Let me start by saying that Simon is doing great now–thank heavens. Last year, I had a medical scare with my sweet boy Simon, who inspired the creation of Bob in my Grimoires of a Middle-aged Witch. It was a health issue that I had never known could or would be a problem, and because of my ignorance here nearly died.
This is how it started…
On February 11th, 2024: Simon started throwing up. Initially, I thought he was having a hairball or an upset tummy. He gets that occasionally, and it usually sorts itself out.
Unfortunately, his symptoms worsened as the evening progressed. He wouldn’t eat, and he wasn’t interested in drinking fluids. He was also straining in a way that looked like he was trying to spray (something he’s never done before). When it was evident he was in pain, I rushed him to the vet for an emergency visit.
Simon had struvite crystals that caused a blocked urethra. A serious problem that occurs predominantly in male cats. It can cause kidney failure and death if untreated in the first 24-48 hours.
Yep, 24 to 48 hours.
I had no idea! Up until Simon and Ash, I’d only had a female cat before Simon, and my baby girl Thumper, who passed away at the age of 20, never had this issue.
Anyhow, the veterinarian was able to clear the blockage with surgery (yes! Surgery, ugh), and Simon was in care with them for 6 days. During that time, we tried once to remove the catheter, but he became blocked again and had to undergo another procedure. He was on an IV the entire week and a catheter to help him void.
It was the most scared I’ve been in a very long time. I spent every day at the veterinary clinic with him (Thank you to the Lifetime Animal Clinic for allowing me to have long, personal visits with Simon every day!) He was always happy to see me. And while he wouldn’t eat for them, but he would eat for me, so going in to be with him had been beneficial for both of us.
On February 15th, 2024: they removed the catheter for a second time to see if he could stay unblocked overnight. It worked! They let me bring him home on February 16th.
These pictures are of the trip home, him settling into his old environment.
We kept him separate from Ash and Kona for the first day, so he could destress and acclimate to all his stomping ground smells, and it would give the other animals a chance to reacquaint themselves with Simon and his hospital scent.
He had to take pills to keep his urethra dilated (yes, it’s sounds bad, but it worked). I bought him several water fountains, fed him with a dropper, and tried like all get-out to make the prescription diet tasty for him.
After a couple of days at home, Simon began to act grumpy and guard his lower stomach. This was on Sunday (February 18th, 2024). I called the vet, because he seemed in pain again. It turned out, his 4-day pain meds had started to wear off, so I took him in for another emergency visit. His bladder was soft, and non-distended, yay, but his urethra was still irritated. They gave him another 4-day dose of pain medication (a topical medication that gets applied on the back of the neck).
By the time we got home, he was feeling so much better. On Monday, he started to perk up more then by Tuesday (February 20, 2024), he started acting like his old self (he’s only 6 years old, but you know what I mean). He and Kona are always two peas in a pod, and Simon started searching her out. He also started playing with his toys. That was a big turning point.
He had both from legs shaved, his back and tail shaved, and there is a place on the right side of his neck that’s been shaved. We call it the poodle cat cut!
After a month of recovery, and a lot of vigilance and care at home, Simon started eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping like his normal chonky cat self. He started hanging with both Ash Cat and Kona the Perfect Pibble, and they were once again a pack of pals.
ONE YEAR LATER (February 18, 2025): Simon is doing terrific! I still gently squeeze his little belly every day to check to see if his bladder feels like a hard ball. Make sure he has fresh, filtered water in his fountain, feed him a Urinary Tract prescription diet, and try to keep his stress low. I can’t believe it’s been a year since the scary medical emergency happened, and I’m grateful for every day I get to spend with my lovey-love cuddly ball of a Zen.
He will always have to be on a urinary tract health diet now. Ash is now on the diet as well, LOL, because Simon eats her food, so she has to pay the price for his blockage as well. She doesn’t mind. She likes the food much better than he does. Of course.
Once a cat gets struvite crystals, the chance of it happening again is high. So, as I said, I am staying vigilant for early signs now, and I think I will always worry, but at least I know what to look for if it happens again.
If you have a male cat, definitely watch for signs (vomiting, straining, acting like he’s spraying when he’s never done that before, finding poop outside the litter box because he is straining so hard to clear his urinary tract that it forces poop out, sitting in litter box for long periods, lethargy, etc).
Hugs and love to you and your furkids.
Renee
