In case anyone is interested in updates on Fuzz Therapy's feature, Princess, she went to the vet today. Last night I had a panic attack when I discovered her licking blood from her bottom. I immediately went into my freak-out mode while my doctor-to-be fiance took a look at her and tried to calm me down. After we cleaned her up we were able to see it was coming from what appeared to be a cut (which made me feel a little better since it meant it wasn't in her stool--I had also checked the litter box). My fiance thought it might be an abscess, but he's more accustomed to looking at people butts, not kitty butts--and especially not one so fluffy as Princess'.
After my shift at work today, I came home and took Princess to the vet. She gets very scared when she's out of her house (yes, her) and while I had her up on the table she crouched near me, growling (I warned everyone previously that she's been known to bite) as the vet inspected her behind. Which is understandable--she is a princess after all, and having someone peer up your ass is just a little undignified. But we've all been there...
The vet said her scent glands had filled with infection, and she burst the one last night. So they took her to the back, shaved her ass, and drained them both. I admit, in my relief that it wasn't more serious, I was giggling in that waiting room. I mean, the idea of my prissy little princess getting her ass shaved--this same little fluffy cat that for the last sixteen years has strutted about my house/dorm room/apartment with an air of pride that would suggest she's always been very much aware of her beauty and status as my cat--was just too hilarious.
I am very relieved though. I didn't sleep at all last night, fearing for my precious kitty. She does have an infection, and she'll have to go back next Monday to get them drained again, and I've got to force antibiotics and painkillers down her throat till then (and probably after). It's true that my bank account is dry until next payday, but this is a cat who has never had any serious health problems before now, and I certainly think she's worth that much to me. In truth, she's worth much more. Some people don't understand this desire to spend money on ensuring the health of my pet (I once took my dying rat to the vet in an effort to save his life; the vet bill far outweighed the actual cost of acquiring him, but I couldn't not try). But then, they're probably also the people that don't know the satisfaction of owning and loving a
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, while I was waiting for them to bring Princess back, I noticed a poster on the wall that read "Cats are angels with fur." I laughed and text messaged this to my mom, with the addition "Whose cat?" Princess is no angel, but I love her anyway.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Princess' pain in the ass
Posted by FilthyGrandeur at 7/06/2009 08:41:00 PM
Labels: princess
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
aww, poor kitty! Glad she's OK at least!
And I completely understand spending too much money on vet bills. I spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on my $15 guinea pigs each time they got sick.
Poor Princess! Poor you! Poor vet! Cat anal gland secretions are rank even when the cat is healthy; I hate to think what it smells like draining an abscess full of pus and rotting anal gland stank. ew ew ew
Good luck with those pills!
omg yes! the smell...she opened one up at home, and until i saw the blood I mistook it for diarrhea. i gagged on the smell and thought i would throw up. but yeah, hopefully the antibiotics will clear it up. i requested liquid-form--i'm not that stupid, ha. but even getting the damn dropper in her mouth is a pain in the ass. i have to sit on her like i do when i groom her. it's loads of fun.
Oh my bf and I had great success with giving our precious struvite-beleaguered cat antibiotics in pill form. He sat on Kaktus (yes, that's the cat's name) opened his mouth and I poked the pill down his throat far enough so he couldn't regurgitate it back up. It was actually fairly easy and expedient once we'd gotten the hang of it. Of course there were two of us against only one cat. And Kaktus hated me for the full two weeks and refused to sleep in my bed while he was on meds.
But egads, the first three days when he had a catheter in and was dripping urine and blood everywhere he went - what a mess. And he did sleep in the bed the first night, when he was in pain and needed comfort. Ew. Everything was laundered the next morning, but I just couldn't deny him the comfort of his usual safety-zone (ie. next to my pillow)
He wasn't allowed to wash himself - because of cat-tongue-bacteria + catheter = really bad infection. We allowed him to wash his legs and such while we just held a hand over the catheter. He was so soiled and dirty it was really ew. It's 4 weeks ago now. And he's doing okay by now. The fur on hie legs is also growing back, where they shaved him to get IVs in. And it cost me two months' rent. Ouch. I think I've spent about the equivalent of a 1000 dollars on that cat within a month. But he's my precious furball of everlasting midnight purrs, and I'd probably do anything for him. DX
Animals lovers. Aren't we just prime suckers :P
Post a Comment