Friday, November 16, 2012

Missing in Action

Hello World. Is it complete and total hubris to imagine that someone out there might have noticed my absence from the interwebs?


Just thought I'd write to let y'all know that I am alive and well... although I've had a terrible cold, and my sweet kitty, Mr. Sputnik VonWiskars is sick.


At this point we don't know if it's serious or not... poor little guy has blood in his urine and has been beating a path to the litter box. We've ruled out stones, and he's been on antibiotics which have helped somewhat, but he's certainly not back to normal yet. Anyhow, at this point we figure it's either an antibiotic resistant bladder infection, bladder cancer, or some sort of idiopathic inflammation. More tests and more waiting...

I'm really hoping it's not bladder cancer - the vet says it's very rare in cats, but since I lost 2 cats to lung cancer which "never happens" in cats, I know that doesn't really mean much. We don't know how old he is, but the best guess is around 15, so I'm trying to be reasonable with my expectations - still, I'm finding it hard to focus on anything but him.


Anyhow, my brain is spinning with all sorts of unfinished ideas for brilliant and witty posts, but alas, I haven't been able to make anything gel. There does seem to be a bit of a theme swirling around the idea of accepting reality though.

In that vein, I'll live you with this little gem:


Be well everyone!

45 comments :

  1. Cystitis? My mum's cat gets that a lot, especially when stressed (I.e. when he comes to my house and Albus Dumblecat beats him up..) I suppose that is covered by 'bladder infection' really...
    Anyway, the kitties and I are sending him 'get better' vibes :)

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    1. I think that's what the vet was calling "idiopathic inflammation" - apparently it's sometimes called cystitis and other times FLUTD. Anyhow, Sputty has been in great conflict with his little brother Smoky for the past few months, so there's definitely some stress going on - I just can't tell if he's sick because of the stress, or stressed because he's sick, if you know what I mean!

      Anyhow, we both appreciate the 'get better' vibes!

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    2. I cannot remember the anti-anxiety drug my vet gave Carson years ago when his cystitis flared up. I think it starts with a T. (can we say Senile Old Lady?) It chilled him out & the frantic straining stopped as did his aggression toward the other cats. Worked well along with the antibiotic.

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    3. Interesting... I'll have to ask my vet about it.

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    4. My mum's cat is on something called cystaid, which he has every day and is supposed to be preventative. He has metacam, which is anti-inflammatory, to start with until it all settled down. Was going to suggest the feliway thing, but I see you already have that :)

      Fingers crossed that it is cystitis and nothing more sinister- and that he is feeling better soon

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    5. Hmmmm... well, we're just about to head out the door to our vet appointment, so I'll ask him about it. I'm really hoping we can get a clean urine sample so they can do a culture, but unfortunately he just peed... AAARRRGGGGGHHH!

      Anyhow, wish us luck!

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  2. Poor kitty! I hope it's something easily treated!

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  3. Also- we had a cat who died of lung cancer- so not totally unheard of!

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    1. I think that's the thing about statistics... they don't really help you sort out what's going on in individual situations!

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    2. I lost Colt to lung cancer at the end of last year, just before christmas.

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    3. Apparently "never" is a relative term!

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  4. All I can say is, I understand. Having had several cats with urinary problems, some from age and some from disease, I know how concerning it can be. Hang in there. The kitties are lucky to have you.

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    1. Awww, thanks for your kind words. I don't think Sputnik felt terribly lucky when I hauled him off to the vet to be poked and prodded though! :-)

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  5. I hope both you and your kitty are feeling better soon. I did miss you, just so you know. Btw, Who doesn't love Jon Stewart? :-)

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    1. I've missed you guys too. Thank God for Jon Stewart - Sometimes he's the only thing keeping me sane!

