s cat also had FUS but because we knew the symptoms he got treated right away. He also had an abnormally short penis. And then Charlie the first had recurrent bladder stones until the vet surgically opened his bladder and removed the gravel (he said it looked like old style clay kitty litter). His penis was okay but just to complete the story, he had a growth on his nipple and the vet decided to remove that at the same time.

    I hope that Gus is all well and back in the arms of Sasha by now.

    Liked by 1 person

    • We were at the ER vet (who I didn’t actually talk to — it was so busy the techs were doing the interaction with the people). She said he had a lot of bacteria and blood in his urine but no stones. I’m keeping an eye on him and if anything looks wonky, I’ll haul him off to his regular vet. I wasn’t given any food instructions which I thought was routine with male cats.

      Liked by 1 person

    • No. Everything was closed when we got out after 10 and by then we weren’t really hungry. The rest of her trip was already planned so we’ll go next time she comes east in the fall. She lives in Denver so we were doing fresh seafood which is pricey there.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. What an ordeal! I think the problem may be your houseguest? But seriously, it sounds like a terrible ordeal, very much like when we humans take a loved one to the ER and have to wait and wait for them to be seen. It’s always a frantic time. I hope this was a transitory issue and that Gus won’t have a repeat episode. I also hope you have an opportunity to get your wonderful seafood dinner, as well! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    • We’ve had a lot of “goings on” with people lately so it could have been stress induced but he definitely had a bad infection. He is good now. Takes his medicine like a trooper.

      Like

  9. I’m glad he’s going to be ok. Sasha must be going nuts without him. Aw, he will get lots of love when he can be out with her again! Hope he recovers quickly.

    Liked by 1 person

    • We sprung him this morning and he is spending considerable time smelling everything. I would have said that Sasha and Gus were a bonded pair but she was weird. I let her in his room yesterday and she wasn’t having any of that. She smelled him this morning and didn’t hiss but let him alone. Maybe it will take a little time. He was only isolated for about 36 hours. He is doing great. Still on his meds but no accidents and he’s interested in everything.

      Liked by 1 person

        • I hope so. He is having a good time reacquainting himself with his toys (which were in the room with him but more fun in general population!). His accidents yesterday were on our stairs carpet. I spent yesterday cleaning it. Hopefully it will work when I use the black light to check on it today. Any suggestions are welcome.

          Liked by 1 person

          • We’ve had success with Resolve for dog urine and mouse “scent”. I keep expecting to have accidents from our 13 yr old Lab who had 7 litters of puppies. She has an iron bladder-thank goodness. Hugs, Carol K

            Liked by 1 person

  10. Good goin’ for Gracie who remained unscathed this week. Sorry to hear about Gus though. Odd to have him fine in the morning and screaming out in pain in the afternoon. I hope the medicine works wonders for Gus.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Poor Gus. I hope he feels better soon. Maybe Sasha could hang out with him in his special room. Hope you have a better weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I let her in the room yesterday. She hissed at him and wanted out. Today he’s out in the general population. She gave him a sniff but no hiss. Maybe he still smells like vet. Not their favorite smell.

      Like

    • He is doing much better 24 hours later. I’m grateful for that. He was in pain and I felt so helpless. I was lucky to be able to get him in. All the emergency vets were shutting down intake because of overload.

      Like

  13. Hope that problem of Gus’s is short-lived and he’s better ASAP. Poor baby. AND of course poor Sasha for not having her snuggle buddy for a while.

    Hugs, Pam and Teddy too

    Liked by 1 person

    • Sasha, that little dickens! I let her in the room thinking it would do both of them good. She smelled him and hissed. He must still smell like vet. Not her favorite smell. She wouldn’t go near him.

      Like

  14. My previous cat Sammy had a blockage twice when he was a kitten. He was given meds and then put on a vet food for urinary problems. I hope Gus is better and doesn’t go through it again. Poor guy.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. We had the same thing last week – and luckily no blockage. He got oainkillers at the ER and got into his regular vet the next day, where he got rehydrated and an antibiotic You are so right, you can’t risk a blockage !

