Rohan Is Ill, bladder crystals Options

[Mink&WillowsMom]

That's a total of 13 inches. Why, how long is the CAT? Of course he was in a bad mood.
(Mentaly projecting to a six-foot human carrying around four feet of it...)
Yeah, that would do it.

I KNOW!! Can you imagine?? I mean, really, the math of it is just stupifying!

Oh no, as I'm writing this it's 7:10p, and Roh just threw up twice. Oh crap, what now? His sides just quivered in between. He's peeing, he's pooping, he's hungry, maybe a little low on water. It got up to 80^ in the house today, but that shouldn't matter. He'd just eaten a food he normally likes. No hairball. I stopped his anti-spasm drug last night, maybe that wasn't a good idea. Oh my goodness Rohan it's okay to be healthy again!

I've been gone all day at work, so I couldn't watch him. It was a week ago tonight that we left for the hospital at 4am, which had been exactly a week after starting this whole thing two Fridays ago.

[7:40p] Ah, he's drinking water, a good long sit-down drink. I'll keep everybody posted. Please keep our family in your thoughts, and awareness of robust health flowing into Rohan. ~Kim

[Mink&WillowsMom]

Third retch told the story: turned out to be herkin' hairball. Now that he's grooming all that nervously shed hair. Add a teeth cleaning and buff his nails, and he'll have been cleaned and scrubbed from one end to the other from the inside out. Poor guy, no wonder he looks so rumpled. ~K

[Mink&WillowsMom]

What a rollercoaster! One more throw-up this morning, but steady after that. And this afternoon I saw a wondrous thing! Rohan PLAYED with a toy! Batted at it, threw it in the air. First sense of levity and extra energy I've seen in two weeks. And this evening he wrastled with Luna -- playfight, pin her to the floor. What a great sign of returning health. OH! He just chased her across the house! Wheee!!!

[Jon730]

What a rollercoaster! One more throw-up this morning, but steady after that. And this afternoon I saw a wondrous thing! Rohan PLAYED with a toy! Batted at it, threw it in the air. First sense of levity and extra energy I've seen in two weeks. And this evening he wrastled with Luna -- playfight, pin her to the floor. What a great sign of returning health. OH! He just chased her across the house! Wheee!!!

WHEW, what a relief. Cat+Hairball= Normal.

[Mink&WillowsMom]

Photo 1 - if you look back at the first picture on this thread, and compare, you'll see what a toll this has taken on him.

but clearly he's feeling better, because:
Photo 2 - tell me that cat ain't smilin' !

Kim
PS: ignore the weirdness of the rainbow colors -- the rainbow is real but something odd happens, especially to the red hues, when I reduce the file size. If you know how to fix that, please PM me
PPS: the rainbow is from a prismatic lens on a Solatube -- I have rainbows splayed across every wall right now

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[Mink&WillowsMom]

So how do I know when to relax, to 'stand down' on this episode? He finished two weeks of antibiotics, is continuing to make larger pees. He's back to playing, and his appetite's good, and he drinks enough. He's still looking rumpled and his weight hasn't come back on yet (I know that takes a little while). So everything is pointing in the right direction. And yet the other night I woke up and he was asleep on the foot of the bed. The other cats jumped down and he didn't move. I petted him and he didn't move. Ohmigod is he dead??? With prodding, he finally stirred. Everytime I caress him, I run my hand under him to reassure myself his belly is soft and small.

I guess it's just that I don't know how to prevent this from happening again, other than keeping him hydrated and his stress down. Looking back, I see now how many clues there were that something was wrong. Never having dealt with crystals before, I didn't recognize them as clues. So the good thing is that if there is a next time, I'll catch it quicker. If he had struvite crystals, then the right food would be a huge help. Since they're calcium oxalates, diet doesn't really matter that much. On the other hand, each of 4 vets I've talked to about this have different advice on foods, often conflicting.

I've tried a dozen different prescription and high quality canned foods (one thing every vet agreed on was a moist diet), and I may as well be opening the can and scooping it straight into the trash. None of them are eating it -- all four cats have lost some weight. (Nobody was heavy to begin with.) So for right now, they're eating cheap Meow Mix market select gold cups. Lots of moisture. A little C/D dry to round out the protein. Lots of water.

I'm consulting with a homeopathic vet sometime next week, the plan is for her to teach me how to make their food, or at least put something together that they'll eat. Have you smelled canned cat food? Yikes, I wouldn't eat it. Something really chemical-y going on there.

Keeping stress down is important for Rohan. I have another trip coming up in November, and I'm wondering if I can go. It's only 5 days. The last trip I took, the one that was the final tipping point in him getting sick, was 25 days. But on days 1, 2, 3, and 4 he won't know this isn't wakka-wakka mom's left us again forever! Hopefully I'll feel more at ease with it when it's time to buy the airline ticket. (It's for a seminar.)

He's been sitting in my lap most evenings (something he only occasionally did before). There's such a preciousness to it now..... ~kimbervigilantmama

[Mink&WillowsMom]

I feel a little bit like I'm going crazy. Am I turning into a hypochondriac about my cats?
Rohan has been throwing up, 3x today. The first was a big hairball, the other two not, but immediately after eating.
Do hairballs irritate the stomach, so that a cat might toss the next couple of meals after hawking one up?
He's always been a little hairball pukey, but he's throwing up a lot more this month, both before and after the hosp.
Is there a G-I issue here?
Luna's belly is too full and too firm. At first I just thought she was getting fat, but something about her belly doesn't feel right.
Sable's limp is getting worse, and now she's hesitating to jump up on the chair. Something's wrong with her right shoulder.

