Here's Where Being a Mom Sucks

Coal is spending the weekend in the hospital.

He threw up right before we went to bed last night, but what cat doesn't throw up on occasion?

This morning he was straining in the litter box. I thought he was constipated. It made me sad, but I figured it was nothing serious.

When I got home this afternoon he just laid there, not walking around at all. This is very unusual. He also was talking to me much more than usual. He's usually a pretty quiet kitty. He had also thrown up a couple more times during the day.

Since it is Friday, I figured I better call the veterinarian. While I hoped it was nothing serious, I was afraid it would be and then I wouldn't be able to get a hold of them all weekend. The girl who answered the phone checked with the doctor, and she said that if I brought him in right away, they would check to make sure it was nothing serious.

I'm so glad they agreed to see him because he has a urinary blockage of some sort. They were immediately taking him back to put him under and put in a catheter.

They are supposed to call tonight and over the weekend to let me know how he's doing. He will likely come home Monday or Tuesday if all goes well.

I hate that I had to leave my baby. I cried all the way home. I'm sure it would be a million times worse if it was a human child that was ill, but at least then I'd likely be staying with him or her. It's going to be so weird to not have him here all weekend. Copper is going to be so confused about where her brother is.

This just in: The doctor just called and he is unblocked. She told me exactly what the issue was, but the gist of it was that he had crystals in his urinary tract from too much phosphorus in his diet. She said it's very unusual for a cat of ten years to just start having this problem, but if it happens again, there is a very simple surgery that will fix it. His blood levels were normal, which means I caught it early. There hadn't been enough time for his waste to back up into his kidneys and bloodstream. That's very good news. He will be on a prescription cat food for a while and then he will have to eat canned food to prevent it happening again. I'm sure he will have no problem with that, but I'll be shelling out quite a bit more for cat food from now on! The hard part will be keeping him out of the dog's dish as he finds Copper's food quite tasty as well!

I'm still going to miss my baby cat all weekend.