Baubles the Cat spent yesterday at the vet’s, having anaesthesia, x-rays and blood tests. She’s now home and basking in the sun, having been dosed on anti-nausea medication and more antibiotics. Basically, the tests were inconclusive (ie they aren’t really sure what was making her sick) - there are signs of kidney problems - one of her kidneys appears to be smaller than the other - and some liver enzymes were present in slightly elevated levels, but nothing really stood out. For the time being the vet has decided to treat her for a possible infection, hence the antibiotics. The anti-nausea meds seem to be doing the trick, too, as she hasn’t been vomiting this morning.
It’s going to be challenging medicating her for the next few days, because she seems to have gotten leery of the pill-slathered-with-seafood trick. This morning saw M and CW wrestling with Baubles the Cat, trying to get a tiny anti-nausea pill down her. This exercise ended with CW’s thumb getting rather painfully bitten, M covered in saliva (Baubles’s), and Baubles the Cat somewhat pissed off. We gave up and I stuck the remains of the pill in a dish of seafood in tuna mornay, and thankfully she ate it. The problem with this solution is that it defies the vet’s instructions to give Baubles “bland food” only for the next week or so. *Sigh*
Picture: Still life with old lemon. (See Flickr for explication.)
Didn’t blog this morning, because, not only was I groggy from yet another late night (early Christmas celebrations with rellies visiting from Queensland)…
STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ ABOUT FELINE VOMIT.
I spent a lot of time wiping up vomit. Baubles the Cat has been sick.
Poor Baubles the Cat. I don’t think she has had a good day today. It all started on Wednesday night after we got home. Baubles was happy to see us but after I gave her a drink of fresh water, she started throwing up. It wasn’t a normal, I’ve-just-got-a-furball-I-need-to-get-rid-of, puke. The sort that all cat lovers will know and sigh at, but patiently clean up. This involved lots of wretching and looking pitiful. It must have been quite uncomfortable for her.
She got through the night okay, but then after breakfast this morning, chucked up again. And again. When we left for work I made sure I didn’t leave her anything to eat - on the principle that if she does have an upset stomach it might be good to have a wee rest, but when we got home there was chunder in my study and in the bedroom. I felt sorry for her and gave her some chicken from my dinner, but she regurgitated that not long after eating it.
Poor Baubles the Cat! She seems bright enough - doesn’t look sick - and wants to eat and drink, but she can’t seem to keep it down. I think it’s time for another visit to the vet, tomorrow morning. I hope it’s just a firmly wedged furball or something else equally benign.
Update 8 December 5:48am: Baubles woke us up a couple of times during the night. Cat retching is very distinctive sounding.
Apparently trichobezoar is another word for furball. And why are the words associated with vomit so nauseating?