    Liked by 1 person

    • We were lucky to get him in. All the ER vets were shutting down intake because of overload. He started to dribble so I thought maybe it wasn’t a blockage but you can’t risk it. He is much better today but even after I brought him home and he had the first dose of meds, he wasn’t really good. He didn’t have any control. He’s pretty much back to normal today. I have him in a room by himself until tomorrow morning so I can check his pee balls. (Yes, I need a life!)

      Like

  17. Aww, poor Gus. Wow! long waits at those vet ERs. We have two, and they are both an hour away. Hope Gus feels better soon. Have a nice weekend with your house guest.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Crossing my fingers for Gus to get sprung! Poor Gus. Sorry for all. It’s crazy how that emergency thing happens at the most difficult of times adding additional stress to an already stressful situation. Sounds like you have Gus on the right track. I know you will feel better when he sees his regular vet. Keep peeing Gus!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Me too. It’s not fun for any of us. He’s isolated right now. Hopefully if he continues to use the litter box we’ll spring him out of solitary confinement tomorrow.

      Like

  20. Oh I know that holler! And it is an awful sound. One of my recent cats was prone to UTI’s. I am glad it was easily treated.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Spending the evening at the emergency vet sucks. I’ve found that going at 1 am works much better. Not usually too many folks there. But if you’re worried about a blocked cat, that’s not the time to delay, sadly.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I’ve been there at midnight. There still was a wait but it wasn’t as bad. I’ve learned a lot about this now so next time I won’t freak out quite as bad. If it was a blockage there would have been an hour drive down toward Philly.

      Like

  23. Teddy had blockage caused by bladder stones. He didn’t need surgery but had to stay at the vet while they kept an eye on the tube they inserted. After that he was on prescription food for the rest of his life.

    Liked by 1 person

    • They said he didn’t have stones and not a word about diet. He got an antibiotic shot, steroids and an anti-spasmatic. I’ll keep an eye out. This was the ER vet and not his regular.

      Like

      • ER vet or not, they should have mentioned diet. And you should have gotten oral meds if it was an infection. We have passed into an era now of all antibiotics are by prescription (2023) because of overuse by physicians and vets. I hope they didn’t just give a shot in the butt for just in case. Something caused his pain and lack of pee. Hum? I’d watch his water intake too.

        Liked by 1 person

        • I’ll talk to his “regular” vet next week to see what they recommend. He does have oral meds. They did a urinalysis so they knew what the issue was.

          Like

          • That’s comforting to know. We have a cat named “Willie” who had to have a perineal urethrostomy under emergency care when he was under 1 year. The x-rays showed he had a small bladder which of course he did he was under a year old. Anatomically, it’s highly unlikely anyone has a small bladder. Our internal organs don’t tend to differ from one person or cat to the next. However, it is possible to have a functionally small bladder, which means your bladder, for any number of reasons, can’t hold a lot of urine. Sometimes, I tell my clients to listen to what you’re being told and whether or not it sounds reasonable. He did need the surgery though, at a cost of $3500. I’m just glad I had it.

            Liked by 1 person

            • Aww poor Willie. I’m glad it worked out. We’ve had Gus for 3 years and he’s about 6. This is the first time this has happened but I will keep an eye on it. The vet said he has a small bladder.

              Like

  25. Wow! Sounds like a rough night for all concerned!
    Hope Gus rebounds in short order . . . and you get to reschedule that dinner!

    Liked by 1 person

    • The dinner is gone. Maybe next trip. It was a rough evening. Spending 3-1/2 hrs in a pet ER is not fun. A lot of sad stories came through those doors.

      Like

  26. Pets and kids always get sick or injured on a Friday or holiday after 4 PM. It’s the rule. Then it’s the frantic rush and/ or a decision on ER ($$$). Just once, I’d like an inhabitant of my house to be sick at 10 AM on a Monday.

    Liked by 2 people

Comments are closed.