Taking Eva to the Vet
A story about my cat, Eva:
About a month ago, I took Eva in for her annual exam/vaccines. I put her in the carrier and placed the carrier in the front passenger seat for the trip across town to the vet. As soon as I backed out of the driveway, she peed. . . a huge puddle at the bottom of the carrier, and the smell of cat urine permeating the car. I get to the vet, they remove her from the carrier, and wash both her and the carrier off. Because she had emptied her bladder on the way over, they couldn't get a urine sample from her during the exam. They had me bring her back a few days later to draw urine.
So, a few days later, first thing in the morning before work, I put her in the carrier, put the carrier in the car for the trip across town. She again lets loose within a block of the house. Big puddle in carrier, cat pee smell in car, empty bladder in cat. I had placed a towel in the carrier, which was now soaking wet. I decide, at the vet tech's request, to leave Eva at the vet for the day, so they could ply her with water and draw a urine sample directly from her bladder (a cystogram). I return to the vet at 5 p.m. to pick her up. She hasn't peed and, although they gave her subcutaneous fluids, they weren't able to draw any urine. I decide against leaving her there overnight, because they would have charged a kennel fee. I make an appointment to bring her back two days later before work.
On the way home, she pees. Huge puddle in the carrier, her feet and belly wet with her urine. I get her home, wash her off, and rinse out the carrier with soap and water. (Thank goodness there's a sink and faucet in the garage!)
Friday morning arrives. I recognize the pattern at this point, so I devise a plan. I line the carrier with plastic. I put Eva in the carrier, the carrier in the car, and start backing out of the garage. The smell of cat urine permeates. I pull back in the garage, remove the carrier from the car and Eva from the carrier. I rinse Eva off and pour the urine in the carrier into a zip lock bag. I leave Eva at home and transport the bag of pee across town to the vet. They say it's kind of an unorthodox delivery, but they should be able to do the analysis on it.
The next day, I hear from the vet. There were some irregularities in Eva's urine, she had a high ph and crystals, which could be caused by a kidney condition or an infection. She's not showing any other signs of kidney problems, however, so the vet recommends waiting a month and bringing her in for a recheck and another urine analysis. They really want to draw a sample directly from the bladder.
So, the month passes. On Tuesday morning, before work, I place Eva in the carrier and the carrier in the car. I know better, so I'm in grubby clothes to make the transport. I back out of the garage. A yellow puddle forms at the bottom of the carrier, the smell permeates the car. (It takes 12 minutes to drive from my place to the vet, by the way. Twelve minutes is a long time to be inhaling the acrid odor of cat urine.) We get to the vet, I leave Eva in the car, and go in and ask if they have a syringe, so I can provide a sample through more orthodox means. I get the syringe, go out to the car, and open the carrier door so I can draw some pee. Eva, whose feet and belly are wet with urine, walks out of the carrier into my lap. She climbs up on to me, so I am now covered in her urine (eeewww!). I draw the urine sample, and take Eva and the carrier into the vet's office to get cleaned up. Because they really, really want to do a cysto to get a clean sample, I leave Eva there for the day. Deja vu all over again. She doesn't pee all day and, despite the subcutaneous fluids, they are only able to draw a dribble from her bladder late in the afternoon. I arrive at 5 p.m. Put her in the carrier, and place the carrier in the passenger seat next to me. I'm about a half block from the vet when she lets loose. I pull back in front of the vet, stop the car, and ask for another syringe. The vet gets a big sample, but it's still from a "capture" rather than a cysto. I drive home through traffic, again smelling pee. Once home, I wash Eva (again) and the carrier (again.)
Thursday afternoon, I hear from the vet. Eva's ph is closer to normal this time, but she still has the crystals. From the urine analysis, they still don't know if the crystals are caused by a kidney problem (the treatment plan requires a change in diet, prescription wet foot that differs from Romy's (the other cat's) prescription, of course), or an infection (treatment would involve only a course of anti-biotics). They have enough from the dribble they got during the cystogram to do a culture, to determine whether its an infection, but the culture costs $125. (It's only money, right?)
At this point, I'm waiting to hear the results of the culture test. And Romy' is scheduled for his annual exam/vaccines next Saturday. I'm into the vet more than $500 already, not counting the cost of Romy's special wet food each month. Aarrgghh! I've now realized that, when it comes to getting a urine sample from Eva, it may be better just to pay the vet to make a house call!
