Oscar-Tyrone... A Sickly Kitty

So...

For the past month or so, I've noticed that The Original Oldcat Oscar-Tyrone has lost a little weight. He's always been 9 or 10 pounds, so he is small, but it has been noticeable.

I know he is tired of me saying...

"Hey boy, you got hips! I see your hips!"

Yes, his little hip bones were showing. However, he had been prancing around as usual.

But this week he was acting funny. He was vomiting a little. I thought it was hairballs.

Then he's been acting a bit delusional, like he's hearing things. Made me think someone was in the house for a minute there.

Then on Wednesday night when I got home from work, he wasn't at the door to greet me. I didn't hear a sound from him for a couple of hours. I didn't think much of it. I thought he may be somewhere sleeping in one of his hiding places.

Then I heard all this wailing... from somewhere in the house.

Then I found Oscar-Tyrone on the floor on the side of the bed hollering.

And he did not look good. He even got to the point where liquids were coming out his mouth and his butt. Yikes.

It was too late to take him anywhere. So I put him first in the laundry room with his litter box, and then in the upstairs bathroom. I only hoped he would be okay in the morning.

I checked on him before bed. He was sitting quietly in the corner staring at the wall. Mess was everywhere. I need a truck of bleach to clean everything up.

The next morning I took him to a ritzy looking animal hospital nearby. When I walked in there, I knew they wouldn't take me. And they didn't. They sent me some 15 minutes away to Decatur to an emergency hospital.

So I went there.

Oscar in his crate in the back seat of the car was a trip. He screamed the whole time. He does NOT like being confined.

As you can see, he is NOT happy. Being sick and mad is not a good combination.

Once we got to the animal hospital he was stone quiet. I let him out of his cage and he just sat there on the table.

But he was still shellshocked and skittish.

They spent a half hour examining him. They determined that he had some type of liver problem because he was turning yellow. So I left him there. Blood tests and x-rays showed that he had a liver and gall bladder infection. So they are keeping him for a couple of days so he can be on IV.

I got a call this morning saying that he was perky, had eaten all his food, and that he looked much better.  I can pick him up Saturday afternoon.

He will need intense home care.

*crickets*

HUNH? What the...?

Uh, I am waiting to see what THAT's all about.  Intense home care? 

Well, I am off on Saturday and Sunday. I can do "intense" then, whatever that means. Not sure how he's gonna make out when I go to work on Monday Morning. I have a big giant cage in the garage that I used for Jeremy when he was alive. He'll have to stay in that, I suppose. I live 5 miles from work, so I can go home in the middle of my workday and have lunch and check on him. That's as intense as it gets.

Intense. Hmm.

Anyway, I am glad he will be alright. The worse case scenario would be that he was in liver failure, and that's not the case. I told my cubicle mate Cowgirl Cre that I would just go back over there with my Mahalia Jackson Greatest Hits CD, play a couple of songs, have him put to sleep, and go on to the Whole Foods and have a little repast. 

Jeremy had a decent funeral. I would take Oscar home and bury him right next to Jeremy. Sure would.

I'm serious. I didn't give birth to him. Not going bankrupt over him.

Oscar has lived a good 15 years, and has never had to work a day in his life. He has lived the good life. The good life indeed. Yes sir!

Looks like he's going to live a little longer!