How in the world do the kitties with oddities keep finding us? (Test results back...post 12)
Let me tell you about Oliver.
He is a stray that has showed up at my mom's house. He's been there several months. I can't remember exactly how long ago he came. Things have been terribly hectic there. We've been dealing with Higgins and his diabetes diagnosis and UTI problems. They also moved my 86 year old, bed-ridden grandmother who has Alzheimer's in with them. So needless to say, Oliver hasn't been top priority. He usually comes around in the morning and the evening when she feeds them. Anyway, she contacted a near by humane society and got a $35 credit to put toward getting him fixed. His appointment was this morning. She had them call me to tell me how things were going. I got a call about 12:50 from the vet's office. I knew that wasn't a good sign. They start doing their surgeries after lunch. It is usually around 2:30 when they call to say how things went. She was having him combo tested and vaccinated as well. My first thought was that the test came back positive for something. I could tell right away when Nikki started talking that something wasn't right. She told me right away that the tests were negative. Then she explained that they had Oliver all prepped for surgery, and they couldn't find any testicles. It is possible that he'd been neutered by someone else already. That would be the most likely thing. The other option is that the testicles never "dropped" and are still inside. I've heard of this happening before, mostly in dogs though. It is also rare that both of them don't descend. We would just go with the idea that he is neutered, except that he has the look and smell and attitude of an unneutered male. So after much deliberation, we decided to spend $80 on a blood test to see if he is producing testosterone or not. If not, then great, he's been neutered. If he is, then they have to cut him open and pull all the insides out looking for the testicles. She said that they could be anywhere from his hips to his neck! The test results won't be back for 2 days. So, he's at the vet's office tonight since he'd already been sedated. Then if it turns out he's producing testosterone he'll have to go back on Thursday to have that surgery. That $35 sure isn't going to go very far in covering his medical bill! This vet's office is really good about giving us a discount when they can. I just can't believe all the crazy things that cats that have found their way to our house have had over the years.
