I was promised Nurse Mitzi would be taking care of me. Where is she?
Ody returned home yesterday evening, after yet again making a remarkable recovery from what proved to be a terrible urinary tract infection. Thanks to everyone for the good thoughts, and unless you want to read on about what happened to him, you may feel free to take leave from this post now….
It all started Monday morning when I came home from work and nobody was there to greet me at the door begging for food. Then I saw the massive clumps of the previous evening’s meal regurgitated all over my kitchen table. Then I found Ody himself lying in my hallway in obvious distress. If this cat isn’t purring, something is wrong…
As with myself, I tend to wait out issues with the cats until I’m sure that help is needed…. but the ghost of Biskit’s recent passing instead sprung me into immediate action and I called my vet that morning. I could either bring him down immediately to be seen at some point in the day when they got a chance, or they could give me an appointment for 10:30 Tuesday morning. I chose the former. In hindsight, I might have actually been better off doing the next day appointment since he might have still been in their care Wednesday when all hell broke loose…
Instead, they kept him overnight Monday and I picked him up Tuesday morning. The main issue then was the fact that he was not eating, but the beginnings of a UTI were there, and I got an antibiotic for it. He didn’t seem any better, and in fact, was acting more out of sorts than the day before.
When he still wasn’t eating or drinking Wednesday, I took one of the oral syringes I was given with the appetite stimulant and began squirting water into his mouth. That got him drinking again. I saw him lapping some water on his own Wednesday afternoon, and while I was asleep that evening, he drank the whole bowl. That wound up making the seriousness of the problem very apparent….
I woke up to a scene straight out of a slasher flick. My kitchen floor had several pools of bloody urine on it, and I could tell everywhere Ody had been by the stains on the carpet. I’d seen this before…. nine years ago. Ody’s entire back half looked like….. well, this:
If that wetness was blood tinged urine, because he was leaking it everywhere he was laying. That prompted another vet call on Thursday morning, although I knew the vet herself wasn’t in the office that day. The tech who was there did everything she could to set me up somewhere he could be seen that day, which led me to the posh hotel 24 hour animal hospital 10 miles away. I was warned they were expensive, but that was not the case….
They were fucking OUTRAGEOUS.
Sorry, Rich Uncle Pennybags, your cat will just have to die.
After evaluating Ody, they came out with an estimate of what his bill would be…. with a chest-clutching low end, and an utterly soul sucking high end total. I was told the HIGH END total was due UP FRONT, which led me to do a little Ralph Kramden stammering because even the credit card I had on me wasn’t going to cover that. I don’t know if this is standard business practice outside of my ghetto (but still very good) vet I’ve always visited, but it amounts to extortion against people with sick pets. It’s bad enough I had to fork over a month’s wages to them, but before they’d even render a damn service!?!?
So I had to drive all the way home and get my checkbook since it was the only way I was going to be able to pay off the veterinary mafia. I would assume they began taking care of Ody anyway since he was in such obvious bad shape… and arm and a paw cost notwithstanding, they did do a very good job nursing him back to health.
You and Ody, dear.
After getting him loaded up on fluids and making him pee out rivers of infection, I was told the Saturday blood tests would go a long way towards determining “what the future holds for him,” the exact words of the Beverly Hills Veterinarian. They called yesterday evening right after 7 to tell me they came back good… and while he still wasn’t eating, that problem may be solved once I get him home, which was what happened nine years ago as well. I went right up there to get him, and…. wouldn’t you know it, Ody’s bill overshot the HIGH END estimate by $22 and change, so I had to feed the piggy just a bit more. Hell, that’s chump change compared to what I’d already spent on him this week…
When I got him home, he was certainly more active (especially visiting the litter box due to the removed catheter), and most importantly, purring again. He wouldn’t eat either his wet or dry food, but he did gobble up some treats I put down for him. He started digging in to the regular food while I was at work last night (If we weren’t in such a desperate situation at work, or thought he really needed to be watched, I’d have stayed home with him), and continued that trend this morning. While he recovered completely the last time, I’m a bit more cautious this time around due to the diabetes he has now. Nine years ago, he ate like a horse to gain all the weight back he’d lost, and then some. That was no big deal when I didn’t have to decide how much insulin to give him each time he eats…
Can someone please find me a toupee for this shaved spot on my arm? I look like a damn poodle!
