Feline Friday

Well, this week featured an unexpected event: A midnight trip to the ER for Lily. No worries, she is doing fine. 😺

Around 11:15 that evening, I found Lily in the basement lying on the carpet in no apparent distress, but next to her I noticed a tiny drop of urine on the floor. Lily has never failed to use her litter box, so I knew immediately that something was wrong. When I picked her up, she made noises that indicated discomfort, then she tried to urinate on the carpet. 

I immediately scooped her up and closed her in the bathroom with her litter box while I could assess the situation. She hopped into the bathtub and tried to urinate there -- again, behavior I've never seen from her. While Spouse went to fetch the carrier, she lay on her side on the bathroom rug, straining. I knew she needed help right away and so did Lily: When I opened the carrier door, she went right in. By 11:30, Lily and I were on our way to the ER.

If you've been following my blog, you probably know that Lily has a chronic issue with clogged anal glands, a condition that is much more common in dogs than in cats. She was scheduled for her regular "de-clogging" appointment next week. Given that it was almost time to have that procedure done, I was 99% sure a clogged gland was the problem. Still, only once before has a clogged gland affected her ability to urinate. I didn't want to wait until morning to take her to the vet on the outside chance that something else (such as a blockage) was going on.

This was the first time I'd been to our local pet ER, and I didn't know what to expect. We got there on a slow night and no one else was in the waiting room. The staff tended to Lily right away, but we had to wait a bit for the exam and de-clogging procedure as the vet was in surgery.

After they took Lily back to the exam room, I caught a glimpse of something gold in a nearby chair. It was Scratches, the clinic cat and quite possibly the most relaxed kitty you've ever met! He was great company for me as I waited on news about Lily.

As it turned out, one of Lily's anal glands was severely clogged and infected. The vet told me that it was on the verge of becoming an abscess. The infected gland had created so much inflammation that it was affecting her ability to urinate and making her feel like she needed to urinate constantly. Thankfully, the X-ray showed no signs of blockage in her intestinal track or bladder.

Lily and I got home around 3am with pain medication and antibiotics. As soon as I let her out of her carrier, I could tell she was feeling much better. And by morning, she was back to using her litter box again (thank goodness). She is set to see her regular vet for a re-check in a couple of weeks.

I'm so grateful there are pet emergency clinics who offer caring and attentive services, anytime of the day or night. Although I was reasonably certain of what was going on with Lily, I was still quite nervous that something unexpected would be discovered. Thanks to Scratches and the wonderful vet who cared for Lily, we both left feeling much better.

 

Happy Feline Friday, everyone!
Hug your fur babies!

jp

 PSA: Obviously, this problem has been coming on for awhile. I keep a very close eye on Lily but like most kitties, she masks her discomfort quite well. Because cats have the ability to hide their pain, kitty caretakers must always watch for unusual behavior that can indicate pain or discomfort and seek veterinary help right away.