Friday, October 14, 2011

Amber at the Vet

The last couple of days I've noticed that my six-year-old orange tiger, Amber, has changed her potty habits. I can always tell when she has a UTI because of her changes. Usually, it gets pretty far advanced by the time I notice. She'll find another place to pee, associating the litter pan with pain. This time, we were able to nip it in the bud, as she was only using the larger pan with the dome over it, and was just peeing on the extra part of the liner that sticks up out of the litter, and under it was a big pile of clumped litter, so I had a sneaking suspicion. It's a chronic condition for her. I took her to the vet for a urinalysis, and she only had a few drops, but our vet is an expert at extracting drops from her. She spun it down, and sure enough, at the bottom were a few bacteria, the very beginning of infection.

Amber is a very high-strung kitty (which is partly why she is so prone to UTIs), and a trip to the vet is a major upheaval in her life. She knew the moment her carrying thing came out of its hiding place in the unfinished part of the basement and immediately hid under a bed. After chasing her upstairs and down, and finally trapping her into one bedroom, after prying her from under the bed, she emerged a whipped cat, limp as a dishrag. She was as good as dead - breathing hard as though she were clinging to the vestiges of life. She came to life as I was cramming her into the carrier, and suddenly, she grew to twice her size in diameter, preventing me from getting her into the hole. I pushed and shoved, sweating like a pig after the chase, cursing all the while. I'm not sure how I finally managed to shove her in and close the door. In the car on the way, she protested loudly the entire way, and through gritted teeth, I assured her everything would be just fine and dandy.

When we got to the vet's office, she went limp again and was barely clinging to life, and I managed a couple of shots of her with my cell phone on the cat room countertop; also the picture on the wall. As you can see, she didn't have the strength to hold up her head.




We ended up with an antibiotic to clear up the infection, and a $75 bill to pay. I ditched the carrier for the trip home, and Amber rode on the console, constantly checking to see where we were. When we got close to home, she got more & more lively and leapt out of the truck when we entered the garage and went right to the door to her domain.

She has forgiven me and has been completely resurrected.

20 comments :

Cindy said...

lol...thanks for the laugh this evening....i am glad that she will be ok....but the picture you presented was too cute! thanks for sharing...:D

Susieq said...

Yep parts of your tale are very familiar. When we are at the vet it is the only time The Boss lets me hold him and cuddle. That's because he has no energy left, he's doomed.

Meari said...

Glad you were able to get her feeling better. Quite the ordeal getting her to the vet, lol.

Mouse said...

awww bless her cotton paws .. its no fun for them when they get that ... have you tried the plug in pheromones ?? it does seem to work as my friend uses them for her puddy cat who was also prone to them .... glad to hear she has recovered and had to have a wee giggle at the how you got her there bit ... :) love mouse xxxx

Claudette497 said...

That was so funny - what a hambone! I'm glad she'll be okay.

cucki said...

very sweet picture of her :)
i am glad that she will be fine..she is so sweet..
keep well and have a lovely weekend xx

Emily in NC said...

Sorry to hear about the UTI trouble with your kitty. Once they figure out they are going to the vet they turn into wild creatures. Had a kitty that did that, hid the carrier from her until I picked her up to put her in. It was still a struggle though. The trial of cat ownership.

Pam in IL said...

Glad your kitty is on the mend! We had a kitty once that my mom took to the vet, but mom didn't have a carrier so our kitty was supposed to ride on the seat. Our kitty was quite upset about going for a car ride and wouldn't sit on the seat like a good kitty and instead was down by the gas and brake pedals and crawled up behind the dashboard. The entire dashboard had to be removed just to find our kitty and mom said she would never, ever again take any animal in the car without a carrier! By the way, our kitty was just fine!

Love your new background too.

Cathy said...

I'm so glad that Amber is feeling better. She's a cutie. Your experience of taking her to the vet reminds me of our vet experiences! Yes, they do seem to expand when you're trying to put them in the carrier!
Cathy

mdgtjulie said...

LOL, sounds about like a trip to the vet with Yes Dear. I generally know ahead of time with her though, and get the carrier out a few days in advance, so she gets used to seeing it. I put it in the bathroom, where I give her her treats, and she becomes accustomed to seeing it there. Then I call her in for treats and shut the door. Then she starts fighting, but it's too late; she has no place to hide!! She generally howls all the way to the vet, and sheds like a maniac from the stress. Once we get there, she refuses to come out of the carrier, and I have to lock the door shut to keep her from hiding in it. When we get home, I put the carrier on the floor and open the door, and she generally hides under the bed for a couple of hours. It's a major trauma to take her to the vet, and I hate to do it...

Anne Sans Tete said...

Hilarious description of what it takes to get a cat to the vet!!! Glad your kitty is okay.

- Lisa N. in Cambodia

Pam said...

OMGosh Nancy I laught until I almost cried. I know how cats can be real stinkers when it comes to going to the vet.. Thank you sharing your story. It was just the best.
Pam

DJ said...

I can so relate to the "cat chase"!! LOL Hope she's feeling better soon. Love what you've done with your blog, very Halloweenish! *Hugs*

Jackie said...

Hi Nancy,
So glad your little kitty is feeling better.
I enjoyed reading your post and TFS.
Jackie.

MaryT said...

I love it reminds me of my trips to the vet with our cat Tim. Still miss him something awful and maybe one of these days I'll get another kitty. He was prone to UTI's too we started feeling in I think it was 9-Lives for urinary tract health and it really helped, really cut down on the trips to the vet.
Mary Louise in IN

Mary Ivancicts said...

So glad the kitty is ok....What a run down you had trying to get her in the carrier!! I don't think, if I was there would have been any help....I would have been laughing to hard!! Love you Nancy, you keep me going on!

chrisstitches said...

Poor kitty....
thanks for the comments on my question about starting at the top. i prefer the idea much better....never liked starting in the middle....doing kits got me started in the wrong direction. Hope kitty is feeling better...

Katrien said...

what an ordeal. I'm glad you caught it in time!

Kay said...

Amber sounds like my babies! They always seem to know when it is time to go to the vet because they too will hide. Glad to hear that the problem was nipped in the bud.

Shelleen said...

I hope Amber is all better now. It is so hard when they can't tell us what is wrong.