US Results

Dr P was not about but Dr T was so I requested that Dr T spoke with us about the US results. It seemed that his renal pelvic cavity is not more enlarged which means there is no blockage in his right kidney. However the stones have not decreased in size (only the stones in his right kidneys have become slightly smaller but not the ones in the left kidney). She noted that it is more compatible with calcium oxalate stones. Dr T said there was nothing we could do with these type of stones but rec that we go on with the urinary diet.

We would just have to monitor his condition and he has another US in 6 weeks.

Toro in Hospital

Toro waiting for the nurse at the hospital...
We were the only ones there at 8.00 pm
He was a curious kitty and wanted to know the goings-on outside...

Totoro: What Dat?

Toro in his cubicle at the hoispital...

I brought him to hospital last night and it was very quiet at about 8 pm. I got him settled and stayed a bit to talk to him about the place and the ultra sound that he was going to get the next day. At first he just sat in his carrier but then later, decided to explore and tried to look out. He didn't mew or anything , just sat qietly and looked about. Then when I closed the glass door, he seemed a little anxious but I know the nurses would take good care of him as we had been here before. He was in this very cubicle when he had his urinary catheter. It is a cat's wing. There were two other very quiet cats with him so I know he would not be startled by sudden noises.

I would be bringing him home after work, in the afternoon but would not be able to talk to Dr P as she would be off at aboit 12.00! They said she would call but I had left my cell at home!!!

What his cubicle actually looked like. The nurse gave him some water and they said they would give him his food at 11 pm as his ultra sound was at 9.30 am.

Hello Ms Akira

Bujang on the lookout as this was the first time in many years that Ms Akira made an appearance out in the evening...
She looked out at the world...but yet safe inside the house...

She sat on the couch and contemplated the evening...


She rested for some time...

Then she took a nap.

On Monday, Ms Akira decided to pay the family a visit. After many years of not sitting with us in the evening, she graced us with her company for the whole evening, walking about and visiting with us. We were all very pleased with her. Unfortunately she has yet to repeat this historic visit alhtough I had tried to put the boys inside the room after dinner several times this week.

Just Because

Hospital Oh No!

Not again!

Toro will be going to hospital this evening for his ultra sound tomorrow. Since the ultra sound can only be done in the morning, I have to send him this evening so he has to stay overnight for the test. The ultra sound is to see the state of his kidneys as his last ultra sound saw that both his right kidney and his right pelvic cavity were swollen. He also has a urinary catheter to allow him to pee 2 weeks ago. Also I hope the vet Dr P would be able to discern the type of uroliths he has. So many tests for a little kitty!

Goodnight Saturday

Evening walk _Finally

Bujang has been trying to get me to take him out walking but the days have been uncertain and I had been busy with grandma. But finally, this evening we went out as it was cool and breezy...
Bujang walked about quite alot and saw many new things. This is the bin for burnt offerings and so was the source of many good smells..
The soft grass smelled good too and was also good to eat. he ate only a few blades though as he had things to do...

like lying FOREVER beside this broken bicycle and sniffing every inch of it!

He also decided this cover needed close scrutiny but before he decided to roll over it, I had to take him somepleace else. Iwas quite surprised that he went with me docilely with not even a little tantrum and didn't even snap at me or claw at me through the doors of his carrier. He behaved very well today :)

Well Let's See...

I hav many fings to fink about . I need to consider all fings carefully...
Yup. I made the right choice :)

Goodnight Thursday

going to zzz...

A rare moment

A rare moment for the 3 boys, all together on the family couch :) Its amazing they have not clawed the leather to shreds yet...but there is still time...

Our Only Advice

Our advice to anyone who reads my blog and wants to know if they should do as Dr L says is ALWAYS DO IT. If you are going to a*** and given sang hwang for a cancer kitty, the best thing to do is always try and if you can't bear to put in the suppository, go to the nearest vet and ask them to help you with it. Then after you think you have done all that you can, do some more. It is worthwhile if you can get your cat a good and fulfilling life. THAT is our advice. However, you need to discuss with your vet if you plan to deviate from the given protocols. God Bless Y2. May you get better sooner than later. M experience with Megat has always been this - Listen to your cat, your vet and your heart and you will know what you need to do.

We have been very lucky with Megat and he has been cancer free for ONE whole year. I take heart from the fact that there is a cat who has been cancer -free for 7 years! Megat is already 15 years old. I do not know how long more he has with us but I hope its long. All I know is I would try to help him along as much as I can.

Time for Bed

Yeah..don't you think its time san?

Reclining Cats on Tuesday

zzz...
zzz...

Am thinking about it...

NOT me san. I have fings to do...

Before and After

Toro is a smart kitty.

When he had the catheter, I would still allow him up on the bed. I was pleasantly surprised to chance upon him being quite fastidious. He would rest like this in the afternoons with his bottom on his own pillow-blanket with the plastic lining and the rest of him on my bed. Of course the whole bedsheet would be cleaned daily but I appreciated his efforts.

