Introducing Our Clan

nicolelj

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Hi.  I just joined a few days ago looking for nutrition help because one of my makes got stones and crystals and has been at the vet since Thursday for it.  He is ready to come home today but the vet lost him in the building.  The vet thinks he some how got into the ceiling. They have lifted out several panels and can't see him. I am worried he some how got out of the building but the vet assures Doug(who is also there looking for him) that the building is totally sealed. They have been searching for over 2 hours now and ...have no idea where he is. He has eaten well so if he is frightened it could be days before he comes out of his hiding spot. So now instead of healing vibes we need vibes to find him. Another worry of mine is him actually eating something that could harm him. You know all vets have those displays of food and such out. We always keep our animals food in locked bins because the cats will tear open the bags. Uggg.

Anyway here are some pictures of my clan. 

Zen is 3 1/2 and neutered.  As you can see he and my white GSD Sheena(9yrs old) are very close


This is Pax.  She will be getting spayed soon.  She is 2yrs old.  All are indoor only cats.  The cats know they are safe around the dogs even when they have food as you can see.


This is Zeus.  He is my daughters Main Coon cat and just turned a year old.  He is neutered

 
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susank521

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You've got a beautiful bunch there! I sure hope that the vet has found Zen and that he's back home and doing well.
 
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nicolelj

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Thanks for the reply.  Zen is not home yet.   The vet had stayed overnight hoping he would come out when all was dark and quiet. Nope. I feel bad for the vet. They have pushed up tiles all over the ceiling, lifted up ceiling ducts and so on. We went to see if he would come to us even though I was pretty sure he wouldn't. He ate well yesterday before getting loose and he is in a strange place with strange noises and scents. Plus he is feeling very good now. So as soon as we got there I told them the idea I had of getting a cat trap from the SPCA. They had had the same idea but were not sure if Zen would go into it. I explained that we have crates in our house without doors and Zen goes in them regularly to snooze with Sheena and his favorite place to sleep is of course boxes. Anyway we started calling him at one end of the building. Nothing. They Doug went to the other end and call him. He cried back. So I went over there and started calling him. He started crying and crying. But then the noise was too much as they brought the ladder. I climbed up and stuck my head into the ceiling area and called. He responded but left the area as other people were seeing if they could get closer to his spot and the noise scared him. So he is still up there. But his is ok. So they are getting a cat trap. I told them he most likely will need to get hungry and it will most likely be in the evening when he will come down when the place is dark and quiet. It is a plus that he is used to being schedule fed because his tummy will tell him that this is when he is usually fed. So I suggested putting a tiny spot of food(turkey or chicken is his favorite) on the ceiling tile next to the opening where it is safe for him to come down. They will cover the cat trap with a blanket so it is like the ones at home. I left my coat there for them to put in the crate(was a shivery drive home. lol). THey will put that inside with the food at the back. So the crate will have a scent he is familiar with and the food will help draw him in. So hopefully we will hear back tomorrow morning or the next day that he was caught. So keep your fingers crossed. I let the vet know we are not angry just worried. I asked if they wanted us to pay the bill while we were there and they said not to worry about that right now. They assured me there is no way for him to get out of the building. So that and hearing him helped me know that he is alive and at least ok right now. They are awesome people. They were up on ladders, standing on tubs and tables to try and see him. I kept begging them to not hurt themselves trying to get him out and the vet said not to worry because he is insured. LOL I will update more when I know more.
 

betsygee

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You are being very calm and understanding about this!  

Please do make sure to let us know how it turns out with Zen.  What a great photo of him with Sheena, by the way.
 

barbh

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Beautiful looking clan you have there. Happy to heat that you were able to verify that Zen is okay. Hoping that he will go into the cat trap tonight so that you guys can have him safely back home. I am sure the vet was dreading telling you that Zen got loose, not knowing how you may react. Sending good vibes your way that Zen's little adventure will end soon and that he will be back home telling you guys all about it.
 
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nicolelj

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Thanks for the welcome and compliments.  Doug will be calling them around 9:30 if we don't hear from them. They have both our home number and the house number. I was really stressing but didn't want to show it till I heard him crying back at me. I know his cries and what each means so I know it was him. I do understand that accidents happen and they are defiantely doing all they can to get him out. So trying to stay positive about it till there is a reason to not be positive. So lets hope he went into the cat trap last night. If not he should go in it tonight. We will re-evaluate on Wednesday if he has not been caught by then. I do worry what he could be ingesting and such while up there so will be requesting that they give him a good going over to ensure he didn't eat anything toxic and didn't injure himself. And I expect that evaluation to definitely be free. The ceiling is a false ceiling so they can't go crawling around up there after him because the tiles will not hold a persons weight.
 