But, I have my cat back and mostly back in his routines! There were too many moments the past week where that no longer seemed likely…
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
What an awful ordeal for both Ody and you. Glad they figured out what was wrong and gave him what he needed. Here’s to a fast recovery for the little guy. ❤
Thanks! He’s improved a lot just in the past 15 hours….
So sorry… for you and Ody. I’ve been in that awful situation many times. You want to scream at the emergency vets about extortion, and then hug them for saving a beloved member of the family. Fingers crossed Ody is back to normal soon.
The full brunt of how cruel that practice is didn’t hit me until the next day, when I realized how many people I knew who’d have never been able to come up with that amount on the spot. I could only swing it because I’m single and have money saved up. Most of my coworkers aren’t in the same boat…
It’s heartbreaking. I’ve known people who had to put down their pets because they couldn’t afford treatment. That would be the end of me.
😰
I’m so glad Ody’s back home, and that he’s on the mend. Vets can get to be like loansharks that work for the mob. Charlie’s vet is an angle, she lets me make payments, although I have to leave a down payment. But I can handle payments. Lots of love to you and Ody, Evil.
My vet’s office has never charged for any procedure until it has been completed… that even goes for hospitalizations. I was totally unprepared to have to fork over a king’s ransom before they’d even done anything for him. I hope I never have to go back there again…
Keeping our fingers crossed…🤞😸
You know we have been there. We have an emergency Vet facility which is located in the middle of nowhere and of course when you need it, there are no lights on the road and the prices, while maybe not as outrageous as yours, is at least triple the usual vet visit. We had a similar place in Boston — it was the last stop before you gave up, but it saved the life of two cats and one dog and they at least had a long payoff arrangement (that was more than 20 years ago, so who knows if that’s true now). I can’t even count the emergencies — a couple of which worked out really well. Divot, from discovering cancer, lived on another 13 years. Big Guy, our Abyssinian cat who was ill when we got him and never got better, though with thrice daily injections, we gave him eleven years of a good life. Spanky didn’t make it and we were sorry we even tried. Instead of letting her go when she obviously was terribly sick and in pain, we dragged it out with surgery for an extra, miserable nine months and swore we’d never do that again to any pet. They deserve better.
It’s always so hard to know what to do, when they are finished, when it’s time to let go, when it’s time to give that surgery a chance. Even the vet said he’d gone through exactly the same horrible process — and he IS a vet so it’s not just we peons. In the end, your pets are part of your life and you care for them often more than family members. Garry still hasn’t recovered from losing Divot and I miss my our Scotties terribly.
We held on with Bonnie for at least a year too long … but Gibbs did the right thing and just passed without fuss or bother on his own. At least we didn’t have those last terrible years of agonizing. If the infection was the cause of the problem and the antibiotics are working, you may have years more of life with Ody. It can happen. It DID happen. With Big Guy, he lived on for another eleven years and he was a joy for every minute of those years.
We are thinking about a second dog, but I’m not sure. I think we need to do some more thinking. The house seems a bit empty. I won’t get a cat, not around here. They get eaten by bigger prey animals and with a dog door, I can’t keep them inside. But a cat would be nice. It has been quite a while since I had a war, purring, furry creature occupying my lap of an evening. May you survive the vet bills and Ody have a long life ahead.
Great news!
Very happy to read this optimistic outlook. Truly.
