We found out this morning that
Ahmed will be ok.
Ahmed is one of my girlfriend's cats. He's a three year old white, fluffy, somewhat blind, happy cat. Except for Sunday, when we went over to her apartment and he was acting funny. Just sitting there, not really moving a lot, and this is a cat that does not sit still, ever. Her other cat Ivan was noticeably upset about this, too. We opened the patio door and Ahmed started outside while we packed up some things in the kicthen. Then I heard him mew. Ahmed has never made a sound, ever.
I went outside and had a look at him. He lay on the ground, no real energy to speak of. I grabbed him to pick him up and he let out a big cry. Not good. Since it was Sunday, and there are no god damn vets open on Sunday, we decided to take him to my house to watch him until Monday morning.
After getting him home, and observing him struggle to urinate and vomit a few times, we took him to the Madison County Emergency Animal Clinic. This is a 24-hour clinic-of-last-resort. We showed up about 4:30. There were 6 or 8 people in line in front of us already, in a very small waiting room that already smelled like shit and vomit. I had Ahmed in my arms, and Carolyn was not doing so well either. I had no choice but to sit on the floor. Some people showed up with a tiny little dog they said had eaten some poison mushrooms while on a July 4th trip to Florida. The little guy looked to be 1 step away from death. Some other people's dog had been shot by some crazy neighbors. Another couple found out their dog had parvo and was going to die. This was not shaping up to be a good afternoon. Ahmed's stomach was so sensitive and he was overheating. He was letting out a cry every five minutes and was constantly struggling with me to let him go. A man then walked in carrying a large dog in his arms. Said the dog had been chasing the frisbee with him in his front yard and tripped, and tumbled head over heels. 45 minutes later we found out the dog had broken his spine and would likely die.
Ahmed got seen after an hour and a half of waiting. The vet said she thought he had urinary tract blockage and wanted to perform a string of things on him. They quoted us between $700 and $900 for these things, which probably would have cost $150 at our regular vet's office. They couldn't even assure us that this would determine for sure what was wrong with him. Our regular vet opened in another 12 hours. We got them to give Ahmed an antiinflammatory and took him home, and prayed that he would be okay until the morning.
Carolyn and I did not sleep Sunday night. Ahmed did not eat, and vomited back up the water we forced him to drink. He curled up in the bathroom and did not move. At 7:00 Monday morning we took him to my regular vet. I trust my vet. He went to Auburn University, arguably the best veterinary school in the United States. We left Ahmed with him. They said they would let us know.
Last night we discovered that everything the emergency vet told us was wrong. Ahmed had over a period of time been eating and swallowing pieces of plastic bags. Supermarket bags, Wal-Mart bags. Things like that. These things had created large blockages in his colon. The vet gave Ahmed some enemas. They cleared out the largest blockage, which was putting pressure on his bladder. I saw the x-ray this morning, and it was horrible. I understand now why Ahmed let out such a cry whenever I moved him. The vet said Ahmed didn't move all day yesterday. Ahmed bounced all over the exam room this morning, and was so happy to see us. He is better. He still has a smaller piece in him which the vet says will probably pass soon, but Ahmed has to start eating again. They are going to try to get him to eat something today and see if it will pass.
I love my cat.