Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Skittles and Posts of the Week

I have two beautiful cats. They're litter mates who will be 14, this May. To me, they're still kittens.



skitty face
This is Skittles. He's at the veterinary clinic, right now. A couple of days ago, he was struggling and straining to use the litter box. Both of my guys have had urinary tract issues before so I know that a blockage can quickly become urgent. It was that way with Skitty.

On Monday morning, after having been away for a few days, I noticed him straining. I had recently changed his food, and thought that perhaps it was his bowels giving him some grief. As the day progressed, it began to dawn on me that his difficulty was in peeing and I made the 6 o'clock appointment. Up until the time we brought him in, he still had an appetite and was mildly playful.


Skitty cleaning
By the time we got him to the vet, he was becoming toxic. He needed to be catheterized and have fluids administered by IV in order to empty and flush his bladder, which they did shortly after our arrival. According to the vet, his urine was "wall to wall crystals" preventing him from being able to pass even a trickle from his bladder.

Twenty four hours later, he's due to have the catheter removed and if he continues peeing on his own, they'll do a blood test to see if there is any damage to his kidneys from this episode.

Skitty close2
Skitty is one special cat. He has an exceptionally fun, curious, comical, loving way about him. Everyone who knows him can see what a sweetie he is. I adore that boy.


Zeph baby
His brother Zephyr is waiting patiently for his return - along with the rest of us.

Hurry and get well, my sweet Skitty.


And now, without further delay, here are the
Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.




SO CUTE

Cookies and Crapola
by Dianne
at Forks Off the Moment




A GOOD READ


We Intersect, and We Move On
by Pearl
at Pearl, Why You Little..




JUST PLAIN GOOD


Juxtapositions Right Now
by Kerry
at Ed and Reub



PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Kestrel (male and female)
by Bob
at Birds and Nature in the Forest of Dean

Beautiful Blades
by Christine
at Christine Create

I Took a Walk..
by Barbara
at Confessions of a Photography Addict

Canada Goose - Flying Upside Down
by Kerri
at A Little Piece of Me


Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you.

52 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

thanks for the great posts, once again.

i do hope your sweet boy will be okay!

stephen Hayes said...

Our son's kitty just went to the vet with a similar urinary problem. Great photographs by the way.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

You had me worried there, Hilary. I hope dear Skittles is out of danger and will be able to come home soon. You capture such amazing portraits of your precious kitties.

(By the way, my hubby can relate to the misery Skittles was in when he couldn't go. He's had to deal with an enlarged prostate, but a talented surgeon took care of that about a year ago.)

photowannabe said...

Hope your sweet Kitty will be completely healthy quickly.
they both look like wonderful companions.

Rob-bear said...

Any unwell creature gathers my sympathy. Even if it is a bird-killing cat.

Unspoken said...

I hope he recovers quickly! Poor guy!

Laura~Pretty Pix said...

I hope Skitty has a full recovery. My male kitty had the same problem. I'm so glad you saw the signs. As you know, it can go from bad to deadly fast.

Cloudia said...

such a sensitive post of feline soul.
Can't wait to check out this weeks POTW!


Warm Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral

><}}(°>

Sueann said...

Hope Skittles is home and purring away at home now? What a precious one he is.
Now to check out the POTW. Thanks
Hugs
SueAnn

Pauline said...

Thanks for some good reads :) Hoping Skittles scuttles home quickly! Gotta love cats.

Brian Miller said...

i hope that he is ok...love his markings, looks a bit like our older cat miko...congrats to everyone...

JDC said...

Lovely cat =)

Steve Gravano said...

Here's to Skittles quick return. Sasha (our cat) is always upset when her sister Isabel (our dog) is not around.

Hilary said...

I hope your boy comes home, and has no residual problems from this episode. My Kizzy goes through the same thing....it is frightening.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

OH POOR sweet kitty! Spike and I wish him well!

Unknown said...

Get well soon Skittles!!! You are a beautiful kitty!!!

Daryl said...

another good selection of bloggers to visit.

And I know Skitty will be fine, after all he's got 9 lives! Give them both a kiss on the nose from me ...

Leah J. Utas said...

Aww, Skitty. Get home soon.

DJan said...

I love cats, and your pretty Skitty touches my heart. I do hope he will be okay. Hugs to you and your two beautiful cats. And as usual I am truly enjoying the pictures, I feel like I could reach out and pet Skittles!

