Thursday, August 1, 2019

never a dull moment

Every day Nahum seems more like his usual fluffy self. He's eating well and no longer has excessive thirst. However, his blood sugar numbers continue to be all over the place, so that's not good. I'm taking comfort in that he is more himself, as prior to when we started treating him he was quite lethargic and withdrawn. I'm grateful he's feeling better. 

We are still trying to figure out what is going on with him. Our vet did a special 8-hour test (Low-Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test) on Monday to determine if he has Cushing's Disease. The results came back not Cushing's Disease, so that raises more questions than we have answers. Hopefully the internal medicine specialist at Tufts can shed light on what's going on. 

Greeter kitty is back on duty!!
Meanwhile, my Thursday didn't go as I planned. Thursday morning, I saw Theo go in and out of the litter box at least three times in about an hour. The last time was just when I was about to walk out the door to head to work, instead I watched him pee. He didn't seem to be straining, but he only had a tiny output. Fearing crystals, I scooped him up and rushed him to the vet, where he spent the day.

Vet didn't find any crystals or urinary blockage (thankfully) but she did find he has a very inflamed bladder and blood in his urine. He has Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) or Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC). I believe she is running some more tests, but meanwhile we have a bunch of meds to be giving him as well as a special diet. 

Since returning home, he's been in and out the litter box all night. I keep an eye on the output, apparently he's at higher risk for blockage with this condition - cue my stress and fear. Suddenly we have another cat with a significant health problem.

The information the vet provided about FIC says that emotionally sensitive cats are more prone to get these bladder problems. That's really interesting because Theo is certainly our most emotionally sensitive cat. He's a feeler. Apparently, stress can cause this condition to flare up, which makes me wonder if the signifcant stress he's felt from Nahum's condition did a number on his body.

Everyone at the vet LOVED Theo! Tonya, the front desk person (and our cat sitter), adores him and wants to abduct him. It's understandable because he's so lovable and personable. His large stature also adds a special dynamic to his presence.

mostly in the blanket fort


  1. Oh, God, what you are all put to! Prayers for you!

  2. I echo the commenter above. I was going to say almost the same thing. SO grateful Nahum is showing he feels better. That is such a relief. Theo...I hope to goodness you are doing better.

  3. Derry has idiopathic cystitis and I've given him UTI-Free in his canned food 2x per day for gosh, 6 or more years now. It's worked like a charm, and the times that he's started to have a flare up I've syringed it in (dissolved in a bit of water) per directions. It's been like magic, a real godsend. Now there's some issue with the company that makes it and I haven't been able to get it. I ordered it from in April and it's been on backorder since then, they constantly push the availability date back (or ahead). So I might be looking for something else!

    Anyway, all that to say that there are other options that can work, if you're not fond of pharmaceuticals or Theo won't eat the particular food.

    Purrs from my boys to both Theo and Nahum!

  4. Purrs to everyone. I've been dealing with FIC for going on 7 years now, not fun but it is under control.

  5. Am thinking that Tufts will get to the bottom of Nahum's numbers! And Chuck had a sensitive bladder too; when there were household upsets, he'd get an inflamed bladder, or infection, and it was always idiopathic. When The Hubby starts ranting and raving about American Politics, I tell him to knock it off; the cats don't need that type of negative energy! It actually works sometimes...LOL! Purrs to your babies!

  6. Purrayers and POTP for both your boys. No surprise that cats are effected by stress, I guess, despite their reputation for aloofness. Hope you get some answers and some solutions.

  7. I will be praying for them both.


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