Remember the long-haired brother of Arwen? He kinda looks like a skinny grey and white Arwen :) (it's the one on the right ;))

Well, some time ago I got a call from his owners. He wasn't eating and was vomitting all over the place. I told them if it wasn't over the next day, they should see the vet. And they did. Unfortunately, the vet diagnosed the cat with bowl obstruction and referred them to a clinic.

There they were told that he needed an operation. The next day, they went to pick him up. He was not to jump or stretch for at least a week, but they didn't give them a cage to keep him in. I happened to have an appointment with them that evening, for a social call, so I was there the evening he came home. I called my old clinic and they were able to pick up a cage there, so they could sleep more easy, knowing Merry couldn't hurt himself. The cat was also still incredibly drowsy and a little cold, both signs of either sedation, or internal bleeding. I called their vet to hear what he had had that day, since the operation had been the day before and the sedation should've worn off. Luckily, they confirmed that he had had morfine which caused his disorientation.

The next day, a new problem presented itself. Merry refused to eat, and in his condition, they needed to get as much food in him as possible. So I went to my old clinic and picked up some A/D, which is used to get animals to fatten fast or recover swiftly after surgery. He wasn't able to resist the smell of it ;) And we were off to a good start. The next day, I babysat him (his owners had a prior commitment they really couldn't get out of), as he wasn't to be left alone till they were sure he was recovering ok.

It was couple of stressful and emotional days, for me, but most of all, for his owners. It was incredibly expensive, but also very frightening. They were told that if they hadn't acted as soon as they did, he would've been dead within five days. It was also extremely rare for a cat to suffer from this kind of bowl obstruction. The thing they removed from his bowls was a hairball, something cats normally have no problems with. The cause was probably an underlying infection which caused the bowls to not be fully functional.

It once again reminded me that you should always take your cat to the vet as soon as they stop eating, and to make sure you have the cash to take care of your kitten. After all, this can happen to any kitten, and it cannot be prevented. The only thing you can do, is catch it as soon as it happens.

I am happy to report though that Merry is fine and dandy these days and is up to his usual oh so sweet misschief, together with his brother Pippin ;)