About a month ago, I took Eva in for her annual exam/vaccines. I put her in the carrier and placed the carrier in the front passenger seat for the trip across town to the vet. As soon as I backed out of the driveway, she peed. . . a huge puddle at the bottom of the carrier, and the smell of cat urine permeating the car. I get to the vet, they remove her from the carrier, and wash both her and the carrier off. Because she had emptied her bladder on the way over, they couldn't get a urine sample from her during the exam. They had me bring her back a few days later to draw urine.
So, a few days later, first thing in the morning before work, I put her in the carrier, put the carrier in the car for the trip across town. She again lets loose within a block of the house. Big puddle in carrier, cat pee smell in car, empty bladder in cat. I had placed a towel in the carrier, which was now soaking wet. I decide, at the vet tech's request, to leave Eva at the vet for the day, so they could ply her with water and draw a urine sample directly from her bladder (a cystogram). I return to the vet at 5 p.m. to pick her up. She hasn't peed and, although they gave her subcutaneous fluids, they weren't able to draw any urine. I decide against leaving her there overnight, because they would have charged a kennel fee. I make an appointment to bring her back two days later before work.
On the way home, she pees. Huge puddle in the carrier, her feet and belly wet with her urine. I get her home, wash her off, and rinse out the carrier with soap and water. (Thank goodness there's a sink and faucet in the garage!)
Friday morning arrives. I recognize the pattern at this point, so I devise a plan. I line the carrier with plastic. I put Eva in the carrier, the carrier in the car, and start backing out of the garage. The smell of cat urine permeates. I pull back in the garage, remove the carrier from the car and Eva from the carrier. I rinse Eva off and pour the urine in the carrier into a zip lock bag. I leave Eva at home and transport the bag of pee across town to the vet. They say it's kind of an unorthodox delivery, but they should be able to do the analysis on it.
The next day, I hear from the vet. There were some irregularities in Eva's urine, she had a high ph and crystals, which could be caused by a kidney condition or an infection. She's not showing any other signs of kidney problems, however, so the vet recommends waiting a month and bringing her in for a recheck and another urine analysis. They really want to draw a sample directly from the bladder.
So, the month passes. On Tuesday morning, before work, I place Eva in the carrier and the carrier in the car. I know better, so I'm in grubby clothes to make the transport. I back out of the garage. A yellow puddle forms at the bottom of the carrier, the smell permeates the car. (It takes 12 minutes to drive from my place to the vet, by the way. Twelve minutes is a long time to be inhaling the acrid odor of cat urine.) We get to the vet, I leave Eva in the car, and go in and ask if they have a syringe, so I can provide a sample through more orthodox means. I get the syringe, go out to the car, and open the carrier door so I can draw some pee. Eva, whose feet and belly are wet with urine, walks out of the carrier into my lap. She climbs up on to me, so I am now covered in her urine (eeewww!). I draw the urine sample, and take Eva and the carrier into the vet's office to get cleaned up. Because they really, really want to do a cysto to get a clean sample, I leave Eva there for the day. Deja vu all over again. She doesn't pee all day and, despite the subcutaneous fluids, they are only able to draw a dribble from her bladder late in the afternoon. I arrive at 5 p.m. Put her in the carrier, and place the carrier in the passenger seat next to me. I'm about a half block from the vet when she lets loose. I pull back in front of the vet, stop the car, and ask for another syringe. The vet gets a big sample, but it's still from a "capture" rather than a cysto. I drive home through traffic, again smelling pee. Once home, I wash Eva (again) and the carrier (again.)
Thursday afternoon, I hear from the vet. Eva's ph is closer to normal this time, but she still has the crystals. From the urine analysis, they still don't know if the crystals are caused by a kidney problem (the treatment plan requires a change in diet, prescription wet foot that differs from Romy's (the other cat's) prescription, of course), or an infection (treatment would involve only a course of anti-biotics). They have enough from the dribble they got during the cystogram to do a culture, to determine whether its an infection, but the culture costs $125. (It's only money, right?)
At this point, I'm waiting to hear the results of the culture test. And Romy' is scheduled for his annual exam/vaccines next Saturday. I'm into the vet more than $500 already, not counting the cost of Romy's special wet food each month. Aarrgghh! I've now realized that, when it comes to getting a urine sample from Eva, it may be better just to pay the vet to make a house call!