After a rather hectic day yesterday that ended up with an urgent journey to the vet who deals with our cat, I spent part of this morning in an online meeting to discuss the possibility of running another Virtual Conference of Wargamers (VCOW) early next year ... and further news of our deliberations will be appearing in the near future.
For the information of those of you who might be interested, the journey to the vet with the cat was a result of her showing signs of being unwell. She is normally quite a vocal animal and somewhat fussy eater, but for thirty-six hours she made almost no sound, didn’t want to eat, and drank very little. She was also sleeping a lot more than usual, but not in any of her usual places. Having realised that we did not have a cat carrier in which to take her to the vet, we had to drive to a number of pet shops before we found a suitable one.
As the vet was operating strict anti-COVID-19 procedures, we had to make an appointment, and on our arrival, telephone the receptionist to tell them we had arrived. A veterinary nurse them came out to see us, and to collect our cat for examination. Once this examination had been completed, the vet came out to return the cat to us and to explain what was wrong. He also gave us the medication that was required, along with instructions about how to administer it, what to feed the cat, and how we needed to isolate her from contact with other animals for the next five days.
The cause of the cat’s illness was a blocked and inflamed digestive track. This was possibly caused by a fur ball that had become stuck or prey that had been ingested and not properly digested ... although, knowing our cat, the latter was highly unlikely. (We’ve seen her trying to hunt ... and she isn’t very good at it!)
The cat is now asleep in her favourite place, having eaten some white fish laced with antibiotics. She has begun ‘talking’ to us again, so we assume that she is well on her way to getting better.
For the information of those of you who might be interested, the journey to the vet with the cat was a result of her showing signs of being unwell. She is normally quite a vocal animal and somewhat fussy eater, but for thirty-six hours she made almost no sound, didn’t want to eat, and drank very little. She was also sleeping a lot more than usual, but not in any of her usual places. Having realised that we did not have a cat carrier in which to take her to the vet, we had to drive to a number of pet shops before we found a suitable one.
As the vet was operating strict anti-COVID-19 procedures, we had to make an appointment, and on our arrival, telephone the receptionist to tell them we had arrived. A veterinary nurse them came out to see us, and to collect our cat for examination. Once this examination had been completed, the vet came out to return the cat to us and to explain what was wrong. He also gave us the medication that was required, along with instructions about how to administer it, what to feed the cat, and how we needed to isolate her from contact with other animals for the next five days.
The cause of the cat’s illness was a blocked and inflamed digestive track. This was possibly caused by a fur ball that had become stuck or prey that had been ingested and not properly digested ... although, knowing our cat, the latter was highly unlikely. (We’ve seen her trying to hunt ... and she isn’t very good at it!)
The cat is now asleep in her favourite place, having eaten some white fish laced with antibiotics. She has begun ‘talking’ to us again, so we assume that she is well on her way to getting better.
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Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteGlad your Cat is on the mend. Interesting with the COVID Procedures with the Vet - no different to how my Doctor goes about things at his Surgery. Sometimes it is said we tend to look after our Pets better than we do for ourselves. Best Wishes. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteThe cat is certainly on the mend, and has only just stopped ‘telling’ me something ... but I don’t know what it was!
The vet was using the recommended anti-COVID procedure, and it is exactly the same as that used by by our doctor and local dentist.
All the best,
Bob
I'm glad she's back and talking. Always worrisome.
ReplyDeleteRoss Mac,
DeleteWe had not quite realised how much she ‘talked’ to us ... until she wasn’t. She is now almost back to normal, and rabbiting away whenever she sees us.
All the best,
Bob
Potentially expensive - my son's cat had that problem and he was glad of the insurance. Hope it's better now (assume yours didn't need an operation?)
ReplyDeleteRob Young,
DeleteThe cat seems to be responding to treatment, and although getting her to eat the antibiotics is a bit difficult, she is no longer sleeping all the time and is eating again.
All the best,
Bob
Giving pills to our cat has never been much fun, for us or her. Thankfully the last couple of times it was necessary (an abcess following a fight, then hepatitis) the vet gave her a long lasting antibiotic injection.
