I wish my cat would answer me when I ask him, "Hey Ash, ya feelin' better?"

He's been getting into normal mischief including climbing on top of the TV and refrigerator. Also chewing on my purple tulips that I bought myself. Oh, he managed to knock them down too. They lasted 1.32 days.

Today when I got home from my day I knew he'd be hungry but once again he hadn't eaten his food. (It's been awhile since he hasn't pigged it all up.)

So, back to the normal routine. Shove a couple pills down his throat, mix in powdered meds with beef baby food and then give him some Saw Palmetto. Apparently it's supposed to help him "go." The Vet told me to give it to him even if I think he may be straining. Cool. Except it must taste bad because he yaks it up half the time.

And then right to the liquid under his skin. Hopefully the next couple days of that will have him good as
 
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One night in mid August of 2006 I got called off of work, and not knowing what else to do, began to look at online animal classifieds at jsonline.com.

Verklempt because I did not have time for a dog, I decided I should get a kitten. I wasn't planning on getting one right then, but thought it would be good to see how much it might be to adopt a mini furball.

I found a listing and the price was right: 35 bucks. I called the number and left a message.

Okay, you don't need the whole story. I ended up finding a kitten that night. A black one. Oh, how ominous. I love black cats simply because some people are superstitious of them.

I named the kitten Ella. It wasn't until a few weeks later when I took the kitten to the vet that I found out the she was a he!!! I immediately took off the bright pink collar. My boy wouldn't be wearing hot pink! He was nameless for three days. I couldn't decide what to name him.

This cat is very particular. He loves to talk. Really, if I say something to him, he meows right back. (Oh, don't tell me you don't talk to your cat/dog/jellyfish when you're home alone!) He does NOT like to be cuddled but LOVES to be pet. His main concern of the day (just like his mom) when he gets to EAT!

He'll sit on books or papers if he can to make sure that he's my top priority. He is a big deal, if you must know. His favorite toys? Pens. And plastic shopping bags. Weirdo.

Almost 5 years later I noticed that he was NOT okay when he wasn't doing any of these things. He was creeping around and clearly sad and crying. He had a blockage.


 
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... is worse than taking care of a sick kid.

Asher is very ornery to begin with. Even when he was a baby he didn't like to be cuddled very much. Typical cat. I'll get to his adoption another day.

I've found myself concerned with cat urine. Yep. If he doesn't pee, then he could be blocked again which could lead to his death. Great. I think he already used a few of his lives before I took him to the Vet on Friday morning. He may have 4 left. If I'm lucky.

I have 6 different medicinal type pills/powders to give him plus a fluid drip. I get to inject my cat. GREAT. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, but it is weird to pierce him. I don't have to find a vein or anything. Just right under the skin.  Then I have to keep him in one spot as his skin gets a water bubble. This is to ensure he gets enough fluids in his body, as his kidneys are still recovering from his blockage.

I get to squash up the pills he needs and add them to turkey baby food. I then put it in a syringe tube to feed to him, otherwise he won't eat it. Or eat anything at all.

Like I said, he's very ornery. He likes to wiggle around. So naturally, I (and Asher) have all kinds of medicated baby food on us. I hope that about 75% made it into his mouth.

He's harder to take care of than a kid because a kid actually understands you when you tell them "this will make you feel better."

So. For at the very least, my next week will be consumed with checking the cat's litter box, piercing him with a needle to give him fluids and shoving pills and food down his throat. I wish he would just understand that I'm trying to help!

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    A healthy cat became almost a dead cat in a matter of a day and a half. Some background and learning as I go!

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