Pole goes to the vet's

This morning as I was cleaning the pantry and changing the cat-litter in all the trays, I noticed Pole trying to urinate but only managed a drop (or none). She kept doing this a total of 5 times in half an hour.

Not being able to urinate is very serious, especially if the bladder is full, and I have never been able to feel the bladder, so I called my vet for an appointment. In fact, it is almost an emergency if the bladder is full. Unfortunately, my vet is full today and could not take in anymore cases.

So, I drove Pole down to PJ to another vet.

The traffic wasn't particularly kind, but we got there and luckily, the crowd at the clinic had not come in yet.

The vet in attendance examined Pole immediately when he heard it was a urinary problem. He was very concerned that the bladder might already be full. Luckily, it wasn't. Phew...that was such a relief.

There are a few possibilities for this syndrome. The first is, an infection which causes inflammation of the bladder. This inflammation presses on the nerves and makes Pole "think" she needs to urinate. Hence, she keeps trying to do it, but actually the bladder isn't full yet. This sounds very plausible based on the symptoms. Next, there might be crystals or stones in the urine. For this, a sample of urine is needed. The vet tried to express some urine but couldn't get any. Pole was very fidgety (as usual) so sticking a needle in to get some urine is totally out of the question. The vet said Pole would probably jump, and he is right. She IS very jumpy and defensive. If it is neither of these reasons, then a scan and X-Ray may be necessary to see what is wrong.

Sometimes stress could trigger this sort of condition as well - a new cat, new furniture or any form of change in the environment.

For now, Pole has been given an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory injection, and I would have to continue pilling her for one week (an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory). Oh wow....Pole and Cleo (mother-and-daughter) are my hardest to manage cats in that they are both extremely defensive.

I should also try to obtain a sample of her urine to check for crystals and stones. This is going to be quite hard, but let's see if we get lucky. The urine sample will only last for 4 hours, so if I get it, it would have been to rushed to the vet's.

I hope it is just an inflammation due to infection and the antibiotics and anti-inflammatory would make her well again.

 Pole back home.

 Now let's see...where did Pole go, and why? We want to know.

 

 Good to see her relaxing.

It would take a few hours for the medication to do its work, then it's 8 days of pilling. Poor me. Just when I thought the Cow Saga is over, now begins the Pole Saga.

But whatever it is, and whatever it takes, I hope Pole gets well soon. Just imagine how uncomfortable it is if we cannot urinate (whether it is a blockage or inflammation due to the pressing on the nerves) and worse, if we cannot explain what our pain is. That is why I rushed her to the vet's this morning and did not delay.

By the way, during the one week when Cow was "ill" with his paw problem, the spraying totally stopped, so we now know Cow is the culprit for all the spraying, not Bunny. But now that he is well, the spraying has re-started again.

Sometimes when you think about it, yes, spraying is annoying and gives you a lot of work, but between spraying and not being able to to urinate, I would prefer the former anytime!