The Scales Balance: Cammie's Turn

Tucker is improving, and Cammie is worsening. Fortunately, her condition will, I hope, get much better in the next few days.

Cammie has a urinary tract infection. More than a week ago, I noticed that someone had wet on the litter-mats I have laid down in front of the litter-boxes. I thought of Tucker, with his past of such troubles. But he had not done something akin to that in a very long time, so I actually thought that he, or perhaps Josie, had simply missed the box with their big bums.

Then, in the days following, I noticed more drops on the mats. A small pool was found on the bathroom floor, soon after I had seen Cammie wander in there. I wiped it up and saw a pink tinge to the liquid. The princess had been throwing up due, I think, to a hairball. I had been treating that with the delicious hairball remedy that ‘every cat loves!’ as the product claims, so I thought it might be the froth of blood-tinted bile.

Yesterday, I saw Cammie in the nylon tunnel, a very rare event. This morning, I witnessed her squatting in the middle of the sitting room, and I had no doubt as to what she was doing. I interrupted her but she left behind a few drops of urine. Later, she wet a little more in the tunnel. I made an appointment for her at the hospital, setting it for tomorrow afternoon.

At about mid-day, however, when I returned from running errands, Cammie was under the bed. That’s a sign that she is scared or feeling very poorly. I decided that her condition couldn’t wait, and I moved her appointment with a doctor twenty-four hours ahead.

I figured that if Cammie was urinating whenever she felt she must, there may not be much in her bladder for the veterinarian to analyse. Fortunately – in this instance only – she had wet again on the litter-mats. I vacuumed as much of this as I could into a syringe and took it with me. I doubted that it would give a good sample, as it was probably contaminated. As it turned out, however, the doctor was able to analyse the tiny amount found in Cammie’s bladder, and confirm her findings with the sample I had taken. Cammie had an infection.

So we came back home with Clavamox, one millilitre to be given to the princess twice a day. (A different millilitre each time; not the same one given twice. You probably gathered that.) I have already started the treatment. Cammie is not under the bed right now, though I suspect that is due to her relief at being home, rather than any fast-acting anti-biotic. Because of the small and possibly polluted sample of my cat’s urine, the doctor would like her to return for another analysis when the medicine is finished. In the meantime, I will try to get Cammie to eat soft-food and drink plenty of water, even if I must put it into her by syringe.

So the scales balance, one cat going up and one going down. But with medicine, attention and a healthy environment, perhaps we can cheat a little, and watch both sides of the scale rise.