Monday, December 3, 2012

Sitting with Chase

Chase Bird

It started with an upset stomach.
Our cat Chase Bird began throwing up early on the Friday morning after Thanksgiving, and he continued to do so periodically throughout the day and night.
Late Friday and early Saturday, he threw up spots of blood.
Saturday morning we took him to his regular vet.
She gave him a shot for nausea and took a “wait and see” approach, telling us to offer him soft, plain food for the rest of the day.
Once we got him home, Larry and I took turns sitting with him. He lay around, sometimes sitting up to cry and drool. He didn’t throw up anymore, but he didn’t eat any of the soft food we offered.
We finally offered him some dry food, and he ate a few pieces.
By Sunday morning, he wasn’t eating or drinking anything.
By Sunday afternoon we were at the emergency animal hospital, discussing possible surgery.
The vet thought Chase had an obstruction. All the symptoms pointed to it, including the fact that he wouldn’t eat.
Tests through the night showed no blockage, so they began treating him for an infection. He ate a little food for the hospital staff.
We brought him home Monday morning. And waited for him to eat.
I had to go to work, but Larry kept an eye on him during the day. That evening, we again took turns sitting with Chase.
He was agitated. His pupils were huge. He stayed on a pad in his open crate. He came out occasionally to look at us, look at the food we offered.
He still wouldn’t eat.
At around two in the morning, I woke up to see the light shining from across the hall, and I knew Larry was sitting with Chase.
I fell half-asleep, glad that Larry was with Chase, worried about what would happen if he wouldn’t eat.
When I awoke early Tuesday morning, Larry was in the bedroom, standing by the bed, holding two food bowls.
He had stayed with Chase, offering him food, putting treats on top of the canned food to try to entice his appetite.
He held Chase when he briefly jumped up on his lap.
He patiently waited while Chase walked around, sniffed at the food, walked to the litter box, sniffed some more, walked to the litter box, jumped on his lap. Over and over.
“Did he eat?” I asked.
Larry turned both bowls upside down. No food fell out.
He ate.
  And he’s still eating and is OK.

36 comments:

  1. Whew! I was having flashbacks to when my kitties were sick as I was reading. It's so scary. Go, Chase! I just love blue tabbies!

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    1. Thanks, Ann. It is so scary when they're sick and don't seem to be getting better. But Chase is back to his active self.

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  2. Thank God! I was worried there at the end of the post. I hope Chase makes a speedy recovery.

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    1. Thank you, Middle Child. He's well on the road to recovery and is doing well.

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  3. I was worried as well. Glad that he is eating and hope he gets better!

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    1. Thank you, Ally. We were so worried about him, but his is active and interested and back to his old self overall.

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  4. Hopefully he is on the road to recovery..........I hate when our pets are sick!

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    1. Janet, I hate it, too. They can't verbalize how they feel, and it seems like a guessing game. But Chase is doing well now.

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  5. So good to hear Chase is doing better! I know he is a loved member of your family - and it is always difficult when family have health problems.

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    1. Thank you, Messy Musings. Yes, he is definitely a loved member of the family!

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  6. Good suspenseful writing, Tina! I had to know what happened to Chase.

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  7. Thank goodness that he's ok!! I have such a soft spot for little furry friends.

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    1. Thanks, Keith. Larry and I have the soft spots for them, too.

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  8. Whew! You had me scared there for a minute. I'm glad he's going okay.

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    1. Nadine, Thank you. Yes, he's doing well and is playful again.

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  9. I was also worried that this post would not end so well. I'm glad he is improving!

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  10. Oh thank goodness! We had emergency stomach surgery on Claude when he was a kitten for a suspected blockage. They didn't find anything, and decided he had IBS. After that we put him on I/D food and he did much better!

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    1. Lisa, thank you. The vet was almost sure he'd have to do surgery, but thank goodness, it wasn't necessary.

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  11. Poor Chase Bird. I'm so sorry he's been ill. I hope he's on the road to recovery now. My thoughts are with him. (That name is too funny. Love it!)

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    1. Thank you, Grace. He's doing so much better.

      I wanted to name him Bird, but Larry didn't like just naming him Bird. So we settled on the double name.

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  12. Oh the beautiful love of you and larry nursing him back. It touched me so much and the triumphant way Larry told you. It was like a made for TV movie. I am actually crying!

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  13. Praise the Lord! I was so scared this wouldn't end well. Bless Larry; he's a gem! May Chase recover speedily. :-)

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    1. Jean, thank you. Larry is a gem, indeed! He's so good with the cats.

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  14. It's so tough to watch our animals suffer. That must have been so difficult for you.

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    1. Kristina, yes, it was tough to see him so sick and know that he didn't understand what was going on. And the vet visits scared him. But he's well now.

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  15. Oh wow, so glad he is doing better!! It's so scary when our fur babies are sick. Give him a hug for me. : )

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  16. You and Larry are a good mom and dad to your kitties. Do you have any idea why he would get sick like that? Do cats get the flu like humans? Our dog used to get sick occasionally, throw up and then not eat for a few days and I would get so scared. Glad your little Chase is doing well.

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    1. Thank you, Krystal Lynn. The doctor said apparently it was some kind of virus or bacteria, but she didn't know what kind. She thought the blood came from the capillaries in the stomach dilating in response to the infection.

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  17. So pleased Chase is getting better Tina. Our kitty had a similar episode, and the vet suspected that she did eat from a poisonous plant or so. But it's so heartbreaking to see them suffer without them being able to tell you what they feel.

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    1. Klaaske, Thank you. It is so sad to see them sick and not be able to just fix it easily.

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