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My furry buddy, Connor (who is a 6 year old black male cat), and I have a super super strong bond. He is so attached to me that he has even broken the bathroom door to the point where it no longer "latches" because he hates being locked out when I'm in there. He even tries to hop in the shower with me... any where I go, he goes..and what a major snuggle bug!
....which is why I am a WRECK right now.
It all started Thursday night when I noticed that Connor was straining in his box. It was different from the other 3 times when he was blocked/had a UTI so I thought that he was constipated. So I upped his water and put a lot more in his wet food than I normally do - very very soupy.
Friday I noticed he had pooped.. so I thought "Yes! The water did the trick!" ....(but in reality, the water didn't do the trick).
By Saturday morning he started acting strange again because he started going in and out of the box and turning around in multiple positions. So.... off to the vet we went. They took x-rays and did not see a really full bladder or apparent stones but his kidney levels were high..which concerned them. They tried to put a catheder when he was awake (in which of course caused him to scream bloody murder and caused me to break out in sobs in the waiting room cause I could hear him). Afterwards they told me that the tube "jammed" after about an inch of trying to get it in. After giving my permission, they wound up sedating him, getting the catheder past the block where he urinated (this all happend the last time too with the "jam") and called to tell me that they did not need to leave the catheder in and that we had the best senerio happen. Then they sent him home on antibiotics.
A few hours later he was doing the same thing in his box again and this time, opened up his mouth when he was pushing out small amounts of pee. Not Good! Off we went to the emergency night clinic! They felt his bladder... empty. Good. So they sent me home with pain meds and something to help prevent his muscles from contracting down there giving the urge to pee. I could tell that Sunday was not a good day even though he was still eating, drinking, pushing out very small amounts of urine, cuddling, playing even. The reason I could tell is because he kept opening up his mouth when he peed...and also because there were periods of times throughout the day where he sat by himself in another room. The big worry was when a few drops looked "pinkish". I told the vet about this Monday morning where I took him back in. She said that even though his bladder did not feel full, and his kidney levels were down a little, she didnt like how he was opening up his mouth when he would pee a little. Or the drops of pink urine. She recommended P.U. surgery since this was his 3rd problem in a matter of 3 years with this kind of thing. She said to think about it and see how he was in a few days hoping that the antibiotics he was on that had healed him in the past would do the job. At this point we spent almost $900 dollars since Sat. Please know that we are not well off finantially - at all! Like, At. All.
Tuesday I tell them that we want the P.U. surgery. We cant risk him getting blocked again and we know he isnt feeling right.. We wanted to wait until his bladder infection healed but it didnt turn out that way.
The surgeon that they had been talking to felt that Connor needed it now. My regular vet and the other vet (who occasionally worked with him in the past) thought this would be for the best and said that this surgeon is the only one that she would trust the most to do this same operation on her cat if he needed it.
So....we had two options. Either let my vet do the surgery for $1100 (but she has only ever done 3 of them and isnt a board certified surgeon)... have the surgeon drive to our office to do it for $2200 (and send him home that night)...or drive to her office 40 min. away for about $3000. We at first really wanted the surgeon to do it at our reg. vet. but the first opening she had to drive here and do it was too long of a wait. She actually offered to do it that night but our reg. vet said that they didnt have the staff. Our best and safest option was to drive him to her for her first opening on Thursday at 8am.
Thursday, I drive him to where the surgeon is. It's a top of the line animal surgical center and looks like a little mini human hospital. I'm impressed. Connor is SO MAD that he is there. I keep taking him places that hurt him! I drop him off, and pray that the surgery goes smoothly.
They call me later that day and let me know that surgery went fine. He is staying overnight and they will call and give me an update the next morning about bringing him home if his recovery goes well. But Friday comes and he isnt doing well they say. His kidney levels are elevated and they need to continue to flush him out (he's on an IV). He peed in his bedding so that was a good sign that his bladder is working. They said that tomorrow, if his kidney levels drop I can get him. That night, I call to get an update and he still hasnt eaten, or drank and he peed in his bedding again. My heart hurts. I miss him.
