Wash has been having a really rough time lately.
Some time ago, he developed a limp. It's not unusual, we assumed he'd probably landed funny (again). It improved a bit, and then got worse, and then got a lot worse very quickly. We took him to the Vet.
Our normal vet was on holiday. The Vet we saw was very thorough and very kind. She ruled some things out, she shared her fears, and we agreed that we'd crate him, so we could ensure he rested his leg, give him so metacam, and we'd review in a week.
It didn't get better, despite him being crated, so we took him in for an x-ray, to make sure that it wasn't anything sinister. It wasn't a cancerous growth, but there was evidence of arthritis, swe had to continue with Metacam.
He was not a happy bunny when we got him home, which is really unusual. He gets very very stressed being left at the Vets, and normally he's really happy to be home. He wasn't at all happy. We assumed that his arm was hurting from being proddded and poked, and that he was recovering from the sedation.
It didn't get better. As time went on, we realised that he most likely hadn't been to the toilet. (He had been outside, hiding under some bishes, dso he could have been, but we didn't think so. We crated him again, so we could could double check what was happening, and we dosed him with Kattylax. He did not go to the toilet, things got a bit worse, and we took him back to the vets.
Th Vet confirmed he was bunged up. They kept him in for the day so they could xray him, give him an enema to unblock him, and do some some other tests. They did a blood test, and all was clear. He came home, he was quiet, but a little better.
It took more than a week before he got back to more like his old self - getting up on the sofa, wanting to lie on our legs, that sort of thing. He seemed quite well, almost his old self. He even slept on our bed for a couple of nights.
And then on Saturday morning, he was sick after eating. This is not particularly unusual, although it hasn't happened for a long time. He was sick again after eating a bit later as well. We decided to stop the metacam, as this can cause sickness . On Sunday, we tried him on white fish, but he was sick every time he ate, even if he ate only a tiny anount. DH did an ear prick test, and the results were low (as he hadn't eaten) so we didn't give him any insulin.
I put the 'Orange TV' on for him, as he really loves lying by the fire. We wanted him to stay in the sitting room with us, so we cold keep an eye on him.
On Monday he didn't eat, and we syringed water (laced with electrolytes) in to him, just a teaspoon or so every few hours. He kept it down, mostly, but he went and had drink in the late evening and was sick again; then, in the middle of the night I woke up because I heard him being sick yet again.
So, this morning we took him to the Vet. He did a urine test immediately, to check for ketones (which would indicate an insulin issue). Nothing, fortunately.
We've had to leave him there so they can put him on a drip to rehydrte him, do a blood test, and check for other things (like an infection). he's an elderly cat, and the Vet doesn't keep them in if it's avoidable, so we're going back this evening to see what the status is, to see if he can come home.
Poor little man.
