Friday
Friday is sick again. He threw up several times yesterday, and was walking around all day with his ears at half-mast ... sticking out to the side horizontally instead of pointing up. He's only done that a couple of times in his life, when he was feeling especially poorly. He also seemed to be getting dehydrated again ... his poop was getting harder again and although there was still plenty of it in the litter pan, I didn't want him to go as far as he did last time.
So I called the vet this morning and got a 3:00 pm appointment. It's blazing hot here, and we had to go out right in the middle of the hottest part of the day. I moved the car to a shady area and rolled the windows down; then a few minutes before it was time to go I went out and started the car and put the a/c on. I never do that -- I hate to let the car sit and idle, it's not good for the car and it's not good for my checking account ... especially nowadays with gas at $3.20 a gallon. But I did it for Friday, and when we got into the car it was still very hot, but much, much better than when I had gotten into the closed-up car in its sunny parking space.
He cried most of the way to the vet's office again, but not as much, which worried me. He really isn't feeling well. As I suspected, he was dehydrated and had another IV to get some fluid into him. But other than that, the vet obviously has no clue of what's going on. One of the side effects of Tapazole is vomiting, so although she admitted she doesn't know whether that's why he's throwing up or not, she told me to give him a half a pill today and tomorrow and then stop ... and go back to the hairball glop. I'm so thrilled. Just when he was starting to do so well with the pills. He hates the glop much worse. =sigh=
Oh, and he's supposed to get canned food, not just dry food, for the rest of his life. That's a real nuisance, because I have to supervise every bite, otherwise Val the Chazer will gobble all of his while Friday nibbles daintily, and then push Friday out of the way and eat all of his food too.
I'm also supposed to keep the cats separated for a few days so I can make sure of who's vomiting, but I haven't done that yet. I'll take that on tomorrow.
I was really sad and depressed when I got home from the vet. Friday was silent all the way home -- not a good sign with him. I haven't seen him all evening, either. He's obviously just hiding out somewhere -- not a good sign either. I felt like I was going to cry when I got home, but I didn't. I was going to call Meredith or A, but I didn't do that either. They just lost two of their cats, and I didn't know if hearing me cry about my sick cat would be too painful for them.
I could handle it better if I had some idea what was wrong, but we have no clue. The vet is obviously just stabbing in the dark, and meanwhile it cost me another $76 today. I'm so worried about him. I'm nervous about managing the issues with the two cats. I'm worried about how -- and whether -- we'll be able to figure out what's wrong with him. And I'm worried about how much it will end up costing while the doctor just keeps guessing.
ADDED: I went to my bedroom right after posting this and found Friday in his usual summer snoozing spot on the top step, where the cool air flows down to the first floor. It made me feel better to see him where he belongs instead of hiding somewhere, but I'm still very worried.
So I called the vet this morning and got a 3:00 pm appointment. It's blazing hot here, and we had to go out right in the middle of the hottest part of the day. I moved the car to a shady area and rolled the windows down; then a few minutes before it was time to go I went out and started the car and put the a/c on. I never do that -- I hate to let the car sit and idle, it's not good for the car and it's not good for my checking account ... especially nowadays with gas at $3.20 a gallon. But I did it for Friday, and when we got into the car it was still very hot, but much, much better than when I had gotten into the closed-up car in its sunny parking space.
He cried most of the way to the vet's office again, but not as much, which worried me. He really isn't feeling well. As I suspected, he was dehydrated and had another IV to get some fluid into him. But other than that, the vet obviously has no clue of what's going on. One of the side effects of Tapazole is vomiting, so although she admitted she doesn't know whether that's why he's throwing up or not, she told me to give him a half a pill today and tomorrow and then stop ... and go back to the hairball glop. I'm so thrilled. Just when he was starting to do so well with the pills. He hates the glop much worse. =sigh=
Oh, and he's supposed to get canned food, not just dry food, for the rest of his life. That's a real nuisance, because I have to supervise every bite, otherwise Val the Chazer will gobble all of his while Friday nibbles daintily, and then push Friday out of the way and eat all of his food too.
I'm also supposed to keep the cats separated for a few days so I can make sure of who's vomiting, but I haven't done that yet. I'll take that on tomorrow.
I was really sad and depressed when I got home from the vet. Friday was silent all the way home -- not a good sign with him. I haven't seen him all evening, either. He's obviously just hiding out somewhere -- not a good sign either. I felt like I was going to cry when I got home, but I didn't. I was going to call Meredith or A, but I didn't do that either. They just lost two of their cats, and I didn't know if hearing me cry about my sick cat would be too painful for them.
I could handle it better if I had some idea what was wrong, but we have no clue. The vet is obviously just stabbing in the dark, and meanwhile it cost me another $76 today. I'm so worried about him. I'm nervous about managing the issues with the two cats. I'm worried about how -- and whether -- we'll be able to figure out what's wrong with him. And I'm worried about how much it will end up costing while the doctor just keeps guessing.
ADDED: I went to my bedroom right after posting this and found Friday in his usual summer snoozing spot on the top step, where the cool air flows down to the first floor. It made me feel better to see him where he belongs instead of hiding somewhere, but I'm still very worried.