s p o o k y : w e e k e n d
11.12.06
Andrea and I have children of the
four legged ilk, which, for the most part, translates to easier
rearing than with human children. This weekend, however, we gained
a bit of empathy for our siblings and friends with two-legged
children as we had to rush Spooky to the emergency animal hospital
in the wee (pun intended) hours of the morning.
Upon returning home from a evening out
for dinner at Enricos, we noticed Spooky was trying to urinate in
one of our large potted plants, which he has never before done. Of
course we admonished him, only to see him hop back up five minutes
later. Removing him from the tree again, he ran downstairs to the
litter box, jumped in, acted as if he was peeing, but in fact
wasn't.
Of course, this odd behavior worried us, so thanks to Google, we started reading up on feline urinary tract issues, which evidently are quite common in Male cats. After watching Spooky repeat his fruitless urination act ten times in the course of an hour, I figured it was time to ring our vet at the Paw Patch, who, at 12:30 in the morning, is , of course, closed. Their answering machine directed us to call Noah's Animal Hospital in the case of an emergency.
After ringing Noah's, who informed me that Spooky could be experiencing a potentially fatal urinary tract blockage, we threw on our stale clothes and off we went to the hospital!
I'd like to mention here that we love both our normal vets at the Paw Patch in Broad Ripple and also now the folks with worked with at Noah's on Saturday morning. They really took the time to explain everything in detail and make us feel at ease, so cheers to them!
To make a long and perhaps boring story short, Spooky got to spend the night at Noah's, where he was x-rayed, had blood samples taken and somehow had urine extracted from his bladder. Needless to say, when Noah's rang at 6:30 Saturday morning, they told us Spooky was anxious to come home!
We picked him up along with a battery of new medicines and the like. Thankfully, the results have shown nothing like a blockage, crystals in his urine or anything overly alarming. Instead, it appears that he may have feline urinary tract disease, which basically translates to an impending change in diet once the antibiotics run their course.
Like solicitous parents, we've been monitoring his litter box habits, noting when, where and how much he's been going. Steadily, he's returning to a normal "flow," probably not in small part because he's tired of us watching him whilst he's doing his thing, poor guy!
Ah, to be a parent...
Mom and Spooky, half asleep at 12:30 at Noah's.
Of course, this odd behavior worried us, so thanks to Google, we started reading up on feline urinary tract issues, which evidently are quite common in Male cats. After watching Spooky repeat his fruitless urination act ten times in the course of an hour, I figured it was time to ring our vet at the Paw Patch, who, at 12:30 in the morning, is , of course, closed. Their answering machine directed us to call Noah's Animal Hospital in the case of an emergency.
After ringing Noah's, who informed me that Spooky could be experiencing a potentially fatal urinary tract blockage, we threw on our stale clothes and off we went to the hospital!
I'd like to mention here that we love both our normal vets at the Paw Patch in Broad Ripple and also now the folks with worked with at Noah's on Saturday morning. They really took the time to explain everything in detail and make us feel at ease, so cheers to them!
To make a long and perhaps boring story short, Spooky got to spend the night at Noah's, where he was x-rayed, had blood samples taken and somehow had urine extracted from his bladder. Needless to say, when Noah's rang at 6:30 Saturday morning, they told us Spooky was anxious to come home!
We picked him up along with a battery of new medicines and the like. Thankfully, the results have shown nothing like a blockage, crystals in his urine or anything overly alarming. Instead, it appears that he may have feline urinary tract disease, which basically translates to an impending change in diet once the antibiotics run their course.
Like solicitous parents, we've been monitoring his litter box habits, noting when, where and how much he's been going. Steadily, he's returning to a normal "flow," probably not in small part because he's tired of us watching him whilst he's doing his thing, poor guy!
Ah, to be a parent...
Mom and Spooky, half asleep at 12:30 at Noah's.
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