I’m glad that Ody rallied and there wasn’t another tragedy, especially right on top of your recent one. After Ziggy passes on (hopefully at least 15 years in the future – he’s a young ‘un) I’m done. Pudge ripped me up more than I thought possible, given he was with me such a short time. I’m not sure what’s happened to the old kind of vet, the one who loved animals and was there for them, instead of looking at some bottom line and how much they could get in terms of money out of the owners. But in the past seven years since I left Salt Lake, I’ve not found one decent vet near by. I have to drive at least 30 miles to get to the one that helped with Pudge. I’ll drive that distance for the sake of Ziggy’s care too, because, although the money isn’t important in the face of losing a beloved pet; it IS a consideration. Thanks for making my Sunday a little brighter with your good news!
I would imagine vet offices, like pretty much all human doctors now, are run by business professionals who the doctor works for. I’m lucky that my vet’s office seems to run on the old model…. with relatively cheap prices and even discounts if you run up too big a bill. The place I was referred to was modern all the way…. big facility with numerous vets and other staff, and none of them with a say in how the company does business. Administrators want to be paid like CEO’s, and there’s only one way to do that…. stick the hand out early and often and play hardball with emotionally distraught customers. And do it from the safety of an office where you’ll never have to see the suffering firsthand…
I’m so happy to hear Ody was able to get the care he needed even if it cost you an arm and a leg (and a savings account). I sure hope he is with you for many years to come – it’s awful seeing them sick AT ALL but in Ody’s case that was a BAD UTI for sure. Teddy sends POTP (I would too but I don’t have paws) – I will just hope that Ody is FINE now and stays that way. We live in a fairly small town and the vet we found when we moved here was a real “farm vet” – he knew about every kind of animal and was the nicest man EVER. He really cared. When he retired, another doctor in the practice took over and we lucked out a second time. He’s fabulous. The practice is very reasonable too because they serve ALL kinds of people. Teddy is in good hands! I’m glad Ody is too………YOURS.
Pam
Oh, I am so sorry about your ordeal with poor wee Ody. Coming from an agricultural area in Scotland, I am outraged at how much veterinarian care costs in the USA. It was even cheaper in Cairo and just as excellent. onespoiledcat is correct – farm vets are generally much better. Despite all that I am so glad Ody is still with you.
What a terrible ordeal – not only the $$$$ but the terrible shape your kitty was in. We love them so much, we’re willing to do almost anything to make them better. Ody is clearly much loved. I hoe his recovery goes well. Is he eating food low in ash content? Something he’s eating might be exacerbating the UTIs.
I’m so happy to hear Ody is back home and eating and feeling more like his old self again! I thought of you both many times this weekend and hoped things were improving. It’s terrible what vets charge these days! It just doesn’t seem like it should cost that much to treat a UTI. I was somewhat prepared for a heart stopping vet bill when our Smarty had his heart condition a few years ago, but I was pleasantly surprised when I paid the bill…until I went to the pharmacy to pick up his medication. We had a very frugal Christmas that year! Anyway, I hope Ody continues to feel better and refrains from puking on your table! ((Cats – 🤦🏻♀️))
Oh Ody! So glad to hear that you’re doing better.
Thanks for the update and I’m happy that he’s so much better, even though it was a veterinary stick-up.
Poor Ody, but I’m glad he’s back home and feeling more like himself again.
Socially distanced hugs from one cat owner to another. I am glad, that my little one and I live in Germany, where vets are bound by the law with what they can charge for certain illnesses. Not that I had not to fork up over 2000 Euros one day, because hospital stays are always very expensive. But all that matters is that they survive, do not suffer and we can get terrorised by our little furry masters again.
Poor little boy and sorry about your pocketbook!
Hugs to both of you.
Poor baby… all of my furbabies are sending good thoughts for both of you.
Oh my poor sweet Ody. Aunt Saucy sends you much love and scritches. Your cousins also send much purrs
Sadly I’m all too familiar with emergency vet extortionists. But given the alternatives, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet to take care of the fur-child. Glad to hear Ody is making a recovery and Norman and Elsa both send their ‘best recovery’ wishes.