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  6. I missed you!
    Sorry to hear about Sputnik (btw, he does look a lot like Henri, le chat noir, doesn't he?) I hope his infection or whatever it is clears up soon.
    I won't ask Pebble to send good wishes because I don't think she'd care. She's not overly friendly to other cats, though I guess living on the other side of the world might be preferable to living next door. Then again, I don't know if she'd understand where you live even if I tried to explain it to her. No, best not ask Pebble for sympathy. Many good wishes from me, though. xxx

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    1. Oh my... I had to go look up Henri on the interwebs. He is quite the character! There is quite a resemblance though - sans the black spot on the nose. I always thought Sputnik looked like Sylvester, which is fitting because his nick name is "Sputty" which is pronounced like "Puddy" as in "I tot I taw a puddy tat! I did, I did tee a puddy tat!"

      Thanks so much for the well wishes.

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  7. I know of the stresses of cat illness. I am sending healing to your beautiful kitty and healing to you to get you through the stress.
    I have had bladder cancer is several cats I have had. I had cystitis, and one that I have now that has issues with stones.
    Please take care.

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    1. Wow... sounds like you've been through the ringer - how many cats do you have? Thanks for your healing wishes... I'm feeling a bit less stressed today - I think a long bike ride with CatMan helped!

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  8. Sending good kitty vibes out to your sick fuzzy feline.

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  9. Hugs to you! Sick cats are no fun :(

    And, yes, we all noticed. Just glad you stopped by to say hello :)

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    1. Thanks Megyn. I'll be back in form soon because, really, it's me and keeping quiet is not in my nature!

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  10. Hi EcoCat. I wondered where you have been. I hope you ar efeeling better soon and that kitty also recovers x

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    1. Thanks Rue, We're both enjoying a sunbeam at the moment so that's gotta count for something!

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  11. Hello from Frances in England. Yes, your absence was noticed! Every day I tried, every day nothing! Boo. But sorry to hear about your cat. It is worrying and you hate the thought of them being in pain. He is such a gorgeous looking cat too. I hope he is well soon.

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    1. Thanks so much for your kind words. I really hope he isn't in too much pain... other than lots of trips to the litter box, he seems pretty much like his goofy happy self - which is encouraging. Hope to be back to lolcat-ing soon!

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  12. Of course you were missed. Your local fan base was in an uproar, causing a disturbance in The Force!

    I hope you are feeling better soon. It's taken me 10 days to get over a cold/bronchitis. And you have Sputnik to worry about. Has the vet recommended changing his diet? If you feed anything with fish - stop. You may want to restrict his dry food & feed only canned (chicken & turkey preferably) to increase his water intake. Have you thought about taking him to a holistic vet? Anyhow wishing a rapid recovery for both of you.

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    1. A disturbance in the force... so that's what it is. Here I thought it was just the sound of the neighbor's roof being replaced! :-)

      Well, he's been on a mostly canned food diet, but we've now switched to all canned with some extra water mixed in for moisture - and I'm letting him eat as much as he wants, so he sorta thinks he's died and gone to heaven! I've never fed them fish, but yesterday I decided to read through all of the ingredients on the various kinds of food (which was sort of challenging since presbyopia seems to have set in) and was dismayed to learn that a few of the premium brands have fish as an ingredient even in the chicken varieties! UG!!

      Anyhow, he has a follow up appointment on Tuesday where they'll probably give him some more subcutaneous fluids and do another urinalysis. Hopefully they'll be able to get a clean sample this time so they can do a culture and get a definitive answer on whether there's a bacterial infection or not. Depending on how that goes, we may move on to doing an ultrasound to check for tumors.

      If we can rule out bacteria and cancer then the vet wants to try a prescription cat food, and they also have a holistic practitioner who works in their practice, so we'll probably see what she has to say.

      I'm feeling glad that we have kitty health insurance right about now!

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    2. Question - if the EXPENSIVE ultrasound shows a tumor or tumors, what is your next step? Chemo, surgery? Mega bucks & little to no guarantee it will work. Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but because of my herd, I tend to look downstream. Chemo and/or surgery isn't a pleasant experience for humans, so I doubt that it is for kitties. I'm willing to bet it's either a pH imbalance, infection or stones. Stress does not help either & is sometimes the primary cause of the problem, at least in my experience. Is Sputty your alpha cat - the picker on-er as opposed to the victim? My 2 boys who suffered from chronic cystitis (FUS) were alphas - type A personalities, Rulers of the Kingdom.

