Poor Puss-cat!

This morning I bribed (and slightly bullied I'm afraid I have to admit... though I felt mean) our dear cat, Sherlock into his carry box.  We set off for the vet, for his annual booster jabs. 

Well, I am so glad we went.  The vet weighed him and said he'd lost nearly 2lbs in weight in a year. That's a fair bit for a cat.  He has looked a little thin and scraggly recently, but we put it down to the onset of Winter and his fur getting its winter coat.

She took blood tests, for kidney, liver and thyroid function.  They have to send away the thyroid test, but their equipment allows them to get a kidney and liver function report in 10 minutes (!) so we waited to see what it said.  His urea levels were all wrong.  He has kidney problems.  The vet has given him daily tablets and put him straight onto a special renal-formulated diet.

He did have his booster, but has to return in 3 weeks for a follow-up appointment.  We have to monitor him and make certain he drinks plenty (and wees regularly). If not, we may have to take him back sooner, to be put on a drip for 24 hours.

If we hadn't gone to the vet today, he could have got very sick indeed. I am glad we got there. We should've gone last week, but were delayed twice. At least he's getting the right treatment now.

Hopefully the thyroid function test will come back ok and there are only kidney problems.  He has been a little more sleepy than normal, but we also put that down to the weather. It's more likely that he's been feeling unwell.  I am trying not to feel guilty about it. It is hard with cats because it's not often obvious that they are unwell, until they're very sick!  We're just lucky to catch it now.

Love that daft old cat! Get Well Soon Shocky!