Little Dude Is Hurting

We are at the emergency vet. Buddy got sick early this morning and threw up, then threw up some more, and some more, most of it yellow bile.

He was vocalizing in obvious pain and distress and while I was able to soothe his stomach a bit with some catnip — enough that he eventually climbed on top of me and slept for a while — I got really worried when we woke up a few hours later, I got out of bed and he didn’t budge. He stayed there for almost two hours.

He never does that. He follows me to the bathroom first thing, always, and then starts meowing for food.

When he finally left the bed he was extremely lethargic, not at all like himself. He wouldn’t eat. His eyes were half closed, he didn’t respond when I rubbed his head, and I couldn’t feel him purring. The local vet couldn’t see him, so I took him to an emergency vet.

Buddy at the emergency vet

The good news is that it doesn’t look like he has anything obstructing his digestive track, a UTI or any of the usual culprits.

He doesn’t have a fever, which is also good, but he’s significantly dehydrated and there were some concerning signs in his blood work.

I knew he really wasn’t doing well when the nurses took blood and gave him the anti-nausea injection and he didn’t even bother to object. Normally he’d try to tear their faces off but this time he didn’t raise a paw. I’m not even sure it registered with him that there were large dogs and other cats in the open floor plan space, where staff hurried between stations with equipment and animals cradled in blankets.

This is not how it ends, not here and now. For that I am grateful. I’m taking him home after the vet gives Bud some sort of subdermal hydration treatment and meds to hopefully get him eating and drinking again.

The bad news is that the visit cost an eye-watering amount, more than three times what I expected in the worst case scenario, and that was without x-rays. Absolute madness.

what-do-we-say-game-of-thrones

On the other hand I realize I have a lot to be grateful for. I just watched a young girl crying and holding onto her mother as a veterinarian worked on her cat, who was severely injured and looked like she’d been hit by a car. In one of the private rooms, a family was saying goodbye to their dog.

All this is a reminder to be grateful for the time we have. I will update soon, hopefully with good news.

54 thoughts on “Little Dude Is Hurting”

  2. I’m soooooo sorry. Please give the little guy extra scritches & hugs. If you would please update asap. I know this hurts the wallet but like you’ve said, you’d rather an ouchy wallet than a broken heart 💔. Both Oreo & myself send you & Buddy all the best energy & all the bright light healing vibes we have xo D&O 👣🐾🐾🥰 Hope to hear back from you both with good news on the horizon.

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      1. Look you two take care of one another. Oreo takes one medicine everyday but at one time it was a lot but he’s a huge healthy boy & he’ll be 9 in November so we need the Budmeister to get back to running the Cat-A-Verse!

        We believe it’s a scary time but in the end Buddy will kick butt & I hate to offend you but if real chicken or turkey helps the medicine go down please do it xox d&o

        Plz take care of yourself while getting Buddy better🥰

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  3. Poor little guy—I am sooo sorry he’s feeling bad. Many prayers🙏🙏🙏 for his recovery. I know you are feeling so confused and hurt right now. He will be better, I know. Give him a ‘scritch’ for me. You take care also.

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  5. So sorry to hear the Little Bud isn’t feeling well.  Sending you guys LOTS of good thoughts of healing and LOVE!!

    I absolutely know the feelings you had when he was acting like his usual.  It totally freaks me out when one of our kitties or any of my pets has a sudden onset of sickness.  I always think, is this what it’s like to have real kids?  I mean, when my Cockatiel Remmie vomited blood, I was on the phone getting her into the vet as soon as their doors opened.  This was in the middle of an extremely cold MN winter.  It was nightmare to get her boxed up and kept warm enough.  Only to find out that we needed to go 150 miles to a specialist, down in the Twin Cities. That day was was one of my absolute worst days.  Spent over $1200 and she died in my arms later that night. She was 25 and she waved good-bye before she left.  It was devastating, but I would’ve done it all again for her, I loved her so much.  It’s been 4 years and it’s still raw.

    We just went through a similar scare with our cat Mr. Meow Meow. Luckily, we live in a smaller city and could get into our regular vet.  MM has many of the same things going on that Buddy has.  He was given anti-nausea meds, the IVs, other meds and a special canned food (which he would NOT eat!) to see if it would take care of it. When we took him in, I thought it was so bad that I told my Mom I was worried we’d be leaving without him and I cried.  It wasn’t as bad as I imagined, but they really couldn’t nail it down from all the tests he took, so was sent home with the above things.  

    Meow Meow was scheduled to go in a month later for his yearly visit and shave down. He’s 14, blind and deaf, so we have to keep the trips to the vet to the bare minimum.  It’s just too upsetting for him and I’m afraid he’ll stroke out from all the stress.  When we went back for his scheduled trip, the vet said he looked really good and there were no signs of anything lingering from the month before.  He was eating again, and back to his old self. He passed his yearly exam with flying colors.  I’m sure Buddy will have the same outcome when he returns from his checkup.  Wish I could bottle love and hugs and good thoughts to send to you. 💗🥰 (Sorry this is so long!)

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    1. To Carmenblake. Please do not fall for that specialized food again. Load of garbage and wasted money. 9 out of 10 cats will not eat it. I wish i had known this years ago when my dying cat would not eat anything but Fancy Feast. We call that end of life food and my cat did eat that.And only that.

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      1. Not a problem. We took it back to the vet’s when he went back in a month later. As long as they’re not opened, they will take them back and credit the amount to your bill.