Yesh. I am a good boy and appreciate the fact that san allowed me to walk about in her room.

Toro after his groomer appointment.

I had taken him to the groomer last Saturday, 2 days after the vet took out his catheter, last Thursday night. I had checked his catheter every morning and decided to bring him to the vet on Friday instead so we could do the sub q as well as take out his catheter but when I came home, I saw that one of the stitches had come undone. I called the practice and they told me they would see him asap.

Dr H took out his stitches and chatted with him softly. Toro was not interested in all the chat and wanted his stitches out 'NOW' please. As soon as his catheter was out (OUCH!), he peed copiously on the vet's table and so we had a nice urine sample for testing of PH levels as well as crystals. No luck on the crystals but acidic on the urine, which was good and so I was told that the new diet was working for him rather nicely although we do not know if it would be successful to help him with his still-unidentified uroliths :(

I am glad to report that he urinates nicely now and there are big enough puddles every time he does it. He is now his own lovable and affectionate self, asking to be brushed at all hours of the day and running after shadows :)

Caged!

Toro being quite comfortable at night in bed.

I had deliberated whether to just allow him to sleep the night in the cage or in bed. Then I thought if I made the changes in his sleeping arrangement, more than 1 cat would be unhappy. Ms Akira would raise a storm as the two-tier cage belongs to her at night. She is used to this and I do not want to stress her out. Megat would be quite happy but Bujang may make his night uncomfortable as Bujang likes everything just so, nothing should change too drastically for him. Toro himself may be stressed as he is used to sleeping in the room on his own blanket, but mostly on mine. So I finally made the choice of status quo. It just means I would have to make the quick changes early in the morning so Toro can be in this cage without Ms Akira knowing it. At night, I would just have to make sure the cage is cleaned thoroughly and put Ms Akira's blanket and toys in it so she would be none the wiser :)

Of course he would leak urine but yesterday no blood on his blanket-pillowcase, which leaves me just to wash the blanket itself this morning. I had placed a plastic sheet inside the blanket-pillowcase so we do not have to clean bedsheets repeatedly but I will see how this goes.

I am glad to report that yesterday he actually peed a small puddle inside his litter. YAY!! But no poo that I saw. However since there was poo in the litter I would just have to assume that some of it would be his (fingers crossed). I have also given him 10 ml of water in a syringe each time eats but he also drinks from the drinking fountains. Yesterday, when I was giving him the sub q, he peed quite spontaneously in his carrier, a sizable amount of urine. I am also giving him 5 ml of sieved pumpkin everyday to help him with the fiber that would enable him to poo. Since he likes pumpkin I would try to give him more today.

This is what the cage look like. Megat has the lowest cage and Ms Akira has the two-tier one as she likes to jump up and down it. Toro also uses both tiers during the course of the day.

Toro making it quite clear that he doesn't like girlie things...

Toro spends most time resting and napping here. These two days, I had lined this part of the cage with newspaper and liner which is changed everytime he wets it so he is not uncomfortable. Yesterday I opened the door and placed a small chair next to its door. He walked out and then made a tour of the house after which he actually made the decision to get into the cage to rest and relax. So I do not think he is overly stressed in this temporary half-way home at all.

I had taken off his collar only when he eats under my supervision and it goes on him immediately right after his food so he has no time to be licking his catheter. He is quite good at accepting the collar these days and he has bumped into things less. He is still dripping urine but I am glad he has made some progress in trying to pee in his big litter. The small triangular liiter box is still very clean as I think it is difficult to pee in it. But as long as there is pee on the liner, I know some things are working well enough.

I am considering the urinary canal operation quite seriously as I think it would definitely solve the blocked problem. I also saw his kidney stones in the xray that Dr L had taken. The stones must have been very big for them to show so very clearly in xray. So if the stones should dislodge themselves, I hope he would be able to pass them out. But of course this is further in his future if he should get blocked the 3rd time. We are still not out of this challenge so that is a problem to be decided on in the future.

Toro spends ost of his time in the cage but I let him out in the faternoons and evenings where he would be able to walk about quite freely but he makes the choice of either staying put next to the window or even going back ino the cage. So I think he does not feel confined in it.

Thanks cat_aunty for the good wishes

Toro does actually look like this yesterday after the vet visit :)

dear toro
get well soon ok?
purrs from spencer mera hat, even kiki

Toroble again?

The good thing was his kidney indicators are excellent. Since this was done at 10.29 am, I was much encouraged that we were successful in managing at least these indicators.

Toro last night sleeping in his buster collar.

His urinary catheter - looks painful and I'm sure it was a constant iritant. He did not worry it at the hospital but once home, he started to lick at it if I did not put the buster collar back on!

Toro at the vet this morning to check why he was not peeing even after the catheter was in.

Ooohh I am so tired of vets and catheters and medicine and....

