And now Ritz is sick

This has been the longest year of my life so far, and we’re only just finishing February.

You know I lost my beloved familiar, Bumbledore, in January. Then all of the horrible changes in the USA started with the new regime. Then, our HVAC system died and had to be replaced. I’ve never been hit with so many major expenses and emotionally fraught events in such quick succession.

And now, Ritz is sick.

He’s had an emergency vet visit, several diagnostic tests at our regular vet, and is currently in the hospital as we try to figure out what’s wrong with him.

Last week he started showing further signs of lethargy beyond the sadness he’s been exhibiting since we lost Bumbledore. He also displayed a disinclination to eat, when he’s always been a walking stomach.

Emergency Vet

Last Friday (2/21), we noticed he seemed warm and took his temperature. Normal for cats is 99-102° F; his was 104.5°. So, we whisked him off to the emergency vet.

They ran a full bloodwork panel — complete blood count (CBC) and chemistry — and gave him a quick ultrasound. Everything was normal, and we learned that 105° is the tipping point from “slight fever” to “worrisome.” As there were no signs of serious issues, so he got sent home after receiving subcutaneous fluids and an anti-nausea shot. We were advised to monitor him.

And monitor him we did. His temperature stayed between 103° and 104.6° so we decided to wait for his upcoming appointment. I had to syringe feed him a few times since he didn’t really want to eat on his own. But, we found that he was more willing to eat wet food while on gabapentin, so I gave him one each morning.

We also got some pumpkin puree, as I was starting to suspect he was constipated, and it’s supposed to help.

Standard Vet

On Tuesday (2/25), he had his standard vet appointment. After taking a quick look at him, they took some x-rays and also did a quick ultrasound. This gave us an answer: constipation. The poor boy was constipated to the point where almost his entire large intestine was full. They decided to admit him for the day to give him fluids, and possibly an enema.

The fluids did the trick, resulting in two impressive and painful poos after a temperature check. After some additional fluids, a fever reducer, and monitoring, we brought him home with some anti-inflammatory medicines (Onsior) to help calm everything down.

He was practically back to normal that evening. He played a bit, was highly affectionate, and even tried to steal food from the bowls after finishing his dinner. His temperature was below normal, at 98.6°.

Emergency Vet Again

On Wednesday, I had to go into work, so Jim kept me informed via text. Before I left the house, I noticed Ritz was less responsive, but it was also morning and he was curled up in a bed, so I hoped he was just sleepy.

When Jim took his temperature, it was back up to 103.3 and Ritz didn’t want to eat, so he called the vet who said she’d do some research. When she called back, there wasn’t any solid news, but based on symptoms, she felt it made sense to try giving Ritz a stool softener and monitoring him to make sure he poo’ed. Turns out cats can have Miralax.

Jim gave Ritz a gabapentin and a dose of Onsior over the course of the morning, and Ritz’s fever was down to 99.3° by lunchtime. Ritz spent most of the afternoon in our front window, which is pretty normal for him.

But, when I got home, it was clear he wasn’t feeling well. I fed him via syringe to get a dose of Miralax in him. But, when I took his temperature that evening, it was up to 105.6. We call the emergency vet to let them know we were coming and raced over.

His temperature was up to 106° by the time we got there and they took his vitals, so their first priority was to get his fever down. After talking to us, they ran a bunch of diagnostics. Ritz was no longer constipated, so that was not the answer. There was no obvious sign of anything wrong. Because of his fever, they suggested admitting him to run some additional tests and monitor him. The price tag was eye-watering, but we agreed.

Hospitalization

And that brings me to today — it’s Thursday evening as I write this — Ritz is still in the hospital. His fever was down to 102.5° when the vet called around 2:40 pm, but when we got a status update around 8:45 pm, it was back up to 104.3°.

All of his tests and bloodwork are perfectly normal, although the fever of unknown origin panel is still in progress.

Our standard vet called with the results of his proBNP blood test, and his enzyme rate had actually gone down since the last test.

Ritz is healthy as a horse. Only he’s not.

I’m terrified we’re going to lose him, too.