::panic attack...subsiding::

[trinityvixen]

It started out as nothing-much-doing evening. I took a nap when I got home, exercised, ate dinner with feiran and darkling1. I retreated to watch a Netflix movie while they watched Veronica Mars, and feiran came to let me know that I could use the TV since they were done. She accidentally let the kitties into my room. Oscar went for the window, caused chaos, his usual. Wally hopped up on the bed and stayed there a while until I went to leave and tried to pull them both out. I went to scoop up Wally...

...he started yowling at me. Then hissing. He sprinkled on my sheets and hid under my bed. He didn't tear out or rush about, which is his usual MO when he gets startled or is not pleased. I asked feiran what she thought could be the problem. She mentioned Wally hadn't been right at her feet looking for dinner when she got the tin of cat food out (highly unusual). He spent a long while yowling and hissing if we tried to touch him, and he was sprinkling all over but not able to really pee even though he was clearly trying. feiran looked up his symptoms online and found that he probably had a urinary tract infection. We almost decided to wait and take him in the morning, but rising panic and the fact he was in clear pain (and a phone call to kitty expert viridian) prompted us to take him to an emergency vet clinic over on 55th on the west side. (All hail wellgull who not only drove us to and fro but stayed with us as we waited.)

The vet who saw him told us he wouldn't have survived until morning (most likely). I almost cried right then and there. (He could have been more delicate in communicating to us that we made the right decision, but I guess it's more important that we know what to do than be comforted.) Long story short, we're putting out an extremely large amount of money, but Wally is going to be okay. The UTI isn't actually an infection but a common problem, especially in male cats, where a bladder got inflamed and the urethra got blocked. He suggested we consider surgery to remedy the urethral blockage if it happened again. (Female cats have thicker, shorter urethras and tend to get over this without the need to be catheterized. The surgery would shorten and widen Wally's urethra to similar effect.) We almost signed on right away, despite the cost, because if this happens again, it almost pays for itself with what this emergency-type stuff costs.

I'm so tired, but I can't sleep. I know Wally is now going to be fine, but this is just a shattering sort of thing. I am now more worried than I was. (Not because of money. I told feiran and wellgull that I don't even care about it. I have to watch my spending, end of story. I didn't buy a computer. I saved my cat. This is fine.) I want to hug my kitty. I'm post-stressed stressed. Sigh.

Comments

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Aw! I'm glad Wally be okay, but wow, is that upsetting.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and expensive. Like I said, don't begrudge the money, but it's not even over yet. And it could be a recurring thing. I'm going to have to work out what to do about that once he gets better. Because he'll probably need a new diet food, more tests, etc.

The upsetting thing to me is that this might not get him and keep him better. Which is scary.

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's a rough night--for you guys and for the kitty. I'm really glad he's okay, though.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

He seemed a lot calmer and less yowl-y once we got him in the cage to go, so clearly he knew things were going to get better. Poor thing. I just have to hope that they do.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Gah. Wow. I'm glad everything worked out all right, but gah. That does not sound like a fun night.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Not fun, that's for sure, but if it were only one night it wouldn't be so bad. It's a question now of how miserable today and the next couple of days will be.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

The thing is, now you know what's wrong and you know it's getting fixed. Maybe you disagree, but I always find the uncertainty to be the most stressful part of any stressful event. Ask Jethrien--I was a nutjob when I first heard about my mother's accident, because my dad is useless when it comes to providing details. I was fine once I actually found out what happened and what was going on.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

No, knowing what it is is a load off, for sure. It's just that I don't know how far into the future this will affect things. Few days in the hospital and we're done for a while? For ever? Is it just a special diet? He needs another set of x-rays because, insult on top of injury, there are deposits in his bladder that if they don't get smaller or go away are going to require surgery to remove. Is that going to have to happen? Are we going to need to do the surgery on his urethra..?

The only problem with answers is that they generate more questions. So, yes, I'm relieved, and I know nothing is life threatening. It's just that potential complications are making me nuts, too.

[(Anonymous)]

Poor Wally! *hugs*

[saikogrrl.livejournal.com]

Erm, that was me. *pats*

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

cheers, dude.

[xannoside.livejournal.com]

Hey you got it in time, that's the important thing.

Please hug Wally for me.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm glad that we took him, especially after the vet called us back to let us know what was what this morning. I plan of giving him gentle hugs as soon as we get him back :)

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm so glad you took him in when you did, but wish we'd twigged to his problem earlier. Poor Wally. Good thing you got that nap in, eh? But not a good day for wellgull either, I'm sure. He's such a hero!

I'll kick in some fundage when I can. We should maybe consider pet health insurance, since these sorts of expenses can really add up.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

You know, I thought the same and mentioned something aloud. The vet at the hospital was not in favor of that, saying (truthfully) that insurance makes its money by hoping pets get sick and die quickly. That's true; however, seeing as insurance tends to pay them less than people with none coming in and throwing money at a problem, I'm not surprised he was against it. I need to check and see. We had a month free from the North Shore when we got the kitties. I should take a look at that information again, see if it's worth it. It would also be a matter of how many places would take the insurance. (Vets, unlike doctors, have almost no pressure to take pet insurance because so many people won't have it and will just throw money at it.)

