Indy Pindy Pudding Pie

Indy, the cat in the icon, has been sneezing for about a week now. We assumed at first that it was because he got out on the balcony at the apartment, which is covered in thick dust from the construction upwind from the complex. Of course, he rolled in said dust, and immediately started sneezing. In the last couple of days, his sneezing has gotten worse, to the point where he is having 5-8 sneezes in a row. Yesterday, he started sneezing out yellowish mucus, over and over again. (And let me tell you, cats are worse than babies at letting you wipe their noses. I was seriously wishing for one of those baby nose-suction-bulbs...) His nose clearly is bothering him a lot, and though he's got his normal appetite, he seems tired. When he eats, he's all snorky. His usually pale pink and black nose is actually a little red and he won't stop washing it. Bandito is worried about him, and spends a lot of time snuggling next to him. (So, right next to the infected cat, clever.)

I called the vet this morning (my absolutely brilliant cat vet, Dr. McGeehee, he is seriously the best vet in town), and described the issue. Indy probably has a upper respiratory infection, but he'll need antibiotics, so I have a quick vet jaunt before I go in for work today. The vet tech girl said I should bring him in, even though Dr. McGeeHee is only there till noon today- because Indy is 12, an upper respiratory infection could turn fatal if left too long. (Like, say, till after Xmas...) Cats just aren't equipped to deal with stuff like that on their own.

Thank god I get paid at the store job today, so I can actually pay for this service. Merry Xmas, have some cat snot.

UPDATE: Indy has an upper respiratory infection, but we caught it early. It hasn't irritated his throat yet, or moved into his lungs and become pneumonia. (Cats usually do not survive pneumonia.) Indy now has banana-flavored liquid antibiotics to take twice a day until he's better. He's also now a svelte 12.5 pounds, which is better (and healthier!) than his former weight of 14-16 pounds. We also got lucky, as the vet is closed from tomorrow through Dec. 29, then open one day, then closed again until Jan. 4. The vet agreed that would have been too long to wait to take care of this.

I also want to reiterate how much I love our vet. He doesn't give me a hard time about not being able to bring the cats in all the time (due to money reasons), and gives me choices on treatment. (For example, today he offered an antibiotics shot, which starts at $75, or the liquid antibiotics, which is $20... other vets would do whatever makes them the most money.) He rarely can accept new clients, since he's so overbooked, but if you ever need a vet that really cares about animals (or, who can treat exotics, birds, rodents, and reptiles as well as cats and dogs), you cannot go wrong with Dr. Bill McGeeHee at Castle-West Animal Hospital in San Antonio. I hope he never retires.

Indy Pindy Pudding Pie

Indy, the cat in the icon, has been sneezing for about a week now. We assumed at first that it was because he got out on the balcony at the apartment, which is covered in thick dust from the construction upwind from the complex. Of course, he rolled in said dust, and immediately started sneezing. In the last couple of days, his sneezing has gotten worse, to the point where he is having 5-8 sneezes in a row. Yesterday, he started sneezing out yellowish mucus, over and over again. (And let me tell you, cats are worse than babies at letting you wipe their noses. I was seriously wishing for one of those baby nose-suction-bulbs...) His nose clearly is bothering him a lot, and though he's got his normal appetite, he seems tired. When he eats, he's all snorky. His usually pale pink and black nose is actually a little red and he won't stop washing it. Bandito is worried about him, and spends a lot of time snuggling next to him. (So, right next to the infected cat, clever.)

I called the vet this morning (my absolutely brilliant cat vet, Dr. McGeehee, he is seriously the best vet in town), and described the issue. Indy probably has a upper respiratory infection, but he'll need antibiotics, so I have a quick vet jaunt before I go in for work today. The vet tech girl said I should bring him in, even though Dr. McGeeHee is only there till noon today- because Indy is 12, an upper respiratory infection could turn fatal if left too long. (Like, say, till after Xmas...) Cats just aren't equipped to deal with stuff like that on their own.

Thank god I get paid at the store job today, so I can actually pay for this service. Merry Xmas, have some cat snot.

UPDATE: Indy has an upper respiratory infection, but we caught it early. It hasn't irritated his throat yet, or moved into his lungs and become pneumonia. (Cats usually do not survive pneumonia.) Indy now has banana-flavored liquid antibiotics to take twice a day until he's better. He's also now a svelte 12.5 pounds, which is better (and healthier!) than his former weight of 14-16 pounds. We also got lucky, as the vet is closed from tomorrow through Dec. 29, then open one day, then closed again until Jan. 4. The vet agreed that would have been too long to wait to take care of this.

I also want to reiterate how much I love our vet. He doesn't give me a hard time about not being able to bring the cats in all the time (due to money reasons), and gives me choices on treatment. (For example, today he offered an antibiotics shot, which starts at $75, or the liquid antibiotics, which is $20... other vets would do whatever makes them the most money.) He rarely can accept new clients, since he's so overbooked, but if you ever need a vet that really cares about animals (or, who can treat exotics, birds, rodents, and reptiles as well as cats and dogs), you cannot go wrong with Dr. Bill McGeeHee at Castle-West Animal Hospital in San Antonio. I hope he never retires.