Tommy Gargoyle had a urethral obstruction on Sunday. I caught it early and the ER catheterized him, said he was stable, and sent him home the next night. I stayed up with him most of the night and we slept together on the dining room floor on some guinea pig laundry. He was playful, energetic, loving, loved getting a rough petting, was eating and urinating…although there was some blood in his urine.

The next morning he reluctantly ate, started hiding under the bed, getting dribbles of urine out until there was nothing, and there was blood on the floor that hadn’t been diluted with urine, because it stopped.

I took him back to the ER by 1pm and I’m telling you I lost my shit when they said he had reblocked again. But you just gave him back to me! He was fine.

Well they said maybe he still had some irritation in his bladder that didn’t subside and if they’d left the cath in longer, or even had it properly placed the first time, his bladder wouldn’t be hemorrhaging. The doc said this time when she flushed him out with a new catheter, his urine was foul and blood clots kept flushing out. 

So whether they screwed him or he screwed it, Tom got screwed in 48 hours, and at $2000 per trip, we wouldn’t be able to afford to keep doing it. It was decided that we’d pay $3000 for a surgery that should make blocking a non thing. If you don’t catch a blockage in the first 12 hours there is serious pain, and a risk of organ damage. That seemed to be the case when he’d blocked November 30th. I took him in at least 12 after it started, and if I hadn’t caught it, he could have died overnight.
So not only are blockages insane on your wallet, a huge discomfort to your cat, but you risk them dying every time they get one.

We found a hospital in Annandale, VA and transferred Tom there from Rockville, MD at about 5:30am.

He didn’t get into surgery until between 1 & 2 pm. By 5pm he was alert and out of anesthesia.

So here’s where I mutilated my cat. He doesn’t get to have a penis anymore because the urethra was too small. They sliced his lower abdomen, fillets the man parts, and goes up higher to locate a wider part of the urethra. Things are then reconstructed and put back together, and he’ll be peeing from the new wider opening now.

I really hope he gets over it. He loves hanging out with anyone there that will let him be affectionate, but he’s going to be living in an Elizabethan collar in his own home for 2 weeks. He’ll be confined too the living room, a set of pet steps purchased so hopefully he won’t jump into the loveseat, white fleece located to put on the loveseat and watch for blood, a new litter box with paper litter where his living room cat tree will used to have been, and we can move his feeder into the living room too.

I was at my wits end. I can’t afford $10,000 but my boyfriend said he’s not letting me let Tommy go yet.

$2000 Nov 30

$2000 Feb 12

$2000 Feb 14

$3000 Feb 16

$68 per month for Pretty Litter to diagnosis UTIs for the first 6 months

And just whatever the hell else wants to get thrown at me.

My CareCredit is maxed. Now my AMEX is maxed. About to max my Best Buy card. Might end up maxing the target card.
This too shall pass, right?

I love my boy and I want him to be healthy and happy, and apparently his dad loves him very much.

This was one of the visits we had at the ER were he was still connected to IV and catheter, but was soaking up the loves. Tommy was purring loudly, kneading his paws, making you really smush his face, and he buried his face in my neck for mom smells. At that point we gave him my hoodie. He still has it right now in Virginia.