Last Thursday was an emotional roller coaster. We nearly lost Toby., not in the Oh-I-can't-find-him way, but in the we'll-have-to-put-him-down way. You see, it started with Toby straining to pee on every soft thing in sight. He is the peemister, so I did not think much of it (except to shoo him off and tell him "bad kitty") until he started to make a terrible meowing-groaning kind of sound. He loves to eat plastic so I thought he was simply constipated and started to research how to deal with that (1 tea. pureed pumpkin a day helps keep cats regular, by the way.)
By the time Larr and Ethan returned home from work Toby had progressed to making terrible barking burping noises that could be heard all the way upstairs, even with the door shut. We had been planning to leave for Salida, but that was clearly out of the question.
Larr and I decided to take Toby to the emergency vet. I called around and found one that was open. In the meantime, Ethan phoned our friend, Natali (who is a vet.)and discussed the problem with her. She thought he had crystals that form in male cat's urine that was blocking his ability to pee. She could tell this because Ethan could feel Toby's bladder which was rock hard and about the size of a lemon. The vet we visited took xrays (because we thought it might be plastic stuck in his intestines) and those confirmed what Natali had diagnosed. That vet said it would be about $1,600 to help Toby by keeping him over night and giving him a catheter as well as running blood work. We simply could not afford that. She came back with two more ideas, both would result in at least $900 by the time it was all said and done. When it was clear that we could not afford that either, she started to talk with us about euthanizing Toby. As you might imagine, we were very upset by this. Who wakes up and expects to have to decide to put down their sweet, loving usually healthy three year old kitty?
Putting him down would be about $100. If we wanted to be with him while they did that, it would be an additional $28. If we wanted the ashes back, that would be more money, too. I was beside myself. Larr was upset. We informed the kids that it might be grim and then we made phone calls (thank God for the cell phone!) Karen H. had a vet that dealt with it another way. We called Natali back and she had another idea. In the end we took our poor, in extreme pain kitty home and waited for Natali to come over. Out of the goodness of her own heart she suggested that she could come over, remove some of the urine and help Toby get through the night. With Ethan's help, this plan worked. The next morning we took Toby to Planned Pethood and had Natali perform the same surgery, keeping Toby until Tuesday, and with new prescription food, back home for about $225. Larr stayed home instead of going to Salida, just incase there were complications. We are so thankful for Natali's and Planned Pethood's help. Without them, we would have had to euthanize our lovely kitty. I brought him home on Tuesday. He was very happy to be home. When I picked him up from the vet's office he started meowing for me even before he could see me. He was sleepy on Tuesday and fine on Wednesday, until Larr got home. Larr went to sit next to Toby while holding a clipboard. The clipboard made Toby extremely upset. In fact, it had to be removed to the next room. When he saw the clipboard he would do that terrible meowing sound and hide. It was both funny, and alarming. For a while we wondered if Toby was still not well. In the end we decided that his must simply be pretty mad that this whole event ever occurred. I think he blames the clipboard that all of that pain.
Thanks to a supportive friend and Planned Pethood, we still have our lovely Toby!
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