Friday, December 13, 2013

Cayenne Went to the Vet Today

It was just a follow up from her appointment about a month ago.  She was supposed to have a follow up in two weeks but for various reasons, I kept postponing it.  So she finally went today.

On the way there, she peed and pooped in her carrier.  So it was a stinky trip.  I tried to clean her up as best I could when we got to the vet, but because she'd sat in her poop, it was all matted in her fur and I couldn't get her very clean.  Poor girl.  I know it's not her fault.  I think the stress of riding in the car makes her poop.  She pooped on the way home last time she went to the vet.

The vet wanted to test her urine but wasn't able to since she didn't have any urine in her bladder since she'd peed on the way there.  She said I could schedule another appointment just for a urine check and that she wouldn't charge me for the office visit then, just for the urine check.  But the trip to the vet is so stressful for Cayenne, I don't think I'm going to do it unless she needs to go for something else or shows symptoms of a urinary tract infection or something.

Everything else looked good at this appointment, including the ulcerations on the lumps on her belly.  Her weight is still good; she has lost three ounces since her last appointment, and I'm guessing peeing and pooping right before she was weighed could account for those three ounces.  Her ears look good, her teeth look OK, her lungs sound clear.

The lumps haven't grown any.  This was not Cayenne's usual vet, he had to have some sort of surgery and is off work for a few weeks, which is one of the reasons the appointment got postponed, but we've seen the other vet in the practice before and I like her a lot.  She hadn't seen Cayenne since these new lumps occurred, though, so she couldn't say if they'd grown or not.  I can't tell they  haven't, though.  I feel them regularly to see if they are any bigger or otherwise different.  They haven't grown since the last appointment.

I told the vet how Cayenne had been more active since starting the anti-inflammatory medication.  She just took the last of it a two days ago.  The vet said she probably did have some arthritis that was causing some pain or discomfort and that one of the ways they actually diagnose arthritis in cats is to try them on an anti-inflammatory and if it seems to help, then they might assume the cause of the cat's symptoms were due to arthritis, since of course cats can't describe their discomfort to  you.  I've assumed for a while that Cayenne has some arthritis in her knees and/or hips because over the last couple of years she has seemed to have more and more difficulty jumping up on things and has become more and more reluctant to jump very high.  More recently, she's seemed reluctant to jump off things, too, at least if they are higher than the couch.  Anyway, the vet said we can keep her on the anti-inflammatory since it seems to be helping her, so I am happy about that.

When we got home, Cayenne had to have a bath, which she did not like one bit.  If you've ever tried to bathe a cat, you know how difficult it can be.  After her bath, she hid under the couch for a while.  She has recovered now, though, and is sound asleep next to me.

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