ReplyDeleteNigel Drury,
DeleteWe used to have a cat where getting it to take a pill was a major operation ... and one where at least one of us got badly scratched!
Another of our cats had the long lasting antibiotic injection, but on this occasion the vet felt that the pills would be a better (and cheaper) option.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteVery glad to hear your cat is responding to treatment and feeling better.
My mother had a cat that used to have to take pills regularly. Luckily she was so found of cheese that we could often deceive her into eating the pill by wrapping it in cheddar.
Best wishes, Arthur
Arthur1815,
DeleteCheers! Our cat loves salmon and tuna ... but the vet has told us that she must eat white fish or chicken until she has finished her course of antibiotics ... and she hates white fish and chicken!
All the best,
Bob
Aw, poor cat. Glad to hear she's on the mend and being a chatty kitty again.
ReplyDeleteFitz-Badger,
DeleteCheers! She’s a lot better ... and currently asleep next to me on the sofa, gently snoring.
All the best,
Bob
The new way of life I'm afraid. Glad the cat is on the mend.
ReplyDeleteDelta Coy (Greg),
DeleteJudging by the 'moaning' we've been subjected to this morning, the cat seems to be back to normal!
All the best,
Bob
Glad to hear the cat's on the mend!!
ReplyDeleteAlastair,
DeleteCheers! She is mooching about this morning, rabbiting away to anyone who is within earshot!
All the best,
Bob
In my experience Cats are second only to children (even grown up ones) in causing huge amounts of anxiety. Glad yours is ok Bob.
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteThe problem with cats is that they cannot tell you what is wrong with them, which seems to make the situation even more stressful when they are unwell.
At least she seems to be a lot better this morning!
All the best,
Bob
I'm a cat lover too Bob, so good to read that she's feeling better. I gather you incurred the usual hefty vets bill? Our boy was ill recently, sleeping and off his food, turned out he had a raging temperature and infection, £90.00 but within two days he was back to normal:) He's well travelled having made the trip to Spain and back again, I'm still astonished at how good he was in the back of the car for the 1000.00 mile drive home. We smuggled him into a French hotel room for an overnight stop and he just slept on the bed with us. When we got to calais we discovered that his pet passport was a few days out on the rabies shot (I think you can't travel until 10 days after the shot) so we had to scramble to find him a local cattery which we did despite the language barrier. Another £150 Euros and we had to go back for him a few days later! Things you do for them eh Bob?
ReplyDelete‘Lee,
DeleteOur cat was not supposed to go out until she’s finished her course of antibiotics ... but managed to get out whilst I was watering our tomatoes. She then sat on our patio for thirty minutes, just to make her point. She then came back in, ate some of her fish and half an antibiotic tablet, and has now gone upstairs to go to sleep on our bed!
Our trip to the vet cost us £78.00 (and the cat carrier was an additional £26.00), and it was well worth it. The vet we use is recommended by the Cat Protection League, and has a small cattery where they house cats that are undergoing treatment or awaiting homing.
Our cat seems to be quite calm whilst travelling, although I would not want to try doing the sort of journey you did back from Spain. It’s a pity that your cat’s rabies jab had expired, but at least you we able to get things sorted out before returning to the UK.
All the best,
Bob
As an aside Bob, taking pets abroad will I'm told be far more difficult post Brexit as they currently travel on an EU Pet Passport. The rule on Rabies jabs were that you had to wait a certain period afterwards before a pet could travel and we were a few days early... bad planning.The scene at the cattery was like something from a comedy show, we could not speak French and they could not speak English, there was a lot of gesturing and sign language but we managed and he was well looked after. Hated leaving him there though.
Delete‘Lee,
DeleteI’d assumed that it is one of the things that would have been affected by Brexit. The EU Pet Passport - along with the European Arrest Warrant - are things that we should have tried to retain.
It must have been quite amusing - and traumatic - trying to book your cat into a cattery where neither party spoke the other’s language. I understand that cats from different countries don’t make the same sounds, and your cat would have probably been more than a little confused by the sounds made by the other cats,
All the best,
Bob