Cupid, my Brave little Boy

Today has been eventful.  In fact, since Saturday, I have not rested either physically or spiritually much until now.

Cupid began to exhibit great pain when he went to the litter box on Saturday morning.  It had nothing to do with the procedure he had on Wednesday when he was neutered.  Everything was healing well.  In fact, he had been more his old self at dawn on Saturday... but suddenly, there was blood in his urine and he was prowling back and forth from litter box to litter box.  I wrote about this in an earlier post.

I took him to the doctor and suggested that he be given liquids as he was dehydrated.  They gave him some and sent him home with more painkillers.  What followed was a perfectly awful weekend for both of us.  I was terrified he was dying.  He was in almost constant distress or discomfort, prowling back and forth, pissing first in one box and then the other, almost always with fresh red blood showing in the urine.

I began to research the situation on the internet and discovered a natural remedy for crystals in the urine that consisted of Apple Cider Vinegar.  For the very acidic urine that Cupid had exhibited, Cranberry Juice was recommended.  I mixed Cranberry Juice, Apple Cider Vinegar and a little plain Apple Juice to sweeten it.  I forced it down his throat with a syringe.  I did this twice on Sunday.

The hospital opened this morning at 9.00 and I rang them immediately.  The doctor returned my call about an hour later.   He looked at Cupid's chart and told me what I knew, that he suffered from a low urinary tract condition.   It was hereditary and plagued Himalayans in particular.   Most important was diet.  He was not that concerned about the blood in the urine.  He was more concerned about the amount of urine that Cupid was passing.

He did agree to give me a bag of fluids for Cupid with needles so that I could administer the liquids myself.   I surprise myself sometimes.  I know that I have done this before.  I basically saved Miela's life once years ago by giving her fluids subcutaneously... but faced with the bag and needle today, I was filled with trepidation.  It was a far more complex arrangement of tubes than the ones I had administered years ago as well...

In any event, I was able to administer the liquids to Cupid, although I did not give him the full 150 cc. that the doctor had suggested.  He began to protest shortly after he had received 100 cc. and the bulge beneath the skin of his neck was very pronounced.  I decided it would be better to stop and then give him more later if necessary.

He immediately went to the litter box and spent about five minutes there accomplishing absolutely nothing.  I am not certain what he was experiencing at that point in time, but it made me very nervous as the worst situation is blockage.  When a cat cannot pass any urine at all, it can mean death in a very short time.  I had an odd feeling though that he was trying to do something quite different.  His posture suggested it...

I coaxed him out of the box when obviously nothing was going to materialise.  I persuaded him to rest a little in his little corner.  I then decided to leave him in peace for awhile.  After all, he had the fluids inside him.

When I returned, he had pissed in one box magnificently with only a tiny bit of blood in the other box.  He purred when I touched him and licked a little pureed Chicken (infant food) from my finger.  After that, he went back to the box and urinated again.  This time, the stream was entirely clear!

I do not want to be too jubilant at this point, but I still have a large bag of fluids that I am supposed to give him every other day.  The key to his recovery IS fluids.  He now is resting in a much more comfortable position than before.  He actually is curled up with his head on his arm rather than maintaining a rigid Sphinx-like position eloquent of pain and fear.

I want to thank every one for their prayers and good wishes.  Please continue them!