So I came home this afternoon, and Itchy had been asleep all day. I suppose that’s good, since then he hasn’t had to freak himself (and Scratchy) out stumbling all over the sunroom. When they gave him the subcutaneous fluid last night, it was all bubbled up in a hump over his left shoulder blade that made him look like a feline Quasimodo, but now in the light of day, much of the fluid has been absorbed by his body, and what’s left of the fluid has obeyed the law of gravity and has kind of pooled into a pocket around his armpit (well, it would be his armpit if he was a human…you know what I mean).
Oddly enough, he hasn’t used the litterbox yet, which concerns me, since there’s no way he couldn’t have the urge to urinate after being injected with that much fluid. But again, he’s been asleep most of the night (and day), and maybe getting to the litterbox is too much of a hassle for him right now…he’ll get to it when the urge is too strong to overcome.
When I woke Itchy up, he meowed sleepily and tried to get up but fell down again, which to me means either A) whatever fluid he got hasn’t done the job because it hasn’t been eliminated from his body yet, or B) this might be permanent brain damage. I called my vet’s office, only to find out that he’s on vacation. He’ll be in tomorrow morning and in the evening, the receptionist said, and then everybody is off both Friday and Monday for Labor Day weekend. So I left a message and am hoping Itchy pees all the toxins out really soon, so that when my vet calls me back, I can say, “Never mind. He’s all better now.”
The only funny thing about all of this is how comical Itchy looks when he’s trying to walk. Ray thinks it looks like he’s drunk. I think it looks like he’s got cerebral palsy. Either way, it’s very, very sad, but funny. But sad. But funny. But sad. I hope he gets better soon.