Sat. morning (today) I get a call and they couldnt check his kidney levels because he is so stressed out. He isnt moving, hasnt peed in his box and is making it very clear that he wants no one near him. The doctor said they were going to sedate him so he wouldnt be so stressed out to get more blood. There was a bigger concern though, Connor's incision site and upper leg area were swelling. Not the normal swelling to be expected after surgery, but an alarming amount of swelling. The doctor checked with two other doctors there (they have like 20 there) and they agreed that it may be because there is leakage from the incision site, and that he may actually be leaking pee internally. They said that they wanted to put in a catheder and leave it in (catheder bag) and keep him over night again.
*sigh*
I talk to the doctor a few hours later and he said that they put in the catheder and it was indeed a very likely leak and that it would help heal it all up after being left in for about a week. His kidney levels doubled since yesterday and he thinks it may have been due to the leakage. A LOT of urnine came out when they got it in. He said that he will check his levels again in the morning and if they drop dramatically... they are sending him home with us. At first, I was told by the surgeon that I did not have to seclude him to a room ... but this doctor (who was the one that most likely saved my cats life from noticing the leakage) said with the catheder being in, I def. want to get a dog crate so that he does not move alot and keeps it in place. He also said that if he IS able to go home tomorrow, that I need to bring him back on Wed. for them to check to see how everything is... then if it is... I need to return on Monday for them to check again (and take out the catheder if all is well).
I hang up and cry. Again. Not only do I feel AWFUL about what he is going through, knowing how much he is hating being away from home and me... but the bill total has now reached $3,500 total. I paid for most of it out of the money we had saved for me to start Grad school in the fall.
So anyway, thank god my mom called me while my fiance was at work after that horrible news update. She came with her SUV and helped me gather all the supplies for his return. Crate, low laying litter box, yesterdays news...etc.
I am now waiting for tomorrow's call.
I hope he is well enough to come home tomorrow, but at the same time.. if he is ... I am SO WORRIED that something is going to go wrong while he is at home since nothing seems to be going that smoothly anyway.
Any advice, pats on the back, or warm wishes are welcome.
....which is why I am a WRECK right now.
It all started Thursday night when I noticed that Connor was straining in his box. It was different from the other 3 times when he was blocked/had a UTI so I thought that he was constipated. So I upped his water and put a lot more in his wet food than I normally do - very very soupy.
Friday I noticed he had pooped.. so I thought "Yes! The water did the trick!" ....(but in reality, the water didn't do the trick).
By Saturday morning he started acting strange again because he started going in and out of the box and turning around in multiple positions. So.... off to the vet we went. They took x-rays and did not see a really full bladder or apparent stones but his kidney levels were high..which concerned them. They tried to put a catheder when he was awake (in which of course caused him to scream bloody murder and caused me to break out in sobs in the waiting room cause I could hear him). Afterwards they told me that the tube "jammed" after about an inch of trying to get it in. After giving my permission, they wound up sedating him, getting the catheder past the block where he urinated (this all happend the last time too with the "jam") and called to tell me that they did not need to leave the catheder in and that we had the best senerio happen. Then they sent him home on antibiotics.
A few hours later he was doing the same thing in his box again and this time, opened up his mouth when he was pushing out small amounts of pee. Not Good! Off we went to the emergency night clinic! They felt his bladder... empty. Good. So they sent me home with pain meds and something to help prevent his muscles from contracting down there giving the urge to pee. I could tell that Sunday was not a good day even though he was still eating, drinking, pushing out very small amounts of urine, cuddling, playing even. The reason I could tell is because he kept opening up his mouth when he peed...and also because there were periods of times throughout the day where he sat by himself in another room. The big worry was when a few drops looked "pinkish". I told the vet about this Monday morning where I took him back in. She said that even though his bladder did not feel full, and his kidney levels were down a little, she didnt like how he was opening up his mouth when he would pee a little. Or the drops of pink urine. She recommended P.U. surgery since this was his 3rd problem in a matter of 3 years with this kind of thing. She said to think about it and see how he was in a few days hoping that the antibiotics he was on that had healed him in the past would do the job. At this point we spent almost $900 dollars since Sat. Please know that we are not well off finantially - at all! Like, At. All.
