A very fretful-making evening

[annathepiper]

On the one hand, my kitty's apparently having escalating problems. She's started pulling the stunt she did not long after we got her, when she had stones in her bladder and had to have surgery--she's been urinating all over the house, and it's got blood in it, and this really concerns me. It may be a recurrence of the previous problem, or--and this is equally likely as far as I know--the thyroid meds I've got her on may be messing with her kidneys. I really need to talk to the vet, and called twice today to try to get her to call me, but so far she hasn't called back. If she doesn't call me tonight I'm going to have to call back tomorrow morning and leave a more urgent message.

And I came home tonight to find a new spot on the carpet, which had apparently been there long enough to stain, along with quite a bit of Polly's stern communique on one of the leather sandals nearby. Does anybody know how to clean a leather sandal? Should I bother? Or should I just air it out?

Also, the power supply on my laptop is acting like the connector has a short in it. It's starting to do that thing where I have to wiggle the cord around to make it stop flashing the battery icon up onto my systray. Meh. This means I'm going to have to see about buying a new power supply, 'cause, well, I need a computer and stuff.

On the other hand, boxer_ferret has posted a whole new slew of Russell Crowe pics over on russellcrowefan, and several of these pics have The Doyle in them. And if there's anything that can bring a smile to my face, it's pictures of Mr. Crowe and Mr. Doyle making music together.

Saturday miles: 0.1
Sunday miles: 2.4
Monday miles: 3.9
Miles out of Hobbiton: 1416.95
Miles out of Rauros Falls: 107.95
Miles to Isengard: 376.05

Comments

[kohaku1977.livejournal.com]

Maybe this will coax another smile out of you:

Click for bigger!

(http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0529200503lw0.jpg) (http://img208.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0529200502kq0.jpg)


♥

[annathepiper]

Awww! Thank you very much for the pretties! <3

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

Best cleaner for cat pee I've found is water. Plain old water.

[annathepiper]

Hrmm. Okay! I'll try to give it a good scrub at least. And then let it dry out. Thanks!

[boxer-ferret.livejournal.com]

What thyroid med is you kitty on? Heidi's on Methimazole for her hyper-thyroid.

If you're having problems with strong odors from the cat pee, as I went through with Heidi peeing behind the couch for quite some time before we really noticed the stink, and by then, it was really set in. I found this product (http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?PGGUID=d8995e7e-7dd5-48ac-82c4-917524640447) to work very well.

[annathepiper]

Methimazole is the stuff, yeah. And thanks for the link! We've got some decent de-stinkifying stuff on hand, but tonight I had to break out the deep-carpet-cleaning device we've got since the area she hit had gone several hours without being cleaned up, and it had started to stain. -.-

And the odor's not worrying me nearly so much as the noticeable amount of blood in the urine. I mean, it's dark pink. :( The vet's been telling me that maybe regulating her thyroid is starting to interfere with her kidneys.

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

Please take the kitty in to see the vet, because that's what the vet will say when you talk to her. Frequent indoor urination with blood in it means she's in discomfort - it could be a recurrence of the stones, or it could be just a painful dose of cystitis, but either way the cat would much appreciate being given something to reduce the inflammation in her bladder! Just the vet feeling the bladder may be all it takes to tell the difference between the two, or small stones may be obvious in a urine sample, or it may need xrays to say for sure.

It's really unlikely the blood is anything to do with her kidneys - it's theoretically possible, but I've never seen it in 10 years.

[annathepiper]

Getting her to the vet is exactly why I'm trying to get a phone consult with that vet, yeah. :/ I called in twice today trying to get the vet to call me back, and she didn't. I'm going to call first thing tomorrow morning and leave a much more urgent message to see if I can schedule a time to bring the cat in. (I can't just show up with the cat, not when I have to juggle that against my work schedule--and right now since Dara is taking classes and can't drive anyway, she can't take the cat in for me.)

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

Now I'm just puzzled. Do you have to talk to the vet, can't the receptionist or nurse book you a consult with the vet? Some things do seem to work differently in the US, but that's the case at the vet I use here.

