Thursday, March 28, 2024
black catscatsfeline healthjelly bean

I Am Thankful Jelly Bean is Home

He pauses in the action.

“There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home…there’s no place…like…my bathroom, and my mom!”

So the little Bean Bag is back, and in fact we were only gone a little over three hours. It turns out he was blocked—even though he was producing drops, his bladder was not emptying, a situation that was already painful evidenced by his quiet crouching in the corner and not eating breakfast. Jelly Bean not eating breakfast is a sign the world is ending, and drastic measures are in order. I decided to wait until evening just in case the prednisone and added antibiotic in addition to the vitamin C and cranberry would open the flood gates eventually, but they did not. He has reached this point three times before in his life though I’ve always turned him around, but not this time.

name tag
His name tag.

Since my cats see a house call veterinarian, the only time they’ve ridden in a car was when I took them to be neutered. They had each other, so it apparently wasn’t such a trauma. Jelly Bean just gave one protesting meow, then was quiet, no yowling, no rattling the cage door, meaning “no making mom nervous while she’s driving in the dark and very concerned about your condition.”

Fooling with his bandage.

The Bean was sweet and cuddly and charming and purring at the emergency hospital, as all my cats tend to be. A tech did the triage interview and the mini-exam, then took him into the back to begin treatment while I did paperwork. The veterinarian returned to tell me of her plans, which included unblocking, some testing and at least two days of hospital care.

the patient
The patient.

When I went back to reception to make my downpayment and saw the cost, the high estimate being somewhere in the neighborhood of what I’d paid for my used Ford Escort, and that I’d have to pay the entire low estimate, well, I had known all along I’d have a problem there. I simply told them I didn’t have it and asked what they could do. The receptionist went to talk to the veterinarian who said that for a price I could afford she would give him an anesthetic, unblock him, flush the system, and send him home with medication. This was actually what I’d wanted anyway—most of the estimate dealt with sitting around to watch and see if he peed again, and I’d already proved I was pretty good at that having spent a good part of the last three days doing just that.

He also wants out.

Caring for a cat in this condition is not to be taken lightly. I am good at it because I’d already cared for two cats who blocked, or attempted to, pretty regularly, and my veterinarian had thoroughly explained what was happening and what to look for. I’m sure my description of his condition and my initial treatments in my intake interview told the veterinarian I was experienced enough to adequately care for a cat in this condition.

Didn't need those tights anyway, I'm glad JB us happy.

So, I sat back down to wait for him, and was rewarded with bringing him back home tonight. His return in the carrier was greeted with skeptical looks and even hisses from his siblings who apparently thought he smelled funny. His best buddy, Mr. Extremely Sensitive Operatically Melodramatic Giuseppe is generally upset and hissing at every opportunity. JB is his best buddy. Could be he’s worried, upset by the way JB smelled when he came back, or jealous that JB got extra attention.

A lot of this happening.

JB is always a very purring and demonstrative kitty, but he was definitely still under the influence of the anesthetic, not wobbly, but much more talkative and walking around nearly in circles in happiness. He was very difficult to photograph because he would not stop moving!

I am very thankful for all this, and for what I have learned that enables me to take care of my little guy. I am also thankful for everyone’s good wishes!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

18 thoughts on “I Am Thankful Jelly Bean is Home

  • This is good news! We know how scary and dangerous a blockage can be. We’re a little slow visiting everyone on our blogroll (with vet issues of our own lately) but send head bonks and purrs. Belated wishes on your CWA awards!

    Reply
    • Layla, thanks for taking the time to visit, and for the congratulations. I hope your vet issues clear up soon–I never mind doing it, but it never ceases to amaze me how I can spend a whole day observing a cat who may have a condition that I need to monitor, and nothing else gets done!

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  • So happy to hear JB is back home in your loving care. I had a cat with a blocked urinary tract and he had to have surgery. You are very lucky you saw the signs and caught it in time. I always find it so fascinating after a trip to the vet, how the other cats react. As you know, Zee and Zoey are cat soul mates, but after Zee came back from his neutering, Zoey wanted no part of him for several weeks!!

    Reply
    • Deb, I had two who taught me the ropes in the years before that surgery was available, so I’m always looking for it in the boy cats, afraid I’ll miss something. You have a group of siblings just like these, and you know how absolutely bonded they can be when they’ve never been apart. I guess it was a shock to them that he was suddenly different in that particular communication area under the tail where he’d been shaved and swabbed with lots of different things. It took a few days for him to get his own scent back, but my extra-sensitive Giuseppe was really upset and combative since JB’s his best buddy.

      Reply
  • Sending good thoughts your way, poor Jelly!

    Reply
    • Wazeau, he’s the nicest kitty, and this has hardly gotten him down. He just wants out of the bathroom!

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  • Anita

    Lots of healing wishes to the Bean!

    Reply
  • I’m sure glad he’s back home! Happy Thanksgiving, for sure!

    Reply
  • Renee

    Good catch, Bernadette! I’m glad he’s home and happy. It’s not fun being in the hospital on Thanksgiving. Here’s to continued improvement, JB!!

    Reply
    • Renee, I started Sunday night with the basic treatments and that has always headed him off, but I guess he was bound to block this time.

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  • I’m glad he’s back home, Bernadette, and in your more-than-capable hands. (These guys really know how to scare the liver out of us, as my mom used to say.) Home really is the best place —

    Reply
    • Thanks for your support, Tammy, and the liver is truly too important an organ to have scared out of one’s body!

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  • I missed yesterday’s post, and I’m so glad to hear he’s back home with you. Urinary blockage is so scary, and I’m glad you caught it when you did. Sending lots of healing wishes for a quick and complete recovery!

    Reply
    • Thank you, Ingrid! I’ve had a few others who were sensitive in this area, but I always have an eye on him for this. He’s come close, but never blocked before, and I’m just glad I know the symptoms and some basic treatments. For how common this is, it always reminds me of how well cats can hide truly life-threatening conditions.

      Reply

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