        Our cats only like the cheap food (Fancy Feast is a big hit here!). We have tried ALL of the expensive brands and have wasted so much money trying to get them to change. I was so embarrassed to tell the vet what they eat, but he’s like, no worries! All of our cats have lived into their 20’s so I’m not too worried about it.

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      2. Cats! My beloved Diego (RIP) loved Tikki Cat tuna flavor -BUT could tell the difference between one lot and another and wouldn’t touch one that smelled yucky to him. Back to the pet store with the remaining case of cat food to be replaced with another – different – lot. One time he rejected TWO lots in a row. Lotsa chuckles and shakes of the head from the pet store employees. One even went so far as to comment how domesticate cats even survived, given their highly-refined palates. LOL.

        BTW, found a replacement for Tikki Cat that Diego never turned his nose up at…as long as it contained tuna; and my Ramses loves it just as much.

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    2. That’s one of the frustrating things, there’s really no answer to what’s causing it. My biggest worry was that something really serious was happening and that if I waited, Bud would be left in serious pain or worse, his life could be in danger. I’m glad Meow Meow recovered so well, and that’s encouraging. Give him a head scratch for me.

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      1. Exactly! When Meow Meow vomited up blood, that was so scary. Got on the phone the next morning and got him into the vet asap. I’m glad you didn’t wait to get him seen. It sucks when you have absolutely no idea what’s going on with them. I wish I could speak cat!

        I’m sure Little Buddy will be back to his “old self” in no time. The anti-nausea meds were a godsend. A pain to get into him, but man, it was like a party here when he started to eat again! I’ll give MM some scritches from you. He’ll love it.

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  6. Little Buddy, and you, are in my thoughts and prayers. Yes, emergency care and diagnosis is rather spendy these days, especially since the Pandemic. Even routine care costs can raise an eyebrow these days.

    The subcutaneous fluids will definitely make him feel better. My guess is that he was given Cerenia (Maropitant) for nausea control. Electrolyte imbalance from vomiting and dehydration can throw bloodwork off on top of whatever the original problem may have been, and I hope whatever this is passes quickly and Little Buddy is back to his old self before too long.

    Love and best wishes for Buddy’s speedy recovery from all of us here.

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    1. I have to check the paperwork to see exactly what they gave him at the vet, but they gave mertazapine (appetite simulant) and famotidine to give him in his food.

      So far no luck getting him to take it, he ate around the pill when he ate the one treat. I bought food toppers to hopefully get him interested.

      I hope you’re right that the blood levels are just thrown off by the dehydration.

      Thanks for the info and the prayers and well wishes.

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  8. Love to little Buddy! We had a bit of a scare with Tux’s kidney function scores recently. You worry so much when they age. Hope the hydration fixes him right up.

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    1. Yes, the vet was like “He’s getting up there and he’s middle age now so…” and I was about to protest when I realized she was right. I have a difficult time reconciling his relative age with the fact that I see him as a baby in many ways.

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    2. Thanks, Terrence. I mentioned in the update that I might do a Patreon type thing in the future if he requires more tests and care, but for right now I’m hoping he gets over this and then we can see what the vet says with a regular physical, so there’s at least an overall picture of his health.

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  11. Prayers and as much love as we can send coming over the sea to the little dude. UK vets are also expensive but like you I would spend everything I have to make my furry overlords well. This is worrying news to hear but I just know he will recover. It’s these times that I wish cats could talk. If you set up a donation page count me in immediately. Much love to the little dude from Mi5 over here

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  12. I’m so sorry to hear this! I hope Little Buddy feels better soon, and we send tons of purrs for him. It was good that you got him in to the vet so quickly. Please keep us updated when you can.

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  14. Sending best wishes your way. May Little Buddy bounce back quickly without lasting effects. I echo other posters in asking for updates and any fundraising channel.

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  15. Crossing my fingers and praying for Buddy. When we hydrated our rescue cats vets put a shot of B12 in hydration bag. Ask vet about this.

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      1. To M. Yes. Vets inject liquid B12 into hydration bag. This was done with my cat years ago. I had no clue about this until i joined a cat rescue group over 20 years ago. My cat Kitty with cancer did perk up a bit but she lasted another 3 weeks. 19 great years with her.

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  18. Best wishes to the little guy and his Big Buddy! You are going through a rough spell right now. Having a sick cat on your hands is extremely stressful, but don’t give up.

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    1. Thanks, Quilpy. He threw up again a few minutes ago but he literally just jumped up onto the couch and his tail was up in a question mark before he sat down next to me. That’s the best sign I’ve seen in two days.

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  22. I had a foster cat, and he had an intestinal obstruction. It would have cost Precious Paws Rescue $10,000 for surgery, and post op care. They couldn’t afford this much (it was at 11:00 pm on a Friday night) so unfortunately, we had him put to sleep. I am still angary, even though he was a foster, he was a good cat (about 3 years old) and we even agreed to pay ½ of cost. We miss him in our home.

    Sondra L Moylan, MS, RN Exec. VP Compliance American Academy of CME, Inc. A Non-Profit Education Foundation O 609.921.6622 · C 908-.229.0150 · H 352.382.0623 smoylan@academycme.orgsmoylan@academycme.org http://www.academycme.orghttp://www.academycme.org/

    [Jointly Accredited Provider TM]In support of improving patient care, American Academy of CME, Inc. is Jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

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    1. That’s a horrible situation and I feel for anyone who is forced into that kind of situation. I’m really sorry that happened, Sondra.

      One thing on my checklist is to take a careful look at pet insurance, especially for middle age/older cats. I might have to scrub references to Bud’s age from the blog. 🙂

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