Reenie
10-30-2005, 09:02 PM
I am so frustrated. Posting this from my journal to avoid retyping long story...
I had told Eric earlier in the week that he needed to go through his clothes, pick out those for Goodwill, and just to set them on the floor next to the bed and I would wash and pack them up to take on Saturday. So I looked down at the pile of clothes, and there was blood all over! I soaked it up with several Kleenexes and smelled it (gross, I know), at which point I realized that it was a mix of blood and urine. So I got Eric to hold each kitty while I lifted their tails and examined their bottoms, and realized it was coming from Cheetos. I called the 24 hour emergency vet who advised me to bring him in immediately. At this point, it was 12:30 a.m. I had gone from serene and sleepy to crying hysterically in less than 60 seconds, and Eric and I were zooming over to the vet as quickly as possible.
But then
Okay, so on Saturday, I am cleaning out the litter box, completely changing it over, you know, and Bella comes up and pees and SHE'S the one with the bloody urine. I was like WTF? I guess Cheetos must have been in the area and just gotten it on his fur because I watched him pee and it was clean as a whistle. So I'm an idiot. And I am panicking. Again. I called the 24 hour emergency vet again and luckily the same doctor was working, so I explained the situation to her and asked if I needed to bring Bella in. She said no, that it sounded like a UTI for Bella (kept getting in and out of litter box, female cats aren't susceptible to stones, etc), and that while she couldn't legally tell me to give Bella the ABx prescribed for Cheetos because she hadn't examined her, that giving her the same dosage as presribed would certainly not hurt her. So she was basically telling me to do it but covering her butt. I started Bella on the meds on Saturday night and took her to the vet on Monday afternoon (blood still in urine, cat now peeing in bathroom sink, me now cleaning bathroom sink twenty times per day). He said it was a little early for the blood to stop and that she is peeing in the sink because she associates the pain with the litter box and when she begins to feel better, she will go back to using the litterbox. But so far, she is still peeing in the sink and Eric and I have to double-team her to give her the ABx twice each day, which is lovely.
Bella is clearing up, still peeing in the sink a bit, but the blood is almost gone from the urine. But Cheetos peed on the couch yesterday! I was shocked- he has always used the litter box! Luckily, most of it was on the cushions so I took off the fabric and washed them with Woolite and took the cushions themselves to the laundromat (too big for the washer), and then the little bit that was on the couch itself I blotted with papertowels, then sprayed with Resolve, blotted with papertowels again, then sprayed with Febreeze. The couch is fine. But Cheetos won't go into the damn basement (we've only lived here for a month and this place is much bigger than anywhere Cheetos has ever lived- he's six), which is where their boxes and food and water are. He is so chubby and he will always eat, but he won't go down there- I don't know what he's afraid of, but it's like he's scared. Then, I was taking out a tarp from the basement, and there was urine on it- and that smelled like it had had a little time on it, if you know what I mean.
I don't know what to do. I lured both of them into the basement with some soft food and reintroduced them to the litterbox, food, and water, and then I left them alone down there after a few minutes, but just a few minutes after that, Cheetos was on the first floor, CRYING (I was on the second floor), and I had to call to him to get him to stop squalling. I don't know what to do- #1) I want to resolve this out-of-litterbox problem and #2) I don't want my kitties to be afraid of the basement (and I don't know why they're suddenly afraid now after a month here)...
Please help.
I had told Eric earlier in the week that he needed to go through his clothes, pick out those for Goodwill, and just to set them on the floor next to the bed and I would wash and pack them up to take on Saturday. So I looked down at the pile of clothes, and there was blood all over! I soaked it up with several Kleenexes and smelled it (gross, I know), at which point I realized that it was a mix of blood and urine. So I got Eric to hold each kitty while I lifted their tails and examined their bottoms, and realized it was coming from Cheetos. I called the 24 hour emergency vet who advised me to bring him in immediately. At this point, it was 12:30 a.m. I had gone from serene and sleepy to crying hysterically in less than 60 seconds, and Eric and I were zooming over to the vet as quickly as possible.
But then
Okay, so on Saturday, I am cleaning out the litter box, completely changing it over, you know, and Bella comes up and pees and SHE'S the one with the bloody urine. I was like WTF? I guess Cheetos must have been in the area and just gotten it on his fur because I watched him pee and it was clean as a whistle. So I'm an idiot. And I am panicking. Again. I called the 24 hour emergency vet again and luckily the same doctor was working, so I explained the situation to her and asked if I needed to bring Bella in. She said no, that it sounded like a UTI for Bella (kept getting in and out of litter box, female cats aren't susceptible to stones, etc), and that while she couldn't legally tell me to give Bella the ABx prescribed for Cheetos because she hadn't examined her, that giving her the same dosage as presribed would certainly not hurt her. So she was basically telling me to do it but covering her butt. I started Bella on the meds on Saturday night and took her to the vet on Monday afternoon (blood still in urine, cat now peeing in bathroom sink, me now cleaning bathroom sink twenty times per day). He said it was a little early for the blood to stop and that she is peeing in the sink because she associates the pain with the litter box and when she begins to feel better, she will go back to using the litterbox. But so far, she is still peeing in the sink and Eric and I have to double-team her to give her the ABx twice each day, which is lovely.
Bella is clearing up, still peeing in the sink a bit, but the blood is almost gone from the urine. But Cheetos peed on the couch yesterday! I was shocked- he has always used the litter box! Luckily, most of it was on the cushions so I took off the fabric and washed them with Woolite and took the cushions themselves to the laundromat (too big for the washer), and then the little bit that was on the couch itself I blotted with papertowels, then sprayed with Resolve, blotted with papertowels again, then sprayed with Febreeze. The couch is fine. But Cheetos won't go into the damn basement (we've only lived here for a month and this place is much bigger than anywhere Cheetos has ever lived- he's six), which is where their boxes and food and water are. He is so chubby and he will always eat, but he won't go down there- I don't know what he's afraid of, but it's like he's scared. Then, I was taking out a tarp from the basement, and there was urine on it- and that smelled like it had had a little time on it, if you know what I mean.
I don't know what to do. I lured both of them into the basement with some soft food and reintroduced them to the litterbox, food, and water, and then I left them alone down there after a few minutes, but just a few minutes after that, Cheetos was on the first floor, CRYING (I was on the second floor), and I had to call to him to get him to stop squalling. I don't know what to do- #1) I want to resolve this out-of-litterbox problem and #2) I don't want my kitties to be afraid of the basement (and I don't know why they're suddenly afraid now after a month here)...
Please help.