Our little cat Tiger had to have emergency surgery this week. I wrote about how we found him as a kitten beside our house almost five years ago and took him in. About a week ago we noticed he was acting strange. He was hiding and not eating much. Then I noticed his litter box did not have the usual clumps that would indicate he peed. Finally after about four days and watching him struggle in the litter box, on Monday we got him to a veterinarian. They said his urethra was blocked from crystals and grit coming from his bladder. Apparently this is a not an unusual problem for male cats, especially if they have been neutered.
The vet put a catheter in to relieve the bladder. Any longer he might have died from kidney failure. They cleaned the urethra and assessed to see him urinate. The ultrasound showed a lot of grit still in his bladder. Within a day his urethra was blocked again, and the only alternative was surgery. He was then transported to an animal hospital where this would be done. (Don’t ask what this all cost.)
I’m not exactly sure what the surgery specifically did but as I understand it they opened up his urethra and reconstructed it so it’s wider. Sounds painful! My friend and I joked he was getting a sex change. ;) No, that’s mean.
Today we got him back home. He has been so affectionate. He’s purring and constantly rubbing up against us. He is so happy to be home. I’m sure he didn’t know what was happening nor where he was. Here are some pictures. He has to wear a cone so he doesn’t disturb the area of concern.
He peed right away as soon as he got home. He must have been holding it in from the one hour ride back from the hospital.
He hasn't gotten used to the cone. He's been bumping up against everything with it. He will have to wear it for three weeks.
He’s
definitely lost a little weight but he’s been eating and he even took his pain
med. We’re happy to have him home.
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