Suldog said...

Here's hoping (and I'll say a prayer) that the kitty becomes better!

Kat said...

Awww. That poor baby! I can't imagine how painful that was. I hope little kitty, kitty is much better!

sage said...

I do hope Skittles is well now. He reminds me of Happy, my only cat who was such a treasure. She died when my daughter was two and since her breathing problems ended soon afterwards, I never got another cat.

the Bag Lady said...

Get well soon, Skittles! We're all worrying about you.

Elizabeth Grimes said...

Hope Skittles feels better soon! Sorry to hear about that. We worry about our pets as much as if they're people.

Pearl said...

Skittles looks remarkably like Liza Bean Bitey (of the Minneapolis Biteys).

Please tell him Liza says "hey".

Pearl

p.s. Thank you for the post of the week mention. :-)

messymimi said...

Praying your Skittles is home and all well soon.

Christine said...

Sending love & healing ~ ~ ~ beautiful photos of your beautiful kitties :) thx for potw

holdingmoments said...

I hope he makes a quick and full recovery Hilary. A beautiful pair of cats.

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

Hope all goes well with Skitty and that he is home and comfy right quick. Oma Linda

Kerry said...

Oh, poor kitty; it sounds like you got him to the vet just in time. They have great treatments for this particular feline affliction, so I bet he'll back to his old self soon; he's a handsome healthy-looking 14-year old.

Oh hey, thank you for the potw! (Big surprise for me this morning!)

Kerri Farley said...

Oh, Get well soon Skitty!!

Thanks for mentioning the Goose post Hilary. I'm told that is a goose "whiffle" :)

Dianne said...

thanks for the POTW Hil, you're so generous

I hope Skittles is better and home very soon
Neither cat looks 14!!
wow, you all have some good genes :)
hugs

Betty Manousos said...

oh, poor guy, i hope he recovers quickly.
thanks for the great posts, hilary.

xoxo

Cheryl Kohan said...

I sure do hope he's up to snuff, soon. Poor little guy. Give him (and Zephyr) lots of hugs and kisses.

Liz Mays said...

Oh that makes me sad! I hope he gets better very soon!

Rosaria Williams said...

Poor kitty! Hope by now he/she is back home and back to good health. I'm not familiar with what can go wrong for kitties; so, this is a wake-up call for me too. Thank you.

yaya said...

I hope Skittles is better soon and I think Zephyr looks very much like my cat Squeak!

That Janie Girl said...

Your cats are beautiful. Praying Skittles has a quick recovery! Not fun when your "babies" are down!

Gillian Olson said...

What beautiful cats, I hope your tabby is better and back home soon.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Oh, poor Skitty! I hope he can come home soon.♥
Off to visit the POTW entries...

Anonymous said...

I hope your kitty comes home well - and soon!

Hilary said...

Thank you for your kind and encouraging words, everyone. Skitty is still at the vet's this morning. We'll see how today goes. Your support means a lot to me.. much appreciated. :)

Barb said...

Oh, I hope Skitty is feeling much better.

Maggie May said...

Gorgeous cats. Love the way you zoom in.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Gail Dixon said...

We used to see kitty blockages all the time at the vet clinic I worked for. Hope your little one is on the mend! Beautiful photos!!

Dave said...

As a cat person I love your cats Hilary. Hope Skitty got well quickly. That's an interesting ailment. I have heard of it but none of our cats have had it. I wonder if the food you have over there may be responsible? - Dave

Reb said...

Poor Skittles! I hope he is home and feeling better by now. Great links once again!

lime said...

poor skitty. i hope he's doing better by now. love that last shot of zephyr.

Barbara said...

This is why I hate not having time each day for reading my favorite blogs - I hope Skittles is home and doing well by now. My beloved Char had kidney problems - several times we had to give her fluids at home via an IV we hung from the ceiling fan in our bedroom. We were able to keep her several more years that way. She was almost 20 when she died. I hope you have Skittles keeping you company that long. And thank you so much for the POTW!! I'm humbled and honored!!

Ruby said...

Beautiful cats!! I hope he is fine now. Cheers, Ruby

Unknown said...

Such a good looking cat. I wish him a speedy recovery. Good thing you took action!

Jo-Anne said...

I truly hope that Skittles is now OK, back home happy & healthy! He looks a lot like my 23 year old baby (tabby cat Roxanne).