The Chrissy Saga

 Spoiler Alert: Chrissy is ALL GOOD now. I wouldn't make you read this whole thing without assuring you that Chrissy is fine now!

Also, as much as I felt like writing about this initially, I don't feel like writing about it anymore! The thing is, when my cats are sick, my heart just plummets. I don't feel like doing anything. I can't eat, I can't have fun, all I do is worry. So writing about this reminds me of how horrible I was feeling on Saturday. But I promised to tell you about it so I will.

Boy am I making this sound dramatic, aren't I???

Okay, on Friday night, Christmas was his normal self. Even early Saturday morning he was cuddling with me in bed. But when I got up at 9:30am, I couldn't find him. I looked everywhere, then finally found him hiding under our guestroom bed. When cats hide, it's not good.

I lured him out from under the bed with his chicken flavored toothpaste, but he was walking really slow and his eyes were squinty.

He was acting lethargic and threw up twice. Something was wrong. We got him an appointment at the vet. Luckily they could squeeze him in at 12:30pm. He spent the rest of the morning under the bed.

When my kitties aren't good, I am not good. All I kept thinking about was all the horrible things that could be wrong with him. Was this the beginning of the end?

The vet checked him over and all vital signs were good. His bladder was empty so it wasn't a UTI. The vet thought it was a GI issue that was giving Christmas the upset tummy, but he wasn't sure what exactly the issue was. 

The vet drew some blood ($$$$$$$$$$) and we were told we'd get the results on Tuesday. In the meantime, he gave him a shot of anti nausea medication and a pain reliever, just to make him more comfortable. He said it could make him sleepy. The thought was, if it was just a little 1-2 day stomach flu, the meds would make him feel better. If it was more than that, he would definitely still be throwing up and displaying other symptoms, in which case we'd have to take him to the emergency room. (Why do my cats always get sick over long holiday weekends!?)

We took Chrissy home and while he seemed tired, he didn't hide under the bed. He chilled on the bay window for most of the afternoon and early evening. We felt a little better about the situation but were obviously still worried about him. We were supposed to go to a family picnic but stayed home instead. I didn't want to leave him alone. What if he started throwing up again?

Chrissy was sleepy and out of it for the rest of the day. The meds most likely had something to do with it. I was out of it too. I had a hard time getting anything done. All I did was worry about him. I could barely eat. I read my Meb book and watched some TV, but that's about it. Chrissy ate a little bit but not as much as normal. He kept everything down.

Around the time I was going to bed, Chrissy started to perk up a little bit. He was playing with is water dish, drinking, purring, and his eyes were wide like normal. He ate his normal food throughout the night (yes we feed him in the middle of the night!) and it seemed like he was back to his old self! We were cautiously optimistic that it was just a little stomach bug.

Christmas seemed totally normal the next morning. My heart soared. Saturday was a rough day, so I was so thankful it was just a little tummy ache and it was all over.

It got me thinking... I know my cats aren't immortal. Someday I will have to say goodbye to them. I know how bad that hurts. It is the worst feeling ever. Is having animals even worth it? To feel so devastated when one of them is sick? Of course it is worth it, but it did get me thinking. I just love Christmas and Jelly so much...

Oh by the way, Chrissy got weighed at the vet and he comes in at 14lb 10oz! What a svelte little boy!!!!