Sick Kitty

Yesterday I put down some food in the middle of the afternoon and Hyram didn't run to eat it. It sat there all night too. He didn't go into the bathroom where I keep his water either. He seemed slow and lethargic. His usual perches, up high on a table or couch arm, weren't attractive. So this morning I called the vet. Yes, it sounded serious enough for me to bring him in. Could I make it there by 3 PM? Absolutely!

So at 2:30 I put Hyram into his carry case and hauled him over to his vet for a look see. Hyram purred in the case on the way over at the same time as he made little mewing sounds that told me he was not happy to be going anywhere. Once we got him into the examination room he refused to come out of his carry case. The vet assistant tilted it 90 degrees from the table and he clung to the inside bracing his feet against the sides of the crate. So we put him back down on the table and took the crate apart. Then we left him alone for a bit in the hope that he would calm down. After a few minutes the assistant came back and we moved him to a bigger room which seemed to help. They still had to take him out of the crate with a towel wrapped around him. He fussed loudly about this and tried to get away during his exam.

The exam consisted of the vet checking him over for abscesses of which, thankfully, there were none. He also took his temperature which was 105. While that isn't horribly high it is a definite fever and solid signs that something was going on. Dr. Ben told me that what he thought was going on was a viral infection which we would want to run its course. We could do blood work to see if any organs were failing but he didn't think that this was necessary because Hyram didn't seem very dehydrated and had only been refusing food for 24 hours. If I wanted to have this done I could have them draw blood but we might want to wait and see if a shot to reduce the infection and some antibiotics didn't clear things up. Considering that it took two people to hold Hyram down just to examine him I elected to do the wait and see.

The treatment plan we came up with and implemented went like this: 1) he got a shot to bring down the fever; 2) he got an antibiotic shot to get him started on recovery; 3) I got a bottle of 14 capsules to give him over the next few days; and 4) if he doesn't seem to improve, especially eating, by tomorrow I'm to bring him back in for blood work.

Hyram was so glad to get back in his case and into the car that he purred without mews the whole way home. The trip to the vet cost $145 which isn't too bad considering that I got some Frontline at the same time and also some pill pockets to push the capsule into so that he can take the medicine without me trying to force pills down his throat.

In addition to all of that I made an appointment for stray porch kitty to go in and see Dr. Ben to get checked over for infectious diseases, acquire shots, and get neutered thus becoming a safe playmate for Hyram. The two of them actually get along pretty well, having spent much quality time nose to nose through the screen door. The other day I had stray porch kitty in for a short show and tell to a friend. Neither of them hissed and there was much exploring and following around between them. So, I think this increased cat family will work. The stray porch kitty's name will be Hooboo. Don't ask me where I got that. It just seemed right. Maybe it is a cross between "Who are you?" and the term hobo.

The trip to the vet and back home seems to have done Hyram worlds of good. As soon as we got in and I opened his crate he took himself out and then over to the kitchen for some comfort food. Yay! He is eating already. And he accepted a pill pocket treat which tells me that he won't be adverse to them when I start using them tomorrow morning to feed him the rest of his antibiotics. And I am one very relieved owner. Thank God!