[annathepiper]

Well, we'd been talking by phone when she was showing lesser symptoms before, and she was having me adjust Polly's thyroid meds. There's the possibility that putting her on the higher thyroid dosage may be causing this--'cause this is really recent behavior and that's the major change that has been made in Polly's kitty life lately. I want to ask her whether she wants me to go ahead and bring the cat in or try adjusting her meds or something first. (Me, I'm inclined to go ahead and bring her on in, but I want to check with the vet first, just to be sure.)

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

There's the possibility that putting her on the higher thyroid dosage may be causing this

The only way methimazole is going to cause blood in the urine is if it's triggered a rare clotting disorder, in which she case she really needs to be seen, like now. But that wouldn't give frequent urination as a symptom.

[annathepiper]

*nods* Well, the cat's been pretty quiet tonight and not acting like she's in pain or distress (she's curled up snoozing on the couch right now). And yeah, I'll be calling in first thing tomorrow morning to see what can get done. I've already warned my lead at work that I've got cat issues going on.

[firni.livejournal.com]

There's a 24/7 emergency clinic up in Lynnwood, Veterinary Specialty Center. 425-697-6106 or 800-VSC-5800 if you find you can't wait until tomorrow.

[annathepiper]

Thanks! I think she'll be okay until then, but thanks.

[firni.livejournal.com]

We also have one here in SnoHOmish, but I figure that's an even longer drive... although, if you ever get LARGE FARM ANIMALS that need to be seen in the middle of the night, Pilchuck Vet Hospital is the place to call!

llama llama llama

[annathepiper]

*laughs!* I'll keep that in mind next time I have a llama. ;)

[peregrine-ek.livejournal.com]

Aw, I'm sorry about your kitty. I hope she is going to be OK.

{{ Hugs }}

[annathepiper]

*hugs!* Thanks. They gave me an antibiotic to give to her tonight, so hopefully that'll help!

[rosepurr.livejournal.com]

Poor kitty. :(

[annathepiper]

Yeah. Hopefully she'll accept the taste of more meds in her food!

(Also, KITTIES IN A CAN! Icon love!)

[rosepurr.livejournal.com]

Thanks. My sister, spykeetom took the pic down at the farm one day. :)

Keep us updated, please.

[annathepiper]

You're very welcome! And I will!

get well kitty

[(Anonymous)]

HI sis, I'm feeling your kitty woes. We had to put the great CALVIN to sleep yesterday. The pain and loss hasn't really hit yet. It's hard to imagion that after 14+ years that stalker kitty will no longer attack a hidden hand or warm our feet or sit in my lap (all daily routines of course). Calvin stopped eating and drinking a week ago. By yesterday, jaundice and swelling of the limbs were clearly visible. His skin was color was red over half of his body and there were a couple of lumps noticible in the stomach area. All of this was a bit of a surprise as we really weren't expecting it. About six weeks back we brought a new kitten home, you guessed it - Hobbes. Calvin and Hobbes were always playing together. It is worth noting that Hobbes is the only other cat that Calvin seemed comfortable with in the house. As such, Hobbes quickly fit into the family. It was so sad, yesterday after DeeDee came home from the Vet, Hobbes was clearly searching for Calvin inspecting every area of the whole house. Calvin had also had several accidents in the both Amanda and Charlies' room that left stains.
Anywho, that's a partial update from the highlandzoo.
Take care.
Marcus

Re: get well kitty

[annathepiper]

Marc! *hugs a bunch* So sorry to hear about Calvin, but I am glad you've gotten a Hobbes kitty as well, and awwww that he missed Calvin so much. Sniffle.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Fingers crossed for your kitty.

[annathepiper]

Thank you! Looks like an infection of some kind going on. They gave me an antibiotic to give to her today.

[waterowl.livejournal.com]

Hugs! I hope she's okay!

[annathepiper]

Looks like we're dealing with a potential bladder or kidney infection. I'm about to post more. Thanks! I saw your post about kitty thyroid adventures, too, so I'm all about the sympathy!