Tuesday, June 7, 2016

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. 

16 comments:

  1. Poor Cammie and poor you. I've had cats with urinary infections and they are troubling for both the cat and the owner. However, I am glad that Cammie is on treatment. Hopefully she will soon be well. Along with the antibiotic, did the vet put Cammie on a medication to relax her bladder? You also may want to ask the vet about the prescription diets that are only available from your vet that prevent the formation of urinary stones that can sometimes cause a blockage, (This can happen more in male cats than in female.) Since some of my cats have had urinary infections in the past, (Alex even blocked), my vet has placed three of them on Hill's C/d. (There are others made by different manufactures.) The cats seem to like it, and even the remaining three cats that don't need the C/d enjoy eating it. Please keep us posted on Cammie's progress!

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    1. I've tried c/d diets before and they went over like most veterinary-recommended food does in this household, unfortunately. I don't know if you've been reading the blog long enough to know that Tucker was severely blocked a few years ago, and had to have a perineal urethrostomy. No one else has had even an infection until now.

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    2. I didn't know that Tucker needed a urethrostomy years ago. You've certainly been down the UTI road before. We'll keep fingers and paws crossed for Cammie's rapid recovery!

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  2. Oh, poor girl! All my best wishes that this clears up very soon.

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  3. Poor Cammie. Healing purrs from the boys to her. I've had immense success with UTI-Free for Derry, knock on wood. I still get it from PetAlive.com, but it might be available via Amazon.ca now. I've been giving it to Derry for 4 - 5 years now, twice daily in his canned food. There might be other options for her too, if this ends up being a regular occurrence.

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    1. I may try that with Cammie, but as you may know, she is very reluctant to like anything new, and I've just gotten her interested in Merrick. Any new change will have to be a very slow transition, if she allows it at all.

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  4. OH Cammie I hope you feel better very quickly.

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  5. poor Cammie (it never ends does it?)

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  6. cammie....we iz sorree....we iz glad yur dad caught thiz tho when him did.....pleeze stay a way frum fish; it makes a bad situationz werse.....we send St Francis' blessings two ewe that yur much improved by de time ewe reed thiz, ya ree cover quik lee, & ya stay on de road oh health ♥♥♥

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  7. Poor Cammie! I hope the Clavamox kicks in quickly and she is soon feeling much better.

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  8. Our poor , dear Cammie. I hope the Clavamox l helps her. If it is indeed an infection we must ask ourselves why she might have gotten the infection. Is there a box bully who I prevents her from voiding, is there some obstructive process going on or hydration issues. If you don't see an improvement in a couple of days, I'd let the vet know. There might be something else going on .
    Would she tolerate you adding a few cc's of spring water to her food? We know you are an old pro with hydration issues so we'll not worry about that. Please cuddle her and soother her if you can. She might be frightened by what is happening to her. Love to you all. Hang in there, calm days will return. Too bad you're not having a relaxing vacation. But if something is wrong with one of the cats, being able to be home with them to care for them is a gift beyond measure.

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    1. Cammie isn't being prevented from using the litter-box; I can tell when she is there because of her peculiar scratching. I tried giving her some water by syringe but it came back up, as has the small amount of food she ate this evening. As for my holidays, I'd rather be here taking care of the beasts than anywhere else.

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  9. Poor little girl. Glad you got Cammie's issues quickly, I'm sure the meds will clear up the infection, but it's still a stressful time for both of you.

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  10. How are the tolerating the heat this week? My monster has been noticeably more sluggish. I assume no A/C?

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