Chester is in the hospital

He was fine yesterday. But today when I went to scoop the box I saw the he had pooped but there was no pee.

Then tonight when I was just sitting down to supper I noticed him in the box. He seemed to be just sitting there for the longest time. As soon as he got out I went in to check and there was noting in the box. He had tried to go but apparently nothing was coming out.

He had a UTI at the end of May and at that time the vet said if he had more symptoms to take him back in.

The vet is closed but after a call to the emergency vet I had a friend come over and she got him into the carrier and off we went.

The were not busy and got him right in. I was already a mess but when they told me that I had to leave him I lost it.

They gave me a list of what they are doing and the test they are running but it's all a blur right now. All I know is he will be in overnight then if all is well after that I can pick him up Thursday morning.

He was in the back but I asked if I could see him before I left. The tech brought him out and put him in my arms.

It was the first time in ages that I was able to actually hold him. It was soooo hard to let him go!

I cried all the way home. And now I have to be without him for two nights.

***as soon as I hit post I realized I was in the wrong forum.

I called first thing this morning. The person who answered knew right away who I was calling about.

She said that he has a catheter in and it was working out fine. They plan to remove it around 8 tonight and if he goes with no problems he can come home. The earliest would be 10 tonight. But she thinks he should stay over for the night just in case.

I asked how he was acting and she said he was quiet, just laying in his cage. I mentioned that he is usually afraid of everything and she said "he is a nervous cat" but doing OK.

In my relief (and I was on the verge of crying again) I did not ask for any details on diagnosis or cause. Sometimes I am just so over emotional/stupid I forget the things I need to ask about.

All I know is he was fine on Monday. When I scooped the box everything was normal. Tuesday afternoon he had gone to the box but I didn't think anything was out of place until later when I went to scoop. He had pooped but no pee. This had be worried.

Then about six I was just sitting down at my computer and I saw him to into the box. I can just see the corner of it from where I sit. He went in and sat there for the longest time. I kept checking but did not get up because he does not like company when he is in the box.

Finally after about ten minutes he got out, looked at the box, pawed the floor a couple of times then left. I immediately got up and checked. There was nothing in the box except foot prints.

That's when I got really nervous and called my friend Rhonda. Because of my physical limitations and his fear I have a hard time getting him into the carrier. Then it's a problem to carry him to the car.

Rhonda suggested the E-vet and came right over to get us.

One thing that the vet mentioned was that this is sometimes caused by stress and asked if there were any major changes in the household. I said no and at first didn't think of any thing that could cause him stress.

But today I was talking to another friend and he suggested it might be the new water fountain that I had bought for him.

About three and a half weeks ago I got a water fountain. The idea being that after his last UTI maybe it would be good to get him to drink more water. I thought about it and finally broke down and spent the money for the good one with a large tank.

Unfortunately Chester was afraid to use it. He looked at it but would not drink from it. I had left his regular water dish next to the fountain thinking that whey it went dry he would use the fountain.

No way, he didn't touch it. I kept filling his water dish from the fountain to show him that it was safe. A week later I caught him drinking out of the toilet.

There was water in his dish but he wouldn't drink it. The only thing I can think of is that the fountain had made a noise (it did sometimes gurgle) and it scared him.

My next step was to unplug the fountain and let is sit with water in it and maybe that would help. That was a week or so ago. On Sunday I had just refilled the tank and turned it on.

Coincidence? I don't know. But the suggestion was made that I take it down and put his water and dry food dish back where it has always been. This way when he gets home it looks like what is is used to.

Thank you all for the kind thoughts and vibes.

Now my biggest worry is...if the vet recommends a special diet, my luck is he won't eat it.

Chester came home this morning. He has a shaved spot on his left front leg and a boo boo from the IV. He looks like he has a poodle foot.

They gave (no sold) me a bag of Purina UT and some cans of the wet. I also got a print out of all the notes they made during his treatment. I think that was good. And a CD with his x-rays.

The basic diagnosis was "one small stone in the bladder and crystals in the urine". Not a huge amount of crystals, but some.

From reading the notes I can see that he ate very little at the hospital. They say he was not interested in the wet but did eat a small amount of the dry. There was one note that I really liked it said "very sweet Kittie".

They also noted that he is very hard to pill. "Ate a pill pocket, spit out the pill." That's no surprise.

So they gave me one liquid medication and capsules that I can open and add to water. Giving medication for the next week or so will be a challenge.

He was laying on the floor next to my chair grooming (now I'm going to be worried about over grooming) then he got up and left the room. As he was leaving I noticed that he seems to have a shaved spot on his back end from where they sutured the catheter. My poor baby!

He is to eat only the prescription food until his follow up visit to the vet. I have already scheduled that for August 18th.

The hardest part of the food change is the "no treats" part. He loves his treats and I do admit to giving him to many. To be on the safe side I had Rhonda take away the almost full bag or dry and the unopened pouches and treats that I had on hand.

This was a good idea since he is already looking for his morning treats. I am going to substitute the dry food and hope he falls for it.

Thanks again for all the support!

As expected he hates the wet food. I gave him a spoonful, he sniffed it and walked away.

But he did eat some of the dry. And has been falling for my slight of hand and eating it instead of treats. Hopefully it will last.

Also, he has used the box three times today. All were good sized clumps. Much more than his usual day. Now I can worry that it is too much.

The only bad thing. The regular vet called because they had gotten the report from the E-vet (apparently they share) and did not think my appointment was scheduled soon enough.

The E-vet recommended a follow up visit in two to three weeks. The regular vet thinks it should be two to three days. When I tried to explain that I was following the other vets orders and it would be very hard for me to get there any sooner, she made it sound like I was being an unconcerned pet owner.

So I reluctantly made an appointment for Saturday.

Now I have to impose on my friend Ronda again and ask her to help me on her day off. I did call my nephew who lives 45 minutes away and tried to get him to help but he has to work.

I really appreciate her help. But I am not used to having people do things for me. Usually it's been me that is doing for everyone else. It's hard to accept being the one who needs the help.

On top of that I feel bad because she just lost her youngest kitty to cancer a couple of weeks ago. It was very sudden and a real shock. And two of her remaining three have health issues.

The E-vet recommended two to three weeks for a follow up and I had already scheduled the appointment. But as it turns our maybe earlier is better because he threw up one of the meds this morning.

I immediately called and they said to stop giving it and they will review it tomorrow.

They had the catheter in for 24 hours. He peed in the box four times yesterday. I was surprised that he had the much left in him. And at least once so far today. I need to go scoop again.

I have to confess that I don't read the health threads very often. Honestly, I can't imagine how a person with a chronically ill kitty copes with the stress. If this keeps up I'm going to need a mental health thread for the humans.

Today's visit was good. I had a different vet and I really liked her.

She looked at the x-ray and decided to focus on the possible small stone. She didn't think the image was clear enough to defiantly say stones but didn't want to take a chance.

She prescribed a different food. This one is a dissolving diet that consists of canned food only for 30 days. Then the UR food as maintenance.

I can imagine it is going to be a long 30 days. He has already turned his nose up at the food. And it is all he can eat.

On an up note...he was back to his old self this morning. He was yelling for his breakfast. He hasn't done that for the last two days. He was real happy until he saw what it was.