Tuesday I tell them that we want the P.U. surgery. We cant risk him getting blocked again and we know he isnt feeling right.. We wanted to wait until his bladder infection healed but it didnt turn out that way.
The surgeon that they had been talking to felt that Connor needed it now. My regular vet and the other vet (who occasionally worked with him in the past) thought this would be for the best and said that this surgeon is the only one that she would trust the most to do this same operation on her cat if he needed it.
So....we had two options. Either let my vet do the surgery for $1100 (but she has only ever done 3 of them and isnt a board certified surgeon)... have the surgeon drive to our office to do it for $2200 (and send him home that night)...or drive to her office 40 min. away for about $3000. We at first really wanted the surgeon to do it at our reg. vet. but the first opening she had to drive here and do it was too long of a wait. She actually offered to do it that night but our reg. vet said that they didnt have the staff. Our best and safest option was to drive him to her for her first opening on Thursday at 8am.
Thursday, I drive him to where the surgeon is. It's a top of the line animal surgical center and looks like a little mini human hospital. I'm impressed. Connor is SO MAD that he is there. I keep taking him places that hurt him! I drop him off, and pray that the surgery goes smoothly.
They call me later that day and let me know that surgery went fine. He is staying overnight and they will call and give me an update the next morning about bringing him home if his recovery goes well. But Friday comes and he isnt doing well they say. His kidney levels are elevated and they need to continue to flush him out (he's on an IV). He peed in his bedding so that was a good sign that his bladder is working. They said that tomorrow, if his kidney levels drop I can get him. That night, I call to get an update and he still hasnt eaten, or drank and he peed in his bedding again. My heart hurts. I miss him.
Sat. morning (today) I get a call and they couldnt check his kidney levels because he is so stressed out. He isnt moving, hasnt peed in his box and is making it very clear that he wants no one near him. The doctor said they were going to sedate him so he wouldnt be so stressed out to get more blood. There was a bigger concern though, Connor's incision site and upper leg area were swelling. Not the normal swelling to be expected after surgery, but an alarming amount of swelling. The doctor checked with two other doctors there (they have like 20 there) and they agreed that it may be because there is leakage from the incision site, and that he may actually be leaking pee internally. They said that they wanted to put in a catheder and leave it in (catheder bag) and keep him over night again.
*sigh*
I talk to the doctor a few hours later and he said that they put in the catheder and it was indeed a very likely leak and that it would help heal it all up after being left in for about a week. His kidney levels doubled since yesterday and he thinks it may have been due to the leakage. A LOT of urnine came out when they got it in. He said that he will check his levels again in the morning and if they drop dramatically... they are sending him home with us. At first, I was told by the surgeon that I did not have to seclude him to a room ... but this doctor (who was the one that most likely saved my cats life from noticing the leakage) said with the catheder being in, I def. want to get a dog crate so that he does not move alot and keeps it in place. He also said that if he IS able to go home tomorrow, that I need to bring him back on Wed. for them to check to see how everything is... then if it is... I need to return on Monday for them to check again (and take out the catheder if all is well).
I hang up and cry. Again. Not only do I feel AWFUL about what he is going through, knowing how much he is hating being away from home and me... but the bill total has now reached $3,500 total. I paid for most of it out of the money we had saved for me to start Grad school in the fall.
So anyway, thank god my mom called me while my fiance was at work after that horrible news update. She came with her SUV and helped me gather all the supplies for his return. Crate, low laying litter box, yesterdays news...etc.
I am now waiting for tomorrow's call.
I hope he is well enough to come home tomorrow, but at the same time.. if he is ... I am SO WORRIED that something is going to go wrong while he is at home since nothing seems to be going that smoothly anyway.
Any advice, pats on the back, or warm wishes are welcome.
