It never rains but it pours...

[snakemama]

Last week Charlie had a FIC flare-up. Last night Sherpa started going in and out of the box and leaving little grape-sized urine balls behind him.

My paranoid brain went "ZOMGWTFBBQ HE IS BLOCKED AND HE IS GOING TO DIE GET HIM TO THE EMERGENCY CLINIC NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" ..........Meanwhile Sherpa is eating, playing, and being his normal pesky self.

Luckily my sister in law is a registered vet tech with more than a decade of work in a cat-only hospital behind her, and she has seen LOTS of blocked cats. She came over immediately and looked him over, felt that his bladder was still quite small and declared that he could wait until morning.

This morning my regular doctor wasn't available, so I was a little nervous as I hadn't met his partner before. As it turns out, she's just as great as my regular vet, and Sherpa was quite comfortable with her too. His bladder was too small for her to get a guud urine sample (YAY SMALL BLADDER) so she gave him some fluids and kept him for a few hours so she could get some urine. She is confident that there is no blockage, just an infection. We'll get the results from the urine over the weekend (she checks labwork online and calls clients from home, how neat!), and the clinic does have limited weekend hours, so I'll be able to pick up the appropriate medication ASAP once we figure out what's going on.

For now he gets extra slushy wet food, which isn't his favorite.

I don't have any recent pictures of Sherpa, but here are a couple I've posted before.

With his stripes on...


And here's how he looks these days. Since I started shaving him, his vomiting has stopped completely. He was vomiting 4-5 times a week for YEARS and we could never figure out why. You can tell he's really impressed with the haircut, LoL!

[snakemama]

On the upside, he is SO SNUGGLY since i picked him up from the hospital! He's spent more time in my lap tonight than the last three weeks combined!

[cassiesmom]

Awww, big prayers that Sherpa will feel much better soon!

[phesina]

Prayers and good wishes for Sherpa that all is well soon. Sounds like you have very good vet care available!

[catmandu]

That is great that you have your Sister in Law oh hand Pat, like you I worry when a Found Hotel Cats is even a little bit off.
We all, especially your Kitty in Law Scrappy Two are all sending prayers for Sherpa, that he is feeling better soon.

[snakemama]

Well, this morning Sherpa was straining in the box and not producing anything a far as I could tell, so I dropped him back off on my way to work. They're going to take an x ray and keep me posted. His urine from yesterday does have crystals, so I hope hope hope he isn't blocked.

[sallyandsnowx]

Oh Sherpa. I hope you feel better. Positive thoughts and prayers coming your way.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I've been through both the blockage part and the infection part as well as two of my cats peeing very tiny amounts without having any kind of infection. I know how frustrating it can be but I'm glad that you know what to look for so he can be treated quickly. I hope that he'll make a quick recovery. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.

[snakemama]

Yay! Sherpa's X-ray showed NO blockage! He's spending the night in the hospital because my assistant manager left sick today so I couldn't get home in time to pick him up. Looks like he'll be eating Purina UR canned food for the forseeable future.

My poor boy, it feels wrong to be at the computer without him in my lap!

[Karen]

Whew, that's a relief!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so glad to hear that he wasn't blocked and hopefully he'll love his new food. Good luck.

[phesina]

Dearest Sherpa, we're so glad you're not blocked! Your new food will be just fine.

[snakemama]

Sherpa is home!! I have lots of pain medication for hims since he's still pretty uncomfortable, and he LOVES the new food! It's going to be pricey since I can't figure out a way to feed him one thing and the other two something else, so for now all three cats are going to eat it. (we got the thumbs-up from the vet for this plan, she sayd it's fine for healthy cats to eat too)

He slept on me last night, which he rarely does, so I think (I hope) he's thankful to be home and feeling better.

[Karen]

Awww, so glad he's home - and I bet he is, too! At least the food is okay for the others to eat, too, so you do not have to manage a stressful feeding time segregation routine!

[Catty1]

Yay!

I use food that is more expensive - then I think of the vet bills it may prevent. Kind of evens out!