He's a fighter.

I just talked to the vet. She said they are going to take the catheter out this morning, and her goal is to send him home this evening. He has been on the meds for long enough now that they should be working. And he has been eating quite well which is also a good sign. That should help break up the remaining sludge that is in his urine. So, I am supposed to call back late this afternoon (like right before I leave work) just to check to see if I can pick him up tonight, but the vet wants to send him home because he may be more relaxed at home and have a better chance at urinating on his own if he is in his home environment.

If it turns out this doesn’t work, then the vet will have us come back to talk about options. The only options left would be to put him down, or to have the surgery. She said the surgery is quite successful. I asked if he would be at risk for bladder infections, and she said academically yes, but her experience has been that cats who have the surgery rarely have problems. So, it is really a cost issue. I’m not really sure exactly how much it would cost, but I think I remember her saying before that it would be between $1,000 to $1,200, which is what we’ve already spent on him in the last week. The good news is she said that for this last stint of visit, they are not going to charge me any extra for last night and today. What they quoted me on the phone on Tuesday of an extra $400-$500 will be the total cost (on top of the $700 we paid on the weekend). So, it has been an expensive ordeal, but I just don't think I could have lived with myself if we hadn't paid to have the treatment. I would have always wondered "what if".

So, I'm not going to think about the surgery yet, I'll cross that bridge if we come to it. I wouldn't want to make that kind of decision until I have had a long talk about it with the vet and have all my questions answered.

Who knows, he may be okay and not need the surgery. The next few hours are critical since he needs to be able to pee on his own. But, he's been on the medication for long enough now that it should be working. And the food he has been eating is supposed to help break up any remainaing sludge or crystals in the urine.

So that's the update for today. I won't know anything more until late this afternoon. I really hope I get to bring him home tonight! If that's the case, I'm going to try to work from home tomorrow so I can be home to watch him.