Catster

return to top

My Name is Fog ... London Fog

Six Months After Surgery ...

It has been a little over six months since I had to have my reconstructive (and sex change) surgery due to bladder stones tearing up my urethra. I am doing just fine now! I really hate to go to the vet now, but I know that Dr. Wolfeiler and the Lyndhurst Animal Clinic saved my life.

I am completely off dry food, which is the enemy and caused all my problems. I do get to have a few treats now and then, 'cuz I'm so good. I had to stop using the Litter Maid automatic litterbox because I go a little differently now. Back to the old style little box for me.

I just want to send out a warning to all my feline friends: if you are having stomach problems, vomiting up food, urinating in strange places & crying while doing it ... don't wait! Get it checked out immediately - because you, too, could have the same (all too common) problem as I had. Can't pass bladder stones. Then get off the dry food and get on wet food. It helps!!

My Big Bad Operation!

It was the beginning of May '07 when I started to feel bad. My owners came home to find that I had made a mess on the floor and I was hiding under the flap of the couch. I didn't seem to want to eat dinner either. So my owners called my doctor, and even though the Lyndhurst Animal Clinic was closed for the evening, Dr. Wohlfieler came all the way from home to meet me at the clinic. My doctor said that I had a stone blocking my urethra. He "blew" it out and gave me some meds, but said that I would need to come back in for more tests.

The tests showed that I had crystalized stones that had tore up my urethera pretty bad. The stones were not passing through like they should and I might need surgery. We waited a few days, and I got worse. My bladder began to spasam and I couldn't control where I went. The frequency of trying to go, and the small amounts that I did go indicated that the surgery was necessary.
This would involve removing my penis and making a vagina. My doctor said that this would make it easier for me to pass the stones, which he deemed I was prone to get.

For two weeks, I had to wear a blue "Elizabethian Collar" which would prevent me from licking my stitches. I had rounds of anti-biotics and steriods to endure. I had a horrible time trying to not go all over the place. I had leaking, and at times I would just be laying and out would come drainage and urine. It was horrible. The whole house was covered in plastic and the rinse-n-vac was a permanent fixture in our living room.

When I got my stitches out, I was still having problems. My doctor met me up at the clinic again at night when I was found lying on my side with labored breathing in a puddle of yuckies. He said that the stones had nicked up my insides so bad that it was not healing quickly and it hurt so bad to go. And it did!!! He said that I may have to undergo reconstructive surgery to try and repair the damage and remove the extensive scar tissue inside.

Not another surgery!!! So in I went for emergency surgery on a Sunday! (My doctor is the most caring doctor in the whole world.) He went up and enlarged my opening and removed as much of the scar tissue as he could.

It has now been more than a month and a half since this all started. My doctor said this was the worst case of urethera damage he had ever encountered so far. I seem to be doing so much better. Only time will tell. My owners keep watching me closely. If I would have any more problems, I would have to see a specialist that would make a new urethera for me. That doesn't sound like too much fun. I hope I don't have to see this "specialist." He doesn' t sound very special to me.

My Christmas

My Christmas was great! I got all kinds of new toys and treats. I got the greatest gift this holiday ever ... a new bed. I love my new bed. It was actually a gift to my human, but I use it all the time. It is a new snuggle blanket. Sometimes my family leaves it on the couch and then I get to sleep on it. I rarely sleep upstairs anymore. My family must leave the blanket out now almost all the time for me.

I was sad when my family took down all the Christmas decorations. I love to lay under the tree and look at all the lights. And ... under the tree is the "magic box" that keeps giving the gift of treats. I open the box and waa laa - there's more treats. I know if the lid is off - there's nothing in it. But if it's on, then I get to open the box and see what's inside.

I now will have to wait until next holiday season to enjoy my magic box and tree, but at least I can keep enjoying my new blankey bed.

Oh thank you Santy Claws!!