It started off as a typical morning yesterday, even when I heard Sunny horking up his breakfast (sometimes he gets piggy and eats too much too fast and it all comes right back up again). But then he came into my bedroom and looked like he was trying to poo on the floor! Without success. A few minutes later he tried this again in the livingroom and managed to squeeze out a couple of nuggets, but clearly something was wrong. When he came back onto the bed he was trying to clean his bottom but, as he can’t reach very well due to his big belly, he started madly licking the back of his tail. I went to get some moist paper towels to clean him up and saw to my horror that he was leaking from his butt and that my sheets were stained with a rather smelly brown liquid. So it was off to the vet’s …
Some of you may remember last year’s trauma when I took Sunny in for his annual check-up and he chomped down on my wrist while the vet tried over and over to get some blood out of him. So I opted to try a different vet this time and she seems much more capable than the last one. After giving Sunny a thorough going over she said that he seemed to have a slight intestinal blockage and that with the treatment (three injections – antibiotic, stomach protector, anti-diarrhea ) and a bland soft-food diet for a couple of days he should be fine. If not, she said I would have to bring him back for blood tests and an x-ray. And so I reckoned, since Sunny’s annual check-up was coming up anyhow, it would end up cheaper in the long run to get the blood test done while we were already there. That way we shouldn’t have to go back in September.
It turned out that the blood test results were pretty much normal for a cat Sunny’s age (16 in August!) but the vet recommended that I keep him on the kidney meds he’s been on the past couple of years, as well as his special Hill’s Prescription mix (half WD, half KD). And so, 125 euros poorer, I shall keep my fingers crossed that Sunny will be his old self again by tomorrow or the day after. He appears to have stopped leaking at least – now that was gross! It’s also a relief in a way that this happened now and not two weeks from now when Nog & I are planning to be in Málaga. I’ll have to make sure Chiara keeps an eye out for anything suspicious and calls straight away if she sees anything amiss.
And as we’re on the topic of cats, check out this article about Cat Cafés in Tokyo where people spend 12-18 dollars an hour to sip tea in the serene presence of the staff cats who live there. 😎
casa azahar 
I can totally sympathize. I just went through a huge vet drama with Juno, as you know, which cost me a small fortune but resulted in our getting a good vet and some other issues sorted out. I got some Hill’s food, too, actually; the vet gave me a bag of their dental food for Juno’s teeth issues.
Take care, Sunny!
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Poor Sunny!
Give him a wee snib from me.
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I mean the cat recovered after the vet intervened, not the client… it’s been a long day
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I have heard of cats developing trouble like this from time to time (in fact I just saw out a client who had a similar experience and recovered after the vet’s intervention). Let’s hope nothing like this scenario occurs:
http://www.catenema.com/catenema.com/cat.html
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I’ve had the boys on Hills for over ten years now, WC, and Lua also ate Hills most of her life. First the normal maintenance food, and now the (even more expensive!) stuff you can only buy at the vet’s. I’ve been assured by several vets that it’s worth it, one even saying to me that I could either pay more for quality food now or pay her later when the cats get sick.
I was told yesterday that Sunny is looking pretty good for a cat his age. And when I asked whether I should start bringing Azar in for regular check-ups (Sunny’s annual check-ups started about four years ago when he got a kidney infection) I was told that as long as Azar isn’t showing any signs of ill health I shouldn’t bother. As in, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. So much for preventative medicine. Though I did describe Azar to her as still being very kittenish at age 13 1/2. He scampers all over the place, loves to play, is a “grazer” when it comes to eating (well, except for grass) and has one of the shiniest coats I’ve ever seen. So I guess this didn’t sound like a cat in need of medical care.
Must have been an extremelly long day, Sled. 😉
I can’t imagine giving Sunny an enema! As compliant as he is at the vet’s he sure puts up a fight at home whenever I try to clean his ears or wipe his bottom. And you should have seen me trying to stuff him into the cat cage yesterday, with his legs suddenly stuck out in all directions. But at the vet’s everyone comments on what a “good boy” he is. Ha.
Anyhow, he had a bit of wet food last night and a bit more this morning with his kidney meds. The leaking has stopped, but he hasn’t managed to have a dump yet. Mind you, he lost all his brekky yesterday and has had very little to eat since then. I really hope he is on the mend.
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You don’t know how long. I hate those days when I’m getting a six-foot-five client out the door at 9 pm after a 90 minute appointment. I hope Sunny is feeling sprightlier now — I’ve been in that “watched pot never boils” situation with cats.
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I’m tempted to give him a cup of coffee and a cigarette at this point …
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Fingers crossed
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there are some unusual cats in one of the links on the article
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Poor Sunny. The Lair sends wishes for a speedy recovery.
We’ve a sick kitty here as well 😦
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So sorry to hear about Putte. He’s such a beautiful boy.
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The one that looks like an old Japanese man, nursemyra?
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Poor Sunny….
My niece’s cat RobinD (why the D?…. I have no idea). has had problems for ages. The doctor finally put her on a reduced fibre diet and that seemed to work.
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sheesh. I came over here and I was going to say I hope Sunny suffers no more ill effects, and then I got sucked into the “I gave my cat an enema” and then I saw that Putte was ill and that was that.
By the way, I have left an award for you over at The Havens.
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Yay! Sunny had a poo this morning! 🙂
Not a big one, but at least things are moving again, and he’s no longer leaking. He seems a lot perkier today too and is squawking about the lack of food in his dish, so that’s a relief.
So if all is well now the whole ordeal only ended up costing an extra 20 euros for the injections, since the check-up would have had to be done soon anyhow.
I didn’t realise just how worried I’d been till now. But seeing Sunny with a happier face and acting his usual self has really made my day.
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Yay! What a relief – for both of you. When Juno had her intestinal blockage I was obsessed over her littler box contents! You should have seen the yippy skippy dance I did when she took her first crap after the blockage!!!!
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Glad to hear that Sunny is better.
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Glad to hear Sunny is better.
I just ain’t no fun with a sick kitty.
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