Willow is, thankfully, looking healthy. He's talking to me a bit, about everything that's been going on. He's the most skittish, but he's also had changes before, so I guess he's figured out a way to cope.
Sable and Luna have a checkup on Monday.

Normally, I'm an optimistic, 'everything's gonna be fine' kind of girl. ~kimbermanifesthealth
PS: Luna's been showing this endearing to support to Roh -- never seen her do these before
In the second photo, she sat like that for 15", her paw resting on his ribs.

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[myhrtisbrkn]

MWM,

With all that upchucking, I'm worried about Rohan's kidneys...has he had a blood panel done lately?


HUgs to the furloves,
Dayna

[Mink&WillowsMom]

Bloods taken on 8/1/08 (the night this all started) were normal. I don't know if they did a full kidney panel, I'll ask.

[oliver's mama]

I love those pictures, you can tell that those cats are loved and spoilied. I hope Rohan is on the road to a speedy recovery.

[Mink&WillowsMom]

Hi everyone! I built Cat Alley, an enclosed area between house and shed, so the indoor kitties can go outside too. The garden area is 8x12, and I added a hole to the 12x12 shed so they can explore there too. I love this pic of Roh -- that happy high tail tells the story. This was his first discovery of the shed. ~Kim

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[LoveThem]

Great idea! Adorable picture and kitties!

[katzen11]

"I love this pic of Roh -- that happy high tail tells the story."


Eva

[Mink&WillowsMom]

Here's what the enclosure looks like. I still need to finesse the ramp (it's too steep and Willow slips), and install the kitty door in the window. Inside the shed, the back wall has exposed studs. So I took 5 four-foot shelves, and cut them in to 10 two-foot shelves, which are going to be mounted in step-fashion to make a 'kitty freeway' up the back wall. At the top of the wall is a little 'loft' area a foot deep along the length of the wall, so Luna will be able to satisfy her love of heights and survey her Queendom. The steps will actually be in a 'y' layout, so the kids can chase each other around the wall. There's a similar racing place in my house (cat tower > shelf > tall bookcase), so I'm certain they'll love the Chasing Wall. The soffits are open (though now securely screened with hogwire) so chipmunks and birds are in the shed frequently (at least until they learn not to).

I put off building this because I'm so broke right now and couldn't justify the expense. Finally, I got inspired by the last few dry days in the Pacific Northwest, and bought $100 worth of deer fencing to start. Then I realized I have rolls of hogwire, so I started with that. Returned the deer fencing. I had to buy latches, zip ties, screws, and shelf brackets, but with everything else already on hand, this enclosure cost me 28 bucks. I'm feeling damn handy, if I do say so. It took about 40 hours across six days, and I finished it the day before the rains came.

The lattice was already overhead, so I just zip-tied the hogwire to the 'ceiling'. It was quite the structural puzzle, really, investigating every possible exit point, including inside the gutters. I'm confident every hole larger than the hogwire is securely sealed. ~Kim PS: I LOVE zip-ties.....!

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[nickels]

Hi Kim,

What a WONDERFUL enclosure! I'm from the Pacific Northwest and it is such a wonderful place. Kitties need to be able to enjoy it.

Rohan is gorgeous. I agree with Eva. The high tail says it all! I hope Roh is feeling better. What a beautiful photo where Luna is touching Roh. Precious!

When you are able, we would love to see more pictures of your babies enjoying Cat Alley!

Michelle

[Mink&WillowsMom]

Good! Sometimes I feel like I include too many pictures. I don't want to be greedy with LS bandwidth. Here's a shot of Roh at the top of the Cat Freeway inside the shed. I'll still be able to hang stored items under the steps.

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[katzen11]

hi, Kimberly
i enjoy every single photo you are posting
so glad that your Roh is doing so well (and all your other pets)
and you, i hope so
your home must be the world-wide-very-best home for cats
sincerely
Eva

[LoveThem]

You are doing just fine picture-wise.

I see your cat freeway. It reminds me of my bookshelves in my den years ago. They went up to the ceiling too. My 3 cats were kittens at the time and the Little Girl would easily jump from one shelf to the other all the way to the top.

Then she didn't know how to get back down. guess who got a letter and had to rescue her..more than one time. The 2 boys didn't climb but she sure did. She would just stand on the top shelf looking down at me until I climbed up to get her. But she was only a kitten, apparently the mind hadn't developed enough. When she became an adult...she never climbed up high again. I guess that was easier than figuring out the way down.

Love your ideas and I'll bet so do your babies.

[nickels]

Please don't stop posting pictures. I enjoy every last one and signed up for email notifications. I love your ideas! So does Roh obviously. You are doing a superb job!

I saw an article many years ago about doing this around the inside of a living room. Boards covered with carpet around the perimeter of the ceiling with cat tree boxes in a few places.

Keep up the great work and keep on posting the pictures. We all enjoy them. Precious Roh

Michelle

[Mink&WillowsMom]

go to www.katwallks.com (that's two "L"s) and play the video. As I remodel my house, I'm going to make cat perches and high walkways a high priority as I create the design, e.g., tops of cupboards, accessible exposed beams, etc. Kim