Cat Nears Escapes Death

It’s been a difficult weekend. Oggy the kitty had one of her episodes and last night I was on deathwatch.

Through a combination of hairballs and old age, she gets constipated and won’t keep food or water down. Given her kidney problems, I feared they would shut down and she’d pass away during the night without even a whimper.

Based on a friend’s recommendation, I took her to "LA Pet Clinic" on Melrose yesterday. This little bandaged shack looked like an hourly motel on the outside, but the vet inside was really superior. But a caution about their help. The first girl I dealt with told me Oggy was “FiV positive.” FiV is the kitty equivalent of AIDS. Needless to say, I had several minutes of panic before the vet came in and said this was not true. The assistant also had Oggy’s temperature at 96 degrees, which the doctor said would mean my cat had died several minutes ago.

After careful examination, the vet says I need to inject fluids under Oggy’s skin every day for the rest of her life. I agreed to this, of course, but nearly fell over when I saw the set up. I thought I’d just be putting the needle in, pressing the plunger and letting her run away. This is a complete set up for an IV like you’d find in a hospital! I’m not good with needles, but I'd better get good now.

She is nibbling at her food today and even purred when I rubbed her so hopefully she’s out of the woods and will make it to her birthday this week.

I can't find the CD for my digital camera, but there are some pics I wanted to upload. Another time...