Taking Willy to the vet

...was much harder than I thought it would be!

I fed Willy an early dinner, and had already planned to catch him and take him to the vet because I've noticed him straining to defecate a few days ago, and his anus and scrotum looked very swollen. I thought he was constipating and had already bought Lactulose. LUCKILY, I hadn't started him on it yet (read on and you'll know why).

So Willy was eating his dinner happily and I really truly hated myself for doing this, but I had to. When he was three-quarter way through, I went back inside the house and brought the carrier out. I propped up the carrier against a nearby tree trunk so that the moment I caught him, I can plonk him into the carrier (vertically), snap the door shut. Shouldn't be so hard, I thought.

So having propped up my carrier against the tree trunk, I went over to Willy and spoke soothingly to him.

I caught him gently, carried him to the carrier swiftly (but not in a rough way) and put him inside. But the moment he knew what I was doing, he struggled and let me tell you, folks, I thought Willy was a weakling....I stand corrected after today. I guess the more scared you are, the more adrenaline your body will pump and it will make you a instant "supercat" with super strength. Willy struggled, scratched me (and the wound was quite deep, I bled immediately), but I also used everything I've got and managed to push him into the carrier and snap the door shut.

Phew!

Willy struggled violently inside the carrier (I hadn't expected this at all, but I guess he was so too scared). The carrier bounced up and down and I had to hold it down. I thought the carrier was going to break apart. Luckily I had my phone with me, so I held the carrier down with one hand and at the same time, held onto the door, and called home with the other hand on the phone. I told my husband to bring a towel out (yes, silly me forgot the towel!).

Poor Willy struggled and stuck his front paws out, asking for help.

With the towel, we covered the carrier, and slowly half-pushed the carrier back to the house from across the road. When we lifted the carrier, Willy struggled, so we had to almost push the carrier back.

We quickly put the carrier straight into the car and I drove Willy to the vet's. I had earlier made an appointment already.

In the car, it smelled quite terrible and I had to wind the windows down. I think he must have defecated in the carrier. I hope that's the reason and not something else.

Willy weighed only 3.15kg.

Realising Willy appeared really scared, the vet let him come out by himself.

Examining his behind, the vet said it looked like Willy had been having pretty bad diarrhoea (luckily, I hadn't started on the Lactulose! See the danger of self-diagnosis when we aren't professionals?). His anus was already protruding out and if I hadn't brought him in to be treated, he would have had rectal prolapse. His scrotum is also "burnt" due to the diarrhoea and it is all red, raw and swollen. Poor Willy.

The vet inserted a thermometer into his rectum and luckily, Willy's temperature was normal.

The diarrhoea could have been caused by anything from having consumed something dirty (like contaminated water) to maybe even infected with the corona virus which could lead to FIP (yikes!!). But Willy has no fever, so that's a good sign. And his appetite has been good throughout - another good sign.

The last good sign is that there was a tiny bit of faeces in the carrier and it looked very well-formed. This may mean that he is already one the way to recovery as far as the diarrhoea is concerned. However, he still needs the antibiotics for the diarrhoea (just in case) and to heal the "burnt" scrotum and anus.

You can see how bad it is.

Two vets cleaned him up (he did not struggle). The scrotum looked very red and swollen.

The vet applied Wound Protector on it (it's made with lemongrass), it's a soothing gel that helps with healing and does not smart at all. Even if Willy licks it, it's okay because it is non-toxic.

Willy has to go on two types of antibiotics, ie. Clavomox and Metronidazole. Taken together, the diarrhoea should heal faster. Clavomox would address the "burnt" skin. He has to go on ID or boiled chicken and since I do not have any chicken at home, I opted for two cans of ID.

The vet gave the first dose of antibiotics and we both know it isn't going to be easy for me to continue giving the medicine since Willy is so scared. Also, upon examining his mouth, the vet noticed that many of his incisors are gone or chipped. He also has some gingivitis. Based on the missing incisors, Willy could actually be an elderly cat (about 7-8 years old), but looking at the tartar (which isn't so bad), it looked more like he had lost his teeth (and got some chipped off) due to fights (Willy fighting??) and he could still be quite young though the vet cannot estimate his age, what with most of his incisors all gone and the chipped teeth.

The vet said Willy is pink and healthy. I had earlier thought Willy was very weak, but the vet said no. So, once he recovers from the diarrhoea and his scrotum heals completely (expected in 2-3 weeks), we can get him neutered.

This is the Lemongrass Wound Protector. Great stuff! It is a colourless soothing gel.

I brought Willy home, soothed by the Platters in the car (he did not struggle on the trip home) and prepared the cage. Oh, I mean, Jojo's Healing Haven.

In you go now, Willy.

But he hung onto the carrier and refused to be "dropped" into the cage.

Slowly does it...that's a good boy, Willy.

I gave him a bowl of fresh water and just one spoonful of ID. He sniffed at it, but wasn't interested in the food.

He is resting in the litter box and hasn't eaten the spoonful of ID yet.

Tomorrow, the acid test is to check his stools. If there is no more diarrhoea, I will be so relieved. Then, we can concentrate on letting his burnt skin heal and giving him his medicines. The vet only gave for 5 days because she thinks it would be enough.

Willy's treatment is fully sponsored by Tabs & Associates!