Juliet has a problem...

[Moesha]

Just about a year ago a small cat showed up on our deck outside. She was very scared of people, and it took several weeks if not a month or more to gain enough trust for her to let us touch her. I suspected that she was pregnant because of a bulge in her abdomen. We kept waiting for kittens and they never came. Then it took several more weeks to catch her for a trip to the vet. Turns out she wasn't pregnant, but had a hernia. Here is a picture of her at that time. You can see her bulge in the second one.




So anyway, she had hernia surgery and was spade at the same time. The vet was afraid that he wouldn't be able to get enough flesh to cover the insides so that they would stay in and she would have to have another surgery. But he did. And I kept her confined without jumping or much movement for almost 2 weeks. Then she just demanded to go back out. (She couldn't stay in the house permanently anyway.) Here are some pictures of her after her surgery.




Anyway since then, May I believe it was, she has been living on our back deck. We have woods for her to roam in and a spa that she sleeps under. She's quite happy. Friday morning she wasn't out there in her usual spot for breakfast. I called her several times and she came and ate. I didn't see her after that. I walked the property and the neighborhood calling her yesterday. She wasn't here for breakfast or dinner on Saturday or breakfast today, Sunday. She showed back up this afternoon. She doesn't want to eat. But came over for pets even though she seemed subdued. I was examining her and noticed that she smelled of runny poop. So I checked under her tail and there is some dried blood. I know she needs to go to the vet. My question is whether she needs to go to the emergency vet right now. It is over an hour away. Or if she could wait until tomorrow morning for our regular vet to open. I don't know why things like this always happen on the weekends. heh Right now she is confined in the bathroom with a bowl of rehydration drink and some food and a litter box. I don't know how to tell if she is dehydrated. I noticed someone mention a method in another thread to check. Could someone fill me in on that? I'm thinking I will end up at the ER clinic. I just wondered if anyone had any ideas about what it could be.

PS: I just wanted to add that I really would like for my vet to see her since he knows her history and knows what he did for her surgery.

[Catty1]

Dehydration check - gently pull up a fold of skin from the back of her neck, and let go.

If it rolls back into place right away, hydration is ok. The longer it takes to return to normal, the more dehydrated she is.

If your vet has an answering service, perhaps they could contact him to see if this is emerg, or if she can wait til tomorrow.

Do you or your vet have any connections for rehoming her? Sounds like the little one should not be an outdoors kitty....

She is beautiful. Bless you for helping her!

[Moesha]

The vet doesn't have an answering service. They just give the number for the emergency vet. We called them and they basically said it could be several things. She isn't currently bleeding. I'm not seeing any fresh blood. When I go in the bathroom she comes over for attention and purrs. She smells the food but won't eat.
As for rehoming, I've rehomed and rehomed as much as I can. Currently I have 6 cats that live outdoors. They are all strays that have showed up here. They get vet treatment, they're all fixed and UTD with vaccinations, and anything else they need. I have acres and acres for them to run and live in a rural area. I know inside is best for animals, but what I'm doing for them is better than what they would have on their own. I have rehomed several, including Mr. Jennings that I mentioned in other posts.

Edit: The emergency vet said it could be several things. That she got hit by a car or worms. That made me think. Last weekend I gave her a dose of Advantage Multi. She wasn't at the vet, and when she was there last, for the surgeries, they didn't write down how much she weighed. The girl went and got an estimate based on the amount of medicine she got. Since she weighs more now then when she was first here. Could an overdose of that medication given her a problem? I am going to look online to see what side effects are.

[Moesha]

I took a picture of the area. I basically did it so I could get a better look because she's a modest girl and didn't want me looking back there too much.



That was about an hour or so ago. I went in and checked on her and she has cleaned herself up. At first I was afraid that was her flesh, but she looks fine back there now. I've been giving her syringes of rehydration fluids. She won't drink it on her own, but I'm getting it down her this way.

[Catty1]

I'm hoping maybe she just ate something that caused some rectal bleeding?

If she had a chance to heal a bit more overnight, maybe she will get an appetite on her own.

I am glad she stopped bleeding. Are her spirits and mood pretty good?

Prayers for pretty Juliet!

Wow, you have done a lot of rehoming...have you used Petfinder too? Bless you for taking care of all those furbabes!

[Moesha]

So Juliet went to the vet first thing this morning. She stayed there all day. She'd pooped this morning. It was very runny, but I put it in a baggie and off it went to the vet also. They did testing on it and that all came back normal. He did a physical exam and found a slight heart murmur but no fever. She was dehydrated though. So he gave her SQ fluids and sent her home at the end of the day. We are watching her closely for the next 24 hours to see if she eats and gets back to normal. If not, then she goes back for blood tests and X-rays of her heart. She seems to be acting normal now. She definitely tries to get out of the bathroom whenever the door is opened. She has eaten some, not as much as normal, but some. She'd eaten some dry food, and when I went in with canned food she was eating that too. Then she decided she wanted pats and attention more than food. I stayed in there with her for awhile and then left. Hopefully she'll eat more now that she's alone. I'll go back in there before bedtime and check on her again.