I had to bring him back to the clinic to check why he was not peeing freely in his litter even after the doc had put in this catheter. I called the hospital and they said to check if there was a kink (there was none) as sometimes this would not allow the pee to flow. He also had blood stained pee (that leaked through his catheter). The nurse said this was usual for cats with urinary catheters. But as I am paranoid I made an appointment and saw the doc Dr L at about 1130.

After many questions, she said she would drain it and then check the placement of the catheter. Toro may have dislodged it in his sleep or sitting about. Then she did an xray to see the state of his bladder etc. All were ok and so she puzzled some more. After some more discussion she told me that if his spots of urine came up to a good puddle the it was okay. She said his bladder may be a little irritated and that was why he was in and out of the litter but as there was very little urine in his bladder, it was to be expected that it would only drip.

I had also decided this morning to take out his collar for his morning and evening meals and when he ate his kibble (under my supervison). After that he would have his collar on immediately as he would begin licking his catheter immediately and I really do not want a BIG accident to happen to the little guy.

So we left with the doc giving him a Dexaason injection to reduce his irritaion. Dr L also gave us an antibiotic marbocyl and an anti-irritant serrazyme and I have to give them to him 2X a day. So many pills for such a tiny body.

Ooh the Toroble I Was In

an old pic of Toro

This whole week was a rather hectic one for Toro. First he had a fever on Wednesday night. I knew he was unwell as he sat in the bedroom by himself at 8 pm!! His ears were a little hot and I spent the night worrying if he was goig to be ok. The next morning he was up and eating and I thought we were home free. NOT so fast!

Yesterday Sister N called cousin R to report Toro's strange behaviour. He was running about and stared hard at Sister S in the face. Then he ran about some more in the afternoon. Toro would usually be quite laid back and would spend the day sleeping. So when I came home and heard these strange tales, I decided to take him to the vet. Nothing seemed wrong and we were sent home with some painkillers. The vet said he might have some pain and I was to get a urine sample. She also said he had quite a bit of stools that prevented her from feeling his bladder. But as he has no fever I thought we were home free..again. NOT so fast!!

When we came home from the vet, he ate some food and then spent the whole night under the bed. He was not even sleeping, merely sitting wide-eyed. So at 5 am I called the hospital for an appointment and was told that the only slot was at 6. I told them that my cat seemed blocked and I was farid he could be badly affected by this. NO pee and poo for 14 hrs! The nurse told me to bring him in first thing, which I did. We were the first one that Dr Lee examined. Thak goodness for that.

So finally he had to be hosiptalised for the day, he was on 500 ml sodium chloride, and he had a catheter in his urethra to boot. He was sedated so they could do this. I was told to get him at 9 pm! The vet said she hoped to try to at least clean up his toxins and maybe this would also help with then sedimentation in his bladder. She would also give hm something to help with the poo!

Now Toro is asleep and I have no heart to put him somewhere else eventhough his catheter would leak out some urine. I had put some plastic inside a pillow case and now he is sleeping on it. So even if it leaks, it would not go through to the bed. Tomorrow I would try to find my old shower curtain and place it under my bedlinen. I think it matters little that my linen would have small spots of urine as I can always wash it- repeatedly if need be but at least Toro is now sleeping soundly.

Btw he has a buster collar which made him very clumsy. I had to hand feed him his kibble as he was not able to eat anything with his collar on. Finally I took out his collar so he could eat his night snack and he ate quite hungrily. He was not pleased with me when I put his collar back on again. I really don't know how he was going to eat and drink with the collar. I should have asked the vet techs! Aiyah! Pictures tomorrow :)

Goodnight Monday

It no fair! You would not look quite so pretty san if you were shaved like me...errr

The Many Faces of Bujang

In the space of a few minutes Bujang went through more than 3 poses of sleep.

Bujang made a lot of noise this morning - MEOW! MOW! RORROOWWWW as he wanted to be let out very early in the morning. My first instinct was just to let him out but then I remembered Ms Akira, whose insistent whining can really plaster anyone to the wall! I made the mistake of indulging her one too many times and I have had to relive it again and again :) I wonder if she can be re-trained.

However Bujang would meow very loudly if he threw up somewhere and would only be quiet when I clean it up though.

Also, I also noticed that Megat also meows loudly at dinner from the very beginning. So he is with us for 3 years already and he still meows at dinner, afraid of being left out. The good thing is I noticed once or twice when he was very quiet at dinner and both these times were because he was not well at all and I was able to get him help.

So maybe re-training the kitties may not be the brightest idea :)

Toro on Tuesday

Yes I always sit close to the window.. I like the breeze...

I like it....

People can't help themselves. I am just too adorable ;)

I have been giving Toro his new diet mixed with his old diet, both renal. He seems to like them both so I guess in the middle of the week we can change the diet to the urinary one alone. Ms Akira likes the new kibble and would finish her share of it very quickly. The pellets are smaller and seem lighter.

I think it would be ok for everyone to go one the same diet for the day as it is supposed to break crystals (struvite). At night whne they all get a snack Ms Akira and Megat can eat the usual renal diet but the 3 boys would have to continue with the new one since Toro might eat from their bowls too.