need suggestions till Monday

Everything crossed Jenn.

I have also said a prayer for you and Toe-Man, Jenn. Please drive carefully.

Just want you to know Jenn that I am still thinking about you. I just wish I could be there with you right now, sometimes it helps just to have a friend around.

So sorry to hear Toe Man is ill.

Loving thoughts and prayers go with you on your journey.


({({({({({Toe Man get well soon!})})})})})

and lots of drive safe vibes.

Come on Toe-Man you can do it! I'm so glad you are able to get him to the bet - no matter WHAT happens he knows you love him and you are going to help him feel better.

I am back from the vet......

Well, Toe man will be in the hospital no less than 5 days. IF HE SURVIVES... But if he get better, it will probably be more days than that.

When I got to the vet, I was early and had approx 30 minutes to spare. So I petted Toe, who was lifeless...and got out of the truck to smoke a cigarette. There was a man outside who was scraping ice and we talked and I told him about toe and he said if anyone can save toe, it is Kevin Carmichael. He said the vet is not just his vet but also his friend. And that had a calming effect on me.

When the doc got there, I carried the crate inside and got toe out. Since I got home from work until this point toe had worsened drastically. His head lolled around like he was dead. He was barely breathing. He was very close to being in a septic coma...

When I pulled him out of the crate, blood started dripping from his penis area. The doc immediately knew he had a stone in his penis. He told me he had to catherize him..

So I went to the back area with him and so did his son who was going to assist. He told me all the dangers IF he had to sadate him vs non sadation.

We had to ultimately sedate toe, not due to his movement because he couldnt' move but because he kept pulling his penis back inside and the doc could not et the tube in. After sedation, it was easy. But in the meantime, he put many many 40cc tubes of saline under his skin. And drew out 40cc of blood from his bladder. He said their was three times that amt but that would relieve the pressure so he could get the catheter in.

After the catheter was in, he had to force water through the catheter tube to push the stone back into the bladder. He used all his force to do this and had trouble. It was that blocked. It was so blocked that saline squirted from the catheter tube where it was connected to the syringe. I had to assist him and hold this together as we tried to save toe. His son was assisting as well quickly injecting toe with saline bubbles all over his body. The pedilyte save his life in order to get him to the vet.

He said Toe would have been dead by tonight. He would not have made it to Monday morning to see a vet. It is unbelievable that all this occured since Friday morning.

I told him how quickly this all occured and he said it happens like that sometimes. IF toe pulls through, he will have to be on a special diet.

What happened was that toe evidently had a tiny bacteria in his bladder. How it got there who knows? But it got infected slightly and caused a stone to form which got caught in his penis. He could not uninate. He said the blocked urine backed up in his system causing his sytem to become septic. And so he was dying. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it.... I could just see it and sense it.

It will be three days before we know if his kidneys will start working on their own again.....

We are not out of the woods by a longshot. But this is his only shot. He may not survive this...

This is a link about what happened to Toe...... I am praying he pulls through. The pts option is unthinkable at this point. I want Toe to live. He has been a happy wonderful cat. The vet says there is a chance. If I had not had pedilyte at my house, Toe would already be dead. He is hoping we got him in time to turn this around.. A few days from now, we will know. I can't go back until wednesday to see him but I can call and check on him in the morning to see if he pulled through the night.
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/urinary.html

One more thing. Toe has neve been sick a day in his life. The vet also said this occurs most frequently in neutered males. He has seen it several times.
Jenn

I will pray that he bounces back quickly and fully! I am so sorry you all have had to go through this.

Toe

Jen, add my prayers to everyone else's that Toe comes through this alright. Bless you for noticing how sick he was and doing so much for him.

I hope this never happens to anyone else's cat. It occurs so suddenly that it takes you by surprise......

One day he was just a little listless keeping to himself. Laying outside in the enslosure. No big deal there. The next day was basically the same except he walked with his hind legs a little stiff. Like maybe he had jumped off something and landed wrong. This is what people would be inclined to think because there is no symptoms per se. No fever, no runny nose, no runny eyes, no coughing.... That is what most people look for when their cat is sick. I initially thought he was sore so he was just resting. You know...?? But on this second day I never saw him urinate, eat or drink. That's when I knew he was dying. I paid much closer attention to him at that point. Slightly more than 24 hrs has passed at this point. This is when I started on the pedilyte. And crated him and then went to work on the night shift. When I got home this morning.....well you know the rest. We are at today now. Rapid rapid deterioration..... so incredibly fast that I am still in shock about it..

He was not passing blood either. The main thing I noticed was him hanging his head over his food/water bowls but not eating or drinking. And that bothered me more than him walking stiff. And then I could see he as not urinating which is a feat unto itself since I have 24 cats.... But since he was not eating I was focused on him. He never cried out in pain.. Not one time. He never strained to urinate. He just quit going.

