Friday, August 24, 2018

Well, this Sucks

Well folks, it turns out my little Jasper kitty's urinary problems (which I whined about in my last post) weren't an isolated incident after all. Somehow I had a hunch it was gonna turn out this way.

So a week ago I noticed that there were footprints in Jasper's litter box, but nothing left behind to show for the visit. I also noticed that Jasper was acting kind of anxious and restless, and licking his little pee-pee an awful lot. So I followed him downstairs the next time he went to the litter box, and when I saw him squatting there for over ten minutes without producing anything, I knew it was an emergency that couldn't wait.

So I scooped him up and off to the kitty ER we went. Turns out he had a urinary blockage. They catheterized him and he got to spend two nights in the kitty hospital. When he came home, they told me to expect that he'd have some irritation - but on day two, irritation turned in to inability to pee once again, so back to the ER we went.

Long story short, he's been in the kitty hospital ever since, and will most likely have to have surgery tomorrow.


At this point they don't think he has a physical obstruction, it's just that they can't seem to break the cycle of inflammation so that he can get the urine out. We were all set to do surgery today, and then the vet called and said that he had peed. Alas, it appears that it was sort of a one and done thing, because he's been straining and unable to produce urine ever since, so now we're on for surgery again.

It doesn't help that despite the cone of shame, he's managed to pull out both his catheter and IV twice. Today they set us up in a private room hoping that he'd relax enough to urinate more freely. The counter had a hole drilled in it with a trash can below it, and around the opening was some sort of a metal ring. Well, guess who stuck his little head in there looking for an escape route, and came out with the ring stuck around his neck.


Fortunately it came off easily, but he's been quite the little pill. At least his little spirit isn't broken.

I'm not entirely sure I can say the same for mine... or my bank account for that matter! We do have kitty insurance, but we blew past what it would cover on the first hospital stay. Thankfully, I do have money set aside for these sorts of things - so I'm really grateful to be able to make decisions based on what's best for him rather than on what I can afford. But holy kazoli! I feel badly for people who don't have the resources to care for a pet in this way, and are left with no other choice but euthanasia.

Anyhow, the surgery is called a perineal urethrostomy, or PU for short. Basically, they remove the penis and shorten the urethra, creating a much wider new opening through which he can urinate - sorta like a kitty sex change operation. It's not minor surgery, but there is over a 90% success rate, so I'm hopeful - "hopeful" being a relative term. I still have a knot in my stomach about the size of Cleveland.

So I'll keep you posted. If anybody's got any spare healing vibes they can send our way, we'd be grateful.

Heavy sighs all around...



13 comments :

  1. Ugh, poor Jasper and poor you. Its no fun when your baby is sick! I totally understand how expensive (and stressful) dealing with pet health crisises came be. Healing vibes to you both!

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  2. Very best wishes for a successful outcome for Jasper.
    [Valerie, NZ]

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  3. So very sorry to hear about Jasper's problems, which, of course, are also your problems. I know it must be rough for both of you, but I'm glad to hear his spirit's intact - and yours,too. I agree having the finances to deal with these sorts of things makes it a little easier to handle, so I try not to ever fault people when I hear they've had to surrender a pet because they can't afford to care for it. What an awful feeling that must be. Good luck on surgery and recovery.

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  4. I'm so sorry about Jasper, but glad there are very successful outcomes for his surgery. My cat, Lucky, has had a couple of blockages, the first one of which resulted in a hospital stay. When they sent him home, they gave him meds to relax his bladder/urethra so it would be easier for him to pee. That worked for him and he didn't need surgery. The only problem for us was that he peed on everything, a lot. We lost a good couch that way, but it was worth it to have Lucky.

    He started on special food which took care of the problem for several years. Then when I got lax and didn't keep watch on how much of the regular food he was sneaking from the other cats, it happened again. This time they were able to take care of him in the vet's office. Now all of the cats are on the prescription food. That's more expensive, but not nearly as expensive as the vet bills.

    All of us here are sending good vibes to Jasper and you.

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  5. You are the best kitty mama, and I am so sorry that you and Jasper have had to go through this ordeal. I will be sending positive thoughts and prayers that the surgery goes well. He is such a handsome boy, and hopefully he will be up and getting back into mischief again in no time. Sending you hugs!

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  6. Poor Jasper. I will add him to my prayer list.

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  7. I am so sorry you are going through this and feel awful for the kitty-boy. My sister's cat had the surgery and afterwards never had a blockage again. His name was "Man Ray" but after that, we liked to call him "Lady Ray." Methinks he should get a rainbow bandanna afterwards to celebrate his gender fluidity.

    I hope it all goes well!

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    1. btw, this is Alex from LTSL -- blogger seemed to not pull in my name!

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  8. Poor Jasper! Hang in there little guy! We have a cat at my local humane society who apparently had this surgery before he came to us. His most recent family must have thought he was female, because he is named Isabella. A vet visit set his gender straight for us. He's happy and has no urinary problem now thankfully.

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  9. Aww, poor baby! Hope his health improves. Hang in there.

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  10. That's scary! I'm so glad you caught it in time though. Your pets are very lucky to have a cat mom like you.

    And completely agree on having the resources to make the best decisions for health, rather than money. We're fortunate, as are our pets.

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  11. Coming to this late and hoping all is well now with Jasper!

    Either great pet insurance or really good savings are so critical when you have pets, unexpected emergencies never come at a good time and it's a boon not to have to worry about affording treatment. I remember those days very early on when we were quite young and rescued a pet or two that we were stretched taking care of.

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  12. I know I'm very late, but I hope everything went well with Jasper's surgery, and that by now he's fully recovered. MY sister's best friend's cat had that surgery five or six years ago, and has done great with it. It definitely wasn't cheap, but totally worth it.

    Would you ever consider doing a post on the kitty insurance you have? I've been curious about it for years, and have seriously considered it for some or all of our pets, but I don't know anyone who has it, so I'm very worried about wasting money with it. Anyway, I hope Jasper is doing well!

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