First he had a traumatic experience. There was a horrendous wind storm on the night of Feb. 12. It was raining and blowing like crazy all night. Mercutio went out, but he couldn't get back in the house because the overturned garbage can he uses to get up to the window had blown away. He could jump up to the windowsill, but there was nothing there he could hang on to, so he always fell back. I actually heard him, but I thought it was some branch hitting the house. I never imagined he could not just jump up and come in, even without the can.
Manfred found him the next morning, soaking wet, huddled under the little deck at the back door. There is nowhere here where he could be sheltered from the wind and rain.
Manfred found him the next morning, soaking wet, huddled under the little deck at the back door. There is nowhere here where he could be sheltered from the wind and rain.
Then next day, Valentine's Day, we woke up to find he was not well. He was crying, and obviously in distress. I thought he might be afraid to go outside, because of his bad experience, and it has been raining most of every day since then so outdoors was very soggy. So we made a little litter box for him inside. He tried to pee, but seemed to have difficulty and kept going back to try again.
I have had urinary infections before, so I know the symptoms. So I started researching the Internet. Seems UTI - urinary tract infections - are very common among neutered male cats. Without the testosterone and other things produced in the testes, the length of the urinary tract makes them susceptible to infections, and even blockage. It's extremely painful.
We called the vet hospital where we got him. They couldn't see him until Monday, unless it was on an emergency basis costing hundreds extra. I didn't want to go there anyway, so I looked for a holistic vet. The closest was Silverdale, and the were not open until Monday, so we made an appointment for Mon.
So he had to suffer the pain for 2 more days.
But we immediately took away his dry cat food and started feeding him canned food and distilled water. I also got him some pain pills for UTI for people, and gave him a tiny crumb.
By Sunday night he seemed to be back to his old happy self. No more crying and acting miserable. But we took him to the vet on Monday, anyway, just in case. He analysed a urine sample and said he had a bladder infection, cystitis. He gave Merky a shot and gave us medicine to give. Something to make the urine more acidic (or more alkaline, I forget which). An antibiotic (of course, despite the fact that cystitus is seldom caused by bacteria). And something else to give after the 10-day antibiotic treatment to reverse the pH imbalance caused by the antibiotic, I think, or maybe to break up crystals. We gave them to him on the first day, and then no more. Cost about $240. More than the cost of Manfred's trip to his dentist in Mexico. Never think buying cheap (dry) cat food is saving money.
Another vet said the traumatic experience of being locked out in the storm was most probably the cause.