You see, every morning, I fill up two huge bowls in the house and 20 cats pig out in our hallway. I do this twice a day plus keep the bowls full in the enclosure. The only ones not there in the house eating during these feeding times are Jimmy, Festus and Felix. I know who is there. I keep track of them. We consider the feeding times a great time of day. 20 cats eating at once is something to see!

I can only hope that the number remains at 20 and does not fall to 19...

Ok.......I got to get to be now. I have a really good feeling about this vet. No matter what happens to toe, I will use him. He is kind, on top of things and in the knowhow. I asked him about sarcomas but I will save that. I really need to rest.

Thanks all for the support.. Not matter what happens to toe, I appreciate all of you..

Jenn

PS. If you are wondering why the number of cats eating is 20 and not 21, it is because Pebbles is so spoiled she eats separate... We nearly lost her once and she is so spoiled she would rather stand by me in the kitchen than eat cat food........in case I open the fridge door for her.

Jenn, Toe will be in my thoughts. that he pulls through.

Prayers for your Toe's recovery. It sounds like you have found a wonderful vet - and that you did everything right to keep your guy alive until you could get him to your vet. Hoping for only good news going forward.

Jenn I'm so sorry that you and Toe had to go through all of this.
The Vet sounds like a very careing and kind Man and like he'll do EVERYTHING in his power to save Toe.

Just know that all of us are keeping you and Toe in our thoughts and prayers.

I am so sorry that Juan had to be gone during this difficult time.
My thoughts are with you Jenn.
Keep us updated.
Toe

I've just seen this thread, what a scary thing for you & Toe to be going through. Sending mega get well vibes to Toe It is such a shock when they get so ill so suddenly. That how fast it was with Chuckie. (different illness tho)

I'm glad to hear you found a good vet to take care of Toe.

My vet suggested that one or both reasons my Nugie got an infection that caused crystals with him is because....

1. Nugie is pretty fat and wasn't always cleaning his back end like he should which may have allowed the bacteria to migrate.
and/or
2. He has some teeth that need removed and that may have transmitted bacteria from his mouth which caused the infection.

Prayers for you and Toe-Man to come through this with a healthy happy kitty returning home.


({({({({({Jenn & Toe-Man})})})})})

I am so happy that you got TOE to a vet & that the stone is gone. I hope his kidneys start functioning properly. I wish I thought of this. Lucky had this problem and we did have the perineal urethrostomy surgery.

Sending good vibes!!!!

The vet just called and he wanted to let me know that toe man has survived so far. He is finally waking up from the sedation. Waking up this slow was a MAJOR concern of the vets because his kidneys were necessary to process the medication in order for him to wake up at all.. He warned me ahead of time that it is possible that Toe, with the sedation, would lapse into a coma and never wake up. He told me he knew it would take time for him to wake up IF he woke at all. And so hrs have passed since he only gave him a small shot to only relax him.... The shot was scary. He tried insert the cathether without sedation first. He hated to give Toe medicine. But without the catheter, toe would die. And then the medicine necessary to get the catheter successfully inserted could kill him as well. It was a catch 52 and so we took a chance HOPEING Toe's body would find a way to process the sedation.

And he is now awake and becoming alert. It has been nearly 6 hrs since he had his shot............. The last thing I told toe before he went under was that to hang in there that I loved him and to fight this and not give up. I kissed him and told him I would be here waiting for him. I am not sure if he heard me or not as he eyes were open and staring. The vet put salve in his eyes so they would not dry out.

But waking up is a very very very good sign. Toe did not lapse into a coma. He is a strong cat and this makes me feel hopeful. Vet also said IF his kidneys start functioning properly, he will be able to walk again. The inability to walk is caused by "urine in the bloodstream"......

I am heading back to bed now.. Thank you for the prayers guys. Toe just might pull this off. I told the vet I would call him in the morning and check on Toe. I get home at approx 9-9:30 in the morning. I will update this thread at that time.

Jenn

p.s. One more thing. When we were sitting ouside the vet's office waiting for him to arrive, I kept rubbing toe all over to attempt to keep him alert. His breathing was so shallow I thought he would die before the vet could help him. This vet is calm... so calm. His calmness during moments of extremem stress calm the human parents. His son wants to be a vet as well. What I didn't mention is that his son that helped save Toes life is only about 10-11 years old. His father showed him how to fill up the syringe with the sterile fluid and how to inject it once...... therefore leaving him free to work on other parts of Toe of which I helped. This child helped save my Toe Man. He kept the heating pad they had put over toe adjusted to the correct temp so he would be comfortable. He told me toe was beautiful. He assists his father at this young age in c-sections necessary to save unborn puppies lives. If Toe lives I will be sure to thank him. Or even if Toe doesn't make it, I will thank him. I don't know his name, but he has a good kind nature about him as well. His father is teaching him. They both came prepared to save my cat and mentally they were on fire... both of them.