I really wish I'd not thought to wait it out and gone straight away when he was behaving weirdly. He might have been catheterized sooner. Not that it still wouldn't have had to have happened where it did since it was already too late, but at least he'd be through this sooner.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Don't beat yourself up. You couldn't have known how serious it was at the time. Pets aren't like kids - they can't tell you where it hurts. And it's hard enough figuring out when to take people to the emergency room.

Remember, you took him to the emergency vet at a time that was extremely inconvenient and expensive to do so, and got him there in enough time that the vet could save him. You should be patting yourself on the back for being a good kitty-mommy - you made the best decisions you could with the information you had, and resisted the urge to think he'd be ok until the morning when it became clear he was in bad shape. You saved your kitty, and you're doing your level best to make sure he stays saved. You couldn't have known at the beginning how serious things were - you'd never seen something like this before. You did great, and the idiot fluffball is still around to worry about because of it.

Poor kitty. Poor kitty's owners.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I just keep worrying at it. I am just trying to work out what to do for the longer term. I find myself wishing it was an infection because that's antibiotics and he's done. This is a potential host of expensive problems even if he never gets blocked up again. (The deposits in his bladder, etc etc.) Of course I want to get him well and keep him, but I'm not seeing that "better entirely" is something he'll be for a while, so I'm just not letting go of it all.

I'm glad he's okay, but I'm worried he won't be.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Reading up on the condition makes me even more nervous, more retroactively than worrying about the future, because it could have been a lot worse. There is a chance of relapse, of course, and we'll have to keep an eye on him and make some changes. One site recommends keeping an extra litter box (one more than the number of cats) and makes some dietary recommendations. We'll see what shape he's in when he comes home and deal with it...

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Well the vet was impressed that we had two litters to begin with. I immediately started worrying about that--did I not clean it often enough? Renew it often enough? This is very my mother: worry the thing to death, assume responsibility, commmit seppuku. (Figuratively, but worrying might just kill me at the rate I'm going. First time problem with kitty being serious, so I'm doing great at not being a ball of nerves.)

The dietary thing they've said they are giving us a prescription for. Then in two weeks we have to do an x-ray to look in on the deposits in his bladder. If they've helped, we keep him on it a while longer. (A month, total, I think.) Then from there work on other things we can change.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Seriously. One of my friends nearly died because when he complained of stomach pain one night, his parents just told him to go to sleep. Turned out he had appendicitis. Staying awake and watching ST: TNG saved his life.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's scary.

[viridian.livejournal.com]

Wally's been neutered, right? My mom's cats only ever got them before they were fixed.

Also, yikes! Now I'm glad I erred on the side of caution when telling you to take him in. I'm surprised he got that bad so quickly - normally a few more hours of observation isn't a big deal, but I guess if he didn't start showing pain sooner, there wasn't any way for you to tell. Usually they'll start trying to pee in weird places or will stand in their litterbox and meow if there's a problem.

Also, I shake my head at NYC vets for charging so much. Was it because it was a middle of the night visit?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Yes, he's been neutered. I thought neutering took care of a lot of problems, and it does, but not all, alas.

The visit cost a buttload because it was middle of the night and because he needed a bunch-a-crunch-a stuff done. He had to have x-rays to make sure the blockage wasn't stones, and then catheter, then fluids, then this, then that. I'm sure I could have haggled it down, but the kitty needed treating and no one thing that I might have dickered down would have been worth it.

[shell524.livejournal.com]

My cat (parents' cat, whatever) has had the same problem twice. He's on a special food that is supposed to lessen the incidence of urinary crystals, and he's fine. He doesn't like the FOOD much, but he's always been a picky kitty.

Sorry you had such a scare (and the expense that goes with it), but so glad that you caught this in time!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

The special food can be expensive, so I'm hoping it's not something I have to keep him on forever. Right now, just to get rid of build up, okay, but not forever I hope.

Now we know what to look for if he's feeling poorly, I feel better. (The vet had us squeeze his bladder to see how full it is.)

[negativeq.livejournal.com]

Good thing you brought him to the hospital in time. How long does the vet think he had this condition? I hope the prognosis is positive.

When Bonnie randomly got kidney failure, her prognosis was 50% chance of surviving the next two weeks, and beyond that was uncertain. Mom decided to put her down rather than the expensive surgery that might only add to the suffering. To this day I don't know if she made the right choice.

I hope Wally doesn't relapse. Give him extra hugs!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

No estimate of time was provided by the doctor, but the web seems to think it could be fatal inside of 48 hours if totally blocked. Given how much blood is in his urine, I'd say that's a generous estimate (unless he'd been having trouble long before).

It's a hard thing to consider--whether you can afford to keep a pet that is so expensive to care for. I'd say the "right" choice is next to impossible make. It's a no-win situation.