Oscar

My Oscar is sick.

Yesterday morning, he threw up, but I didn't think much of it. Anyone who has cats (and some who don't) know that cats just sometimes ick up. But then he did it again. And again. He wasn't able to keep down water.

Then, in the afternoon, his stool came out completely liquid - mucous-y and bloody. And a few hours later, it happened again. My wonderful friend Brook immediately set to work Googling what she could about cat diarrhea.

And this whole time, Ocs (as I call him) was hunkered down under the bed between some boxes. For me to even see him, I had to move boxes around. For those of you who have met this love bug, you know that this is VERY un-Ocs-like behaviour. For those of you who have not met him, imagine if House, M.D., suddenly began treating his patients with better bedside manner than Wilson does. Or if Simon Cowell went three weeks in a row without saying some variation of "I don't mean to be rude, but..." Or if the NASCAR media went 48 hours without mentioning the "D-word" (and I don't mean "damn").

I called The Cat Doctor today, whom I adore, but they were overbooked because of this past week's snow cancellations and such. I asked them to refer me somewhere, and they suggested either VCA Cat Hospital or Girard Veterinary Clinic; however, only VCA is open on Saturdays. Fortunately they had some open appointments. Given Ocs' age (he'll be 14 this coming Friday) and symptoms, they suggested I have him seen right away. Which is when I started crying. Right on the phone with the poor woman. Embarrassing.

Another wonderful friend of mine, Naomi, rented a car to come pick Ocs and me up because I didn't think I was in any condition to drive by then. Ocs got examined and, just like a car at the mechanic, he started to act more himself, wanting skritches, licking my face, etc. The vet couldn't even listen to his heart because he wouldn't stop purring! I told her good luck with that because he ALWAYS purrs.

In the end, we got sent home with a prescription for an anti-diarrheal if it's still happening tomorrow, and directions to give 2.5 mg of OTC Pepcid AC once a day. They gave him fluids sub-cutaneously since he was slightly dehydrated. They took some blood tests, and the results should be back on Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. If the blood work doesn't show anything, though, she wants to discuss x-rays, urinalysis, and hospitalisation.

He didn't eat at all yesterday, so tonight, she wants me to try to interest him in one tablespoon of wet food. If he keeps that down, I'm to keep trying 1-2 tablespoons of wet food frequently, as he can tolerate it. Wish us luck!

Oh, and for anyone who hasn't yet met the wonder known as Oscar - one pic of him trying to occupy my knitting bag, and one pic of him keeping the inside of a bag safe from enemy invaders (he really is in there!):