When
I have time off, two things usually happen: a cat becomes ill and I get a new
cat. Renn thought he would keep the former tradition going.
After
Josie’s trouble last week, Renn began exhibiting signs of unusual behaviour. He
stopped eating and drinking, became lethargic and lie much of the time facing
the back of a chair or couch. He also vomited several times and had liquidy
stools. My big boy showed some improvement over the weekend, but by Monday, I
realised that he was not getting better. I took him to the veterinary hospital
that day.
Though
the results for his blood and urine tests have yet to be reported, the doctor
thinks Renn was experiencing an intestinal infection, a bug disturbing his digestion.
Some Cerenia was given to settle his stomach, probiotic to add to his food, and
some medicine to counter-act the fluidity of his stools.
So
far, Renn appears to be responding well to the medicine. He has eaten – rather a
decent amount, actually - and drunk water. His manner is much more like his old
self. I gave him one dose of the drug meant to solidify his waste: it did not
go down well. Injected in liquid form, it was spat out, thrown off by shakes of
the head and burbled out in bubbles. I suspect very little of it saw the inside
of Renn’s intestines. Worse, after eating well upon his return from the
hospital (due, likely, to hunger and a newly calmed stomach), the horrible
medicine put him off his food for the rest of the day. He fortunately tucked
into breakfast this morning. I won’t be giving him the rest of that medicine
unless absolutely necessary.
Bodily
speaking, things have been strange in the Cosy Apartment. Josie had her problem
– and now will have nothing to do with any variety of soft-food, existing only
on Z/D hard-food. Then Renn had his - and is eating more soft-food than he has
in a very long time. And on Sunday, I had terrible stomach cramps which had me
lying down most of the morning, even though horizontality did not really bring
more relief than verticality. The pains departed as abruptly as they arrived. I
could not think of anything that I had eaten that I had not already sampled
without harm – though a bad egg may have been next to a good one, and a tainted
piece of chicken cooked with a beneficial portion.
In
any case, I am recovered, Renn is doing well (paws crossed) and Josie, except
for the self-imposition of a limited diet, is back to her old ways. It’s when
things start returning to normal that all changes. I will write about that
tomorrow…
I hope that whatever ails all of you soon passes.
ReplyDeleteStrange is'nt it..one of the worst
ReplyDeletethings that can trouble most animals,
even humans is tummy trouble..! :(.
It seems to affect the whole body,
with aches and pains, though my
digestion is still o.k. and l can
digest most things even concrete..! :).
Though the problem of arthritis in my
neck, makes up for it..!
And..It looks as though Renn and Josie
are seeing things 'end to end' on the
bed..Bless!xx
You're right, Willie, those stomach problems make everything miserable, though I can't say much less about arthritis, especially in the neck. That must wear on one after a while.
DeleteOh gosh! Never a dull moment there. From the final sentence of your post I suspect that you have a new addition, John!
ReplyDeletePoor Renn, poor Josie and poor you! This was not a very auspicious start to your vacation. I certainly hope that everyone feels better soon, and that you'll have an enjoyable time off!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though all three of you have been visited by a virus. Once overseas, I had a similar thing happen regarding my stomach area and pain that was quite intense. Mine stayed with me however. I finally got to a Dr. who was Egyptian as it turned out, and he spoke at length to me about symptoms and so on. He prescribed bella donna, believe it or not. ( Pill form...not a deadly trick ring on his finger that had a method to secretly inject poison to the unsuspecting). It worked quickly and well. Mine was an intestinal something or other...been too long for me to recall the name but oh my...it was painful.
ReplyDeleteHa! I was thinking the same thing when I read 'bella donna': a secret stash for eliminating enemies kept by the villain in a Sax Rohmer story or something. Whatever the antidote, those stomach ailments tend to stay a while.
DeleteYikes. I hope the rest of your vacation goes much more smoothly.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope the all better finds y'all soon.
ReplyDeleteso much for a great start to rest and relaxation....sorry the first few have been less then pleasant and I hope that it's all behind everyone, so you can enjoy the remaining days away from work
ReplyDeleteglad to hear; knock wood, that for the most part, cats and dad are on the mend ☺☺♥♥
may I say....da tabbies say.....we toll ya sew bout de egg N bass terd chckn :) ☺☺♥♥
True about the Tabbies' warning, but, as the old cartoon says, "Some parts of the bad egg were quite good..."
DeleteJust what kind of Idlyyland are you living in? Stop the sickness!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that you and Renn had issues. And you aren't taking meds
and poor Renn has them thrust down his throat. Hope the rest of the
2 weeks goes much smoother for all.
I think we must've picked up the bugs before we boarded the train...
DeleteOh good grief!
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping all of this turmoil is now in the past.
Maybe watching more film noirs will help everyone! We watched, "The Last of Sheila", which was made in 1973, but billed as a 'neo noir' on Wikipedia.
I saw "The Last of Sheila" years ago and, though I liked it - it was a good mystery - it was hampered, I think, by a lack of likeable characters, despite the excellent cast.
DeleteTrue. It was an interesting story, but all the characters were so off-putting, it made it one of those movies I was glad to see once, but I have no desire to see it twice.
DeleteI'm not sure how I manage to miss so many posts but I do. I'm here now and happy to hear that you've recovered and Renn is on his way to health. Now off to read....the rest of the story!
ReplyDelete