cellio | thwarted

This morning I talked to the clinic and they said I could pick Erik up tonight. Dani graciously agreed to drive me there, so we headed out through the end of rush hour to keep my 6:30 appointment (the latest they'd give me). I paid a large bill (thank heaven for cushion) and we waited. And waited. And waited.

Eventually they took us into a back room and gave me feeding instructions. Oh my, is this more complicated than I thought it would be! Erik has to be fed through the feeding tube for about ten days. Every six hours. No, really, going eight or nine is too long. Oof.

They also suggested monitoring any other eating or drinking he does. I have other cats. Well, they said, I can keep him isolated, and in fact I should do that anyway so he doesn't get into wrestling matches or something and pull out his sutures. Err. He'll love that, I'm sure. I think the compromise is to isolate him (probably in my office) when I'm not home and just pay attention when I am home, but we'll see.

There are drugs too, which don't necessarily follow the food schedule.

So after all that, they went to get him. As the orderly (do they call them orderlies?) carried in a very dejected-looking Erik, he (the orderly) said "hey, why is my shirt wet?". So back Erik went to find out why something in the vicinity of the tube was leaking.

Eventually, a vet came in and said it was food (not blood), and there seemed to be an abcess where the tube comes out. So they're keeping him tonight to deal with that, and with luck I can pick him up tomorrow. Dani is a real sweetie; he's willing to do this again (though this time he'll bring a book).

While we were waiting (first for the cat, then for the verdict on the leak) I read his chart. (Hey, it was just sitting there, and I'm paying enough for the events recorded therein. I figure it's mine to read.) It appears he's back down to around six and a quarter pounds at the moment, down from the seven and a bit when I brought him in, which in turn is down from his normal weight of around eight. They already told me on the phone that they were focusing on maintaining weight; increasing will come later. Sigh. (Dani suggested that since I'm missing a quarter of my cat, I should get a discount. :-) )

They also told me on the phone that he was fairly perky and active today, but I saw none of that when they carried him into the exam room. Now maybe that's the result of being carried by an unfamiliar orderly, but I have to wonder.

I sure hope tomorrow goes better than today! I want my cat home and healthy.

thwarted

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