(no subject)

Monday, could you have started any more chaotically?

We got up this morning to find a very unhappy cat. Murphy was running around the house, squatting, licking, yowling. Alarm bells rang in my head and I immediately asked E if he could work from home. He said no. I said, well, I'm calling the vet anyway. He sent out an email saying he'd be late. I called the vet and in we went.

So Murphy got the whole feel up, complete with thermometer up the rear. Temp was okay, but bladder was a hard little ball. Vet immediately told us what I expected and then said that she'd like to do a x-ray to be sure there weren't any crystals/stones in his bladder. Asked us for 20 or 30 minutes to figure that out.

So outside we went and then back in to wait. There was a very loud little old man doggie there who just wanted to talk a lot. After him a beautiful rottie came in with her inflamed joint. She looked so sweet and her owner said that she's just a big teddy bear. A mini collie came in next and we talked to all the owners while we waited for news on Murphy.

He's got crystals and super cloudy urine. They're keeping him until Wednesday at the earliest. Don't really want to talk about the costs. Thankfully we don't pay those until we get him back.

I feel bad for Murphy, but I'd rather have this done and over with. Means we will probably be changing his diet and I'll have to figure out how to get more water into him.

I really just want to hide right now. Thankfully my family is being supportive - we've had cats my entire life and when a kitty gets sick, it is serious business. Bless them for understanding and caring. My own arm could fall off, but if it's a cat, then they'll move mountains for it.

Update about Murphy Cat

After I wrote my last post I sat down to do some research on cats and crystals in their urine. I learned a good deal more than I did when I had it happen to another male cat some years ago. I found a couple of sites with a good description of the different procedures they could/would do to a cat in this condition.

The vet called me later to tell me that Murphy is doing okay and that I should be able to pick him up on Wednesday morning. The short of it is they put a catheter in him and flushed him out. He was blocked up pretty good, but they didn't have to cut him, which is better for both him and I. He'll need the special ph diet regimen for a bit and pills. She said that this might come back, but if we keep on top of it, it probably won't. She told me to get another litter box and try to get as much water into him as possible. Of course he's the cat that won't drink water, which means this is just going to up my tuna consumption (oh the horror).

While I know these things happen, of course I find the site that gives me the worst case scenario. No one wants to think about their cat's kidneys being damaged or failing. And the fact that almost every site I went to said that Murphy was at the extreme emergency point didn't really help.

I'm glad that when these things come up I don't even think about freaking out. I just check the bank account and call the vet to make an appointment, thinking, there will be time to freak out later. Which I nearly did in the vets while waiting for the newer, bigger estimate after the x-ray.

I also have to say once again, I am so thankful for my great-aunt and Mother saving the day. I'm sure that were other ways that we could do it, but to have them agree so quickly and get the ball moving so fast made my life that much easier. I will pay back every penny they are letting me borrow (not sure of the exact amount, but I know that they are sending enough that if something else should happen it can be covered).

Also, as an after thought, they actually now make you initial whether or not to resuscitate your animal. I was a touched surprised at that. I mean, I'm used to discussing such things with humans, but never thought about it on an animal. I think honestly it would depend on the situation whether or not I would resuscitate. It's really an interesting question to think about. How much of an issue would it be resuscitate animal, in comparison to a human? I wonder if it would be worth the money/side effects. This leaves me with some questions that I know I need to answer at some point, but not ones I really want to think about.