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    3. BTW, it's easy to do subcu fluids yourself & much cheaper. A bag of fluids, a syringe and a bunch of needles.

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    4. Well... that's a good point about the chemo/surgery. I doubt I'd consider either. I guess doing an ultrasound would really be for me, and not him - so I'd know what to expect. Maybe that's selfish, I dunno. The money doesn't really worry me because his insurance would cover it. Guess I'll have to think about it.

      In terms of alpha cat stuff, Sputty used to be the unquestioned top cat. When the boys arrived as kittens (Smoky & Jasper) they were content to let Sputty be in charge. Then Princess entered the picture and for a while she had the boys completely cowed. But at some point Smoky woke up and realized that he was twice the size of Princess and didn't have to take her bullying anymore. That's when the trouble started. I think Smoky has been challenging Sputnik in both subtle and not so subtle ways.

      I got a Feliway dispenser, and it seems to be helping a little, but Smoky just likes to chase everybody else. If I exercise him really good for a few hours a day it helps but I can't always do that. Oy!

      Anyhow, I guess I'll wait and see what the tests show and what the vet recommends. I've dabbled with giving fluids with several other cats... I'm not sure that Sputnik would let me do it - but maybe I could find a way to wrestle him down. Getting him in the carrying case is challenge enough! Guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

      Thank you SOOOO much for all of your thoughts and support.

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  13. poor rittle kitty, i hope he's feeling better

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  14. You have been missed. I keep checking back, hoping you haven't disappeared forever as bloggers seem to do. I hope you and Sputnik both manage to shake what ails you. My cats seem to make it to near-20, but it's always trouble with the urinary tract. I enjoy your posts. And I do love me some Jon Stewart, thanks.

    jesinalbuquerque

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    1. Hi Jes,

      Wow... 20 years is an impressive average! My mother seems to have cats that live forever too - and she feeds them crap dry food from the grocery store. Sigh.

      Of course, I don't really know how old any of my cats are, since they were all rescued from the alley.

      Anyhow, thanks for your kind words and I promise that, barring some unforeseen encounter with a large truck, I'd let y'all know before I just disappeared!

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  15. I'm a sucker for anything Jon Stewart, but our series of tubes is clogged and slow here in the desert.

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    1. Oh nooooo! Well, all you missed was Karl Rove becoming incoherent as Ohio was called for Obama. Oh, the sweetness!

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    2. That was one of Jon's best bits. "Is that math you do as a Republican to make yourself feel better?" Finally Megan Kelly says something that makes sense.

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    3. Perhaps getting Megan off the holodeck allowed her to see a glimpse of reality? :-)

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  16. How much water does Sputnik drink? If not much, maybe providing more places to drink might help. If Sputnik likes to drink out of dripping facuets and/or toilet bowls, a water fountain might help water intake too. (I noticed my cats drank more when I got a fountain, and they also drink more if the water is close to where they usually sleep. They also drink more if the water is placed by the cat pans, but somehow they get kitty litter in them then.) I bought mine, but you could probably DIY one with a large bowl and a cheap fountain pump - they sell them on eBay.

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    1. Thanks so much for your thoughts. He's actually a pretty good drinker, although since I've been mixing more water into his food he's actually drinking a bit less - so I'm not sure I'm affecting much change in the total volume of liquids he's getting.

      I tried a fountain years ago, but the poor little guy was terrified of it. Can't win for loosin'!

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  17. I'm a long time lurker, but just wanted to say I know how you feel, and I hope everything works out for the best. People who aren't animal/cat people just don't get how much they mean to us.
    Keeping my fingers crossed it's nothing serious, and that you find out soon what the problem is with Mr. Sputnik.

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    1. Awwwww... how sweet of you to choose this moment to de-lurk. I really appreciate your thoughts and support.

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