Toro at the clinic

In our invoice, Dr MS had typed "Totoro is such a handsome boy,"

and of cos he behaved very well too at XRay...

When I came home at 4.30 pm I noticed that Toro had trouble peeing. He clambered into the bin in the kitchen and did not manage to pee. Then he went to the 2 bins in my room and assumed the position but did not manage to pee. I only saw a few drops of pee in one of the bins. Then I saw him trying to pee in my room itself. I did not stop him as I wanted to see if he was really having trouble and indeed he was.

So with alarm bells ringing in my head, I called the ARC in T and got a 5.45 pm appointment to see Dr MS. Dr S explained about FLUTD and checked for his bladder. She could not feel it as he is rather rotund - all 5.35 kg of him. She told me that she would have to do 2 xrays to see if his bladder was swollen. Since he was eating, drinking and playing well she said that it might just be a little irritation.

His xrays were clear and his bladder is small and not at all swollen and there were no crytals. Dr S said that at 4 years old, he may be a likely candidate for crytals. I saw his layers of fat (ohoh) in the xray and Dr S was commented on his very strong back legs. He is really quite a muscular kitty is Totoro! I asked Dr S id Toro should be on diet and she said no as he is not fat :)

So we left with 5 syringes of meloxicam suspension for 5 days to be taken with or after food and I have to monitor his peeing behaviour for 24 hours! If he is still not peeing, I have to bring him to the vet again. Also I have to see that if there is pee, that there is no blood in it and neither can there be any other side effects like diarhhoea, vomitting or black poo.

I was also advised to feed him on a raised platform to increase his confidence as we are a multi-cat household. It seems sometimes cats have trouble peeing as they are afraid someone (always Tanaka) would jump them. So I made sure that he ate on the table as we have no other high platforms. The only other high platform is for Bujang and I do not think I want Bujang to change places. I was also advised to top up his food first, before the other cats. Hmmm I have to think about that as Bujang always gets first top up. She advised me to make sure that he gets alone-time for at least 3-6 hours to chill-out. I am not worried about this as Toro has always been able to get 3-6 hours of chill-out time all by himself. The boys are always very good at keeping out of each other's way. The only cat that Toro has some anxiety about is Megat but Megat always gives him fair warning before slapping him. So maybe I would just ensure the high platform and the twice daily doses of Bach.

She then told me that seeing Toro today actually made her day as he is so handsome and well-behaved :) I really think Toro is a special kitty :) Dr S also knew about Megat as she had heard Dr P calling for him several times at the hospital and I was very impressed that the front desk actually remembered Megat as well and asked after him.

Some good news: Toro actually peed in the litter after I had given him the anti-inflammation meds - a small heap but better than drips of urine. But of course he would still be under close scrutiny.

Update at 12.30 pm

I heard Toro scratching his litter and waited for him to complete his business. then I went to inspect the bin and saw a whole clump of pee. Hurrah for Totoro! I think all will be well...but we will see what tomorrow or later today brings.