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[kb2zct]

Yesterday was fun!

Because of the impending bad weather, and my very long drive, I decided to come home a day early, with the intention of missing the rain and snow (which I did by about an hour or so).

About two miles from home, I get a text from the pet sitter.  Vanya is heading in for a planned / semi urgent vet visit.  She has been having some ongoing bowel issues (as in very rock hard stools outside of the box) and has now had a few bladder issues as well.  The plan was for her to be taken in while I was away, but everything was booked,  and we really were not at an emergency level.  M, who was pet sitting, was making sure "all the pipes were flowing", as it were.

So, the text message tells me that an appointment had opened up at 3:30, and that M was going to drive to my place to pick her up and bring her in for testing.  In addition to the normal urinalysis testing, we planned to do a complete blood panel, mostly because we have never done one on her in the 5 1/2 years I have had her.

So, I rush home, open the door, and let Gracie out for, spray a spot where Pippin went (out of the box, you get my sniff), and pack up Vanya for the vet visit.  I did not have time to empty anything out of my Escape, so I simply put Vanya and her carrier into the other car and drove in.

So, the news is mostly good.  Vanya continues to loose weight.  She is down another 1/2 lb from the last visit a few months back, and is well on the way to her ideal weight of 12 lbs (down from 16+). She was at 13lb 8 oz.  The blood work was all normal, and there was no signs of infection in the urine.  She does have a case of gingivitis, and we're going to see what can be done about that.

So, it appears that the out of the box problem is behavioral - which would NOT be a good thing.

She had to stay overnight at the vet for all of the tests, and I picked her up this morning.

Mark

PS:  I think I introduced a young cat to her new family.  There was a "teenage" gray cat with a stumpy tail in a carrier, and she was very friendly.  A mother and her teenage daughter came in looking for a kitten to adopt, so I introduced them to the girl in the cage.  It was love at first site, and they were taking pictures to show "dad" while discussing the proposed spay date (Friday).

PPS:  Miss Vanya was the very example of a well behaved cat at the vet's office.  Everyone made it a point of comparing her behavior to Pippin (who, truth be told, hisses at everyone at the vet's office, but is the first cat to greet visitors at my house).

[Timambmin]

Good to hear all went well for the vet trip & Vanya healthy

Hope the adoption goes ahead

[kb2zct]

Dr Kate called last night with the results of Vanya's testing:  All the blood work was normal, and the urine tested fine:  no crystals, blood cells or signs of infection.  So, the bad news is that the out of box accidents looks to be behavioral.

After some discussion, we decided that it would be best to go ahead and change out all of my litter boxes (I have 10 in the house right now).  That will cost a bit of money, so I think I will have to do that in stages.  I may try to get a few of the new stainless steel boxes - as these should last a long time and be easier to clean. 

Vanya also has gingivitis, so we're going to treat it with a two pronged approach - using both an antiboitic for a week or so and putting her on duralactin as an anti inflammatory.  She also wants me to see if I can get Pippin to take the duralactin, too (however, that will be a big battle).

I'll stop off at the vet's this afternoon and pick up the antibiotic.  The duralactin I will order on-line.  When I stop in, I'll check and see if the adoption went through.

Mark

[animalangel1]

Stainless steel litter boxes????? They exist????    Hope the change in boxes and stuff will help...

[kb2zct]

Well, we're down to two things for Pippin, changing boxes and changing litter. 

I'll go and try to swap out a few boxes today, and see if any of the stainless steel are available (they were a bit pricey and had low sides).  I'll also see if trying a different litter will work.  I've been using a very high quality litter (cat attract without the "attract herbs" in it). 

After I head home from work today, I'll spend some time and $$$ at Petsmart!

Mark

[Timambmin]

Did you get your new litter trays?  They only have plastic ones where we are, least that's all I have ever seen.  I like the covered trays :)

Did you Change your litter?

[galensgranny]

... Vanya is heading in for a planned / semi urgent vet visit.  She has been having some ongoing bowel issues (as in very rock hard stools outside of the box) and has now had a few bladder issues as well.  The plan was for her to be taken in while I was away, but everything was booked,  and we really were not at an emergency level.  ...


... So, the news is mostly good.  Vanya continues to loose weight.  She is down another 1/2 lb from the last visit a few months back, and is well on the way to her ideal weight of 12 lbs (down from 16+). She was at 13lb 8 oz.  The blood work was all normal, and there was no signs of infection in the urine.  She does have a case of gingivitis, and we're going to see what can be done about that.

So, it appears that the out of the box problem is behavioral - which would NOT be a good thing.

Having very hard stools is uncomfortable and probably painful.  Therefore, it is not a "behavioral" issue as of the type when a cat got scared using the box, or hated the new scented litter, etc.  It is sort of behavioral in that Vanya is probably "blaming" the litter box for the painful, hard stools, but until the stools soften up, even with a new litter box, she likely would blame that new box too.

I hope the stool problem gets resolved soon.

My sister's cat had had small, hard stools for the longest time and got to where he only passed them maybe 2x a week.  He eventually had surgery.  It turned out part of his intestine (or colon?) wasn't working correctly resulting in the constant constipation all those years.

I don't think you need to replace every litter box, maybe just some of them.

[kb2zct]

I picked up three new stainless steel litter boxes.  Unfortunitally, I also picked up the flu, so I have not had time or energy to set them up.

Mark

[galensgranny]

I hope you get better soon!

[animalangel1]

Yes, get better soon!!!!