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nicolelj

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Update. Doug called them this morning and he is not caught yet. They have not heard him either. So that is concerning to me but it is a full work day and they are a busy vet practice. So he could simply be trying to be quiet because he is scared. They have the cat trap set up with fresh chicken, sardines and so on along with my coat and a blanket covering the top of it. If he is not caught by tomorrow morning we are going to request to come in the evening when the office is closed to try and coax him down again. One of my biggest concerns is if he is not caught soon, and having no access to wet food and water, he could get another blockage of crystals and stones. And that will cause him to just lay in one spot and not move at all regaurdless of what we do to coax him out. So please keep him in your thoughts that he will come down tonight.  On a positive note Zeus and Pax are enjoying the wet food and a huge bonus to that is no more cleaning up dry food from Zeus.  Zeus loves to dig all the food out, tossing it everywhere when he eats.  So we are constantly cleaning it up multiple times a day.  With the wet food he doesn't do that.  So that is a plus to the switch.  lol
 

susank521

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I am so sorry that you haven't gotten Zen home yet. You are certainly being very generous in your patience with the vet and I'm sure they they appreciate it. Poor Zen. You'd think he would be close to being tired of this game and hearing your voice would entice him down. Sure hope that we hear good news from you soon.
 
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nicolelj

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Zen was caught in the trap last night.  YEAH!!!!  So they have him.  They are giving him a going over to make sure he has not got any more crystals or issues from the lack of food and water.  Doug and Nico are having breakfast and then Doug is off to pick Zen up.  We can breathe a sigh of relief now.  Will post a picture of the escape artist later today.  lol
 

barbh

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That is great news! Hope everything is good with Zen and that he is back home shortly.
 
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nicolelj

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OMG OMG OMG!!! Zen is home. dirty and very hungry. He is chowing down on the canned food right now. I add extra water to it so it is more of a soup and they all seem to love that. Anyway I asked Doug if he paid the bill and he said when he asked the vet if he could make good on the bill the vet told him to not worry about it. That we get the Escaped Kitty Discount. lol. So we don't have to pay ANY of the bill. Nothing. Plus they sent him home with a whole case of prescription canned food. I know they messed up on him getting loose. But people make mistakes. And they have been so apologetic and working so hard to catch him. There is no way we are changing vets over this. So Zen is now healthy, filling his tummy and no worse for the adventure. Will post pictures this afternoon. Thanks for all the support everyone.
 

happybird

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I am happy that Zen is home, safe and sound :) What a crazy story!

Your vet sounds like a good and caring guy. The fact that he stayed overnight to try and catch Zen speaks volumes. I wouldn't switch vets, either. Good ones are hard to find!
 

susank521

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Yeah!!!
 That is wonderful. So glad that you've got him home and he's no worse for his adventure. I'll bet that poor guy was happy to see you and his food bowl. Maybe both he and the vet learned a valuable lesson.
 
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nicolelj

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He has chowed down at ton and already used the litter box. He must have got his tail caught up there because we noticed they had shaved down a small part of his tail and there is a little scratch. It has obviously been cleaned up. We won't need canned cat food for a while. lol We are giving the prescription canned patte and the canned patte that we bought in the morning with added water. Then in the evening they get the canned shredded turkey or chicken with gravy. So loads of fluids. He has been purring and talking and demanding attention. So Zen is defiantely back. lol
 

betsygee

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Oh, I'm so glad to hear this news!  What an adventure is right, for all of you.  Sure sounds like your vet did everything he could to make it right.  
 

skylarbear

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I used to work at a Vet's Clinic and trust me, those people are the most empathetic people towards animals. I am glad for your pet's safe return, and I understand the concern and worry you were experiencing. We are new to this site and came across your story. Thank you for sharing the images and experiences. They are good lessons for others to be more prepared for the strange and quirky things that cats do. Cheers!

Skylar's Grandpa
 
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nicolelj

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Thanks everyone.  We were expecting to at least pay for some of his treatment.  Maybe a discount or something.  But was completely surprised by the whole bill being excused and then getting the case of canned food to boot and that stuff is not cheap.

here are 3 pictures of little mister escape artist.

Here you can see where they shaved his front leg for one of the IV's.

View media item 187635
Here you can see where they shaved his neck for the same thing.

View media item 187637
Here is the orange escape artist enjoying his canned food.

View media item 187638
So glad none of my 3 are fussy eaters.  None has had a problem with the sudden change to solely wet food.
 
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skylarbear

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For some reason the links to your photobucket pics won't load properly. It takes me to an Photobucket Error page that says, "Sorry, the requested page does not exist." Glad to hear that the vet was so very generous about the whole ordeal. I always worked as a kennel attendant and never worked the front office or financial end of things, but the Vets were always very generous to usual customers. 

-Skylars Grandpa
 
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