Blackie Is In Hospital

Blackie Is In Hospital

I was having some soup and toast, when I heard a little rustling behind me, as Blackie came round the back of one of the armchairs. He is often in that area, by the piano, so at any second I expected him to walk casually  in front of me; then I heard a bit of a thump: I looked round and saw Blackie was on the floor, stretched out on the carpet.

For a moment, I thought he had simply perhaps misjudged a jump from the armchair to the floor, but then he was trying to get up, and not really making it up on to four legs. He managed another step or two, but then collapsed again on the carpet.

He was clearly distressed; not meowing his usual "Hey, I'm here! Look at me!" meow, but a piteous little mew. I jumped up to stroke him and reassure him; he staggered up again, and this time got as far as the kitchen, when his legs went under him again and he lay stretched out on the tiles. He is such a long cat, and it brought home just how lengthy he is.

We rang our usual vet; there was a recorded message to say the surgery closed at 7.00 p.m, but there was an emergency number to call for an out-of-hours vet, and I rang them straight away. Another answer message there said the vet was busy at that moment, but to please try again shortly; I kept trying, and got through at about 7.30.

I explained what had happened, and was told to bring Blackie to the surgery, where a vet would see him straight away.

Whilst I had been on the phone, game Blackie had got up and gone to the tray, but he clearly wasn't able to tell if he was sitting on it properly; he then walked through to the hall, but he was so wobbly, it was awful to see him like that. Everything was a struggle for him.

Very gently and slowly, I picked him up and placed him into his carrier; he did not protest at all, and it was awful to have him so quiet and quiescent. I much prefer the bold, loud, argumentative, demanding Blackie!

The emergency vet's surgery was quite a way from our usual surgery, but we found it alright, and parked close to the entrance. Because of the problems with the virus, the vet came out to see us, and took down the details of what had happened to Blackie.

I asked if he could have suffered a stroke? and the vet said it is possible; she asked permission to first carry out blood tests and see what else might be happening, so that was agreed upon, and Blackie was admitted to hospital.

Well, that was a shock. As Mum would have said, "It's always the unexpected that turns up!" and she was right.  I asked the vet if the results of the tests came through this evening, please could she ring me and let me know what they are?

I said, "I'm an owl, so I am usually up until midnight, 1.00 o'clock..." and the vet laughed and said she would call me as soon as they had some answers.

Back home, I found it really hard to settle. I had another cup of tea and a Weetabix (so that's my early breakfast sorted, then!) and just waited for news.

As she had promised, the vet rang at about midnight.

First of all, Blackie was very comfortable, he was happy and purring. He is the only cat in the hospital at the moment, so he is getting all the attention. The results of the blood tests so far show he is low on potassium (just like Mum was...) and sodium, and dehydrated; his kidney function showed one kidney was not working as well as it should, so they had got him on medication, and would repeat the blood tests tomorrow.  Low potassium could have resulted in his ataxia, and why he was so weak he could not hold his head up; but four hours on, he was doing better now.

I had already asked if Blackie could have had a stroke, and the vet said it was possible; he also has a heart murmur, and there are other  indications of neurological problems, which could be ascertained by an MRI scan. We shall have discussions about that tomorrow.

I told the vet how much I appreciated her phoning us to tell us how Blackie was getting on at the moment, and that I will certainly sleep better having had that information.

Now we must wait until tomorrow; and for a day which we hope will also bring some good news.