Kitty Scare

We had a real scare on Friday when Garfield (our 4 year old cat) started acting odd and looked to be in pain. He was bloated and far from being the happy go lucky cat we've come to love. He even growled and hissed at me, which he had never done, when I tried to check him over. I called Quailwood and Dr. Branch agreed to meet us at 8:45 PM. Before he arrived though, Dr. King opened the door at Quailwood and checked Garf over. Turns out he had a urinary blockage that we caught very early on. The doctors were able to clear up the problem but they said he'd have to stay at Quailwood for monitoring until Sunday evening. It was really hard because he'd never been away from home before.

It was really scary for us because Vic and I had just been talking about how lucky we have been over the years that none of our feline and canine family have not come up with any serious medical issues. Not 3 hours later, we noticed Garf's problem.

I'm happy to report that he is doing just great. He's on meds (about the size of horse pills) for a while to help with his problems, but he doesn't fight you when they are given, unlike most pets. It's only been a couple of days since he got home, but he seems to be bouncing right back to his former playful ways.

Please make sure that Garfie doesn't hear about this, but when we first met him at the Animal Shelter, we were told that he was a girl. Vickie decided to call "her" Sassy until her spaying became his neutering. Well, he may yet become Sassy again. Dr. Branch told me that this blockage issue could become an ongoing issue during his lifetime, but if we have to take him to the vet to deal with it too often, we should consider surgery....which will effectively make him a girl...again. Please, please don't let him know about this potential option as he may just decide that 9 lives are too much....if he has to be a girl!!