Well, the trip to the ER was exactly what I had thought. Re-hydrate, and clean him out. He had a kitty enema! Ew! Richard didn’t get home till around 4:30 and then stayed up to monitor the cat. Chanel has been eating canned pumpkin. He’s not in pain but hasn’t meowed or visited the box. Richard will be on cat box vigil all day.

At least the 2 cats are getting along. That trick of bringing them both is amazing! The doctor visits used to be worse because when Chanel got home all the new smells on him terrified Coco, who’d attack and hiss. Oi. It was bad!

Anyway. I need to start getting ready for work. I am closing again. Yay me!

tagged: pets chanel constipation sick cat vet

Well, this is an update on the cat. If you are not interested in our cats you don’t need to read on. I’ll understand.

Chanel has a bit more than a sneeze. He was showing signs of severe constipation. Tonight after his daily medicine and feeding he threw up all of his food. He made repeated trips to the litter box, followed by hiding. He threw up some more. 6 times in four hours actually, kept visiting the box, and hiding the rest of the time. Richard called the 24 hour emergency vet. They were sympathetic, but less than helpful. The outcome of the call was to administer his medicine and try feeding again. Weird. You see I had just done my duty and Googled ‘cat constipation’ and of course became an instant expert. From what I could tell the hiding, trips to the box, and licking (yes he was cleaning himself too) were signs of advanced constipation. Meaning he may not have ‘number 2’d’ in days. Ouch!! Poor thing!

Richard was at first in denial. Then distressed. You see, we have been through this before. Chanel almost died from constipation some years back. He has been fine for 3 years… Although there has been a change in his medication, and Richard has been playing hone tag with the veterinarian for a week because of changes in Chanel. The cat had seemed to put on a lot of weight in a short time, but in hindsight maybe he has been bloated?

Anyway, no success with the more feeding idea. I wasn’t surprised, I mean you can’t stuff anything into a plugged hole. It just backs up. Why they suggested that..... So now Richard has packed up the cats and gone to the ER. You have to take them both even though only one is sick (trust me on this one). I think (because I am an instant expert) they will re-hydrate with an IV and ex-ray to determine the severity. He may need to be ‘cleaned out’ again. I offered to tag along, but that was greeted by sarcasm/bitchiness. I think it’s a cat owner thing. They were his first you know.

So please send some positive kitty vibes! Before they left Chanel was hiding behind the plant near the computer here and he was crying! Just about tore my heart out…

tagged: pets chanel constipation sick cat vet

Nothing like a big pile of cat puke to start your day off right! And to think I was all caught up on housework today. Turns out, no, I had to clean the door mat.

I have mentioned the cat issues enough, eh? Cats on a walk? I suppose I should immortalize the cat health story here so that all these cat references make sense. If your not interested in a gross/sad cat story with a happy ending, do not read ahead.

We have two cats. CoCo and Chanel (I know, how gay!). Last year Chanel had become very sick. Now he had always been a chubby cat, but he had gotten really big. He couldn't run or jump. He would cry in pain if you picked him up. We always thought it was because he was so fat. Putting him on a diet was impossible because CoCo would get bladder infections from the diet food. Forget feeding them separately, we were never home to do that at the time. Well, like I said Chanel started to get really sick. It got to the point that he was throwing up all the time. He developed a fever. Richard got him to the vet. It turns out that because of his size his digestion system was not working properly. He was severely constipated and could not go number two. That's why he was throwing up. The food had nowhere else to go. So they had to go in and clear him out. (sorry, I told you it was gross, but it saved his little life). He was placed on a permanent laxative. So after he recuperated the vet said he would need exercise. An hour a day. How do you exercise a cat that has always been a lazy indoor cat. Well, to start, Richard brought him out to the hallways of our apartments. He was so afraid to be outside! Only when he was carried away from our door would he move, and that was to hurry back and try to get inside! So each day Richard would take him a little farther... Almost a year later Chanel has adjusted to his walks! They walk around the nearby park for an hour 4-5 times a week. Chanel has lost a lot of weight. He runs, jumps on the counter, plays in the sink... It's like having a kitten. A really big clumsy kitten. ‹ wish i hadn't asked!

tagged: pets constipation sick cat cat-er-size