Phoenix's Rough Weekend & His Miracle Recovery...

I almost lost him. I believe that within 3 hours, he would've died. And -- to be completely transparent -- it would've been my fault.

My cat, Phoenix, has always been the more internally sensitive out of all our cats (Phoenix, Ember, & Bella.) I think -- at least partially -- it's because he came from a bad environment, was fed solid food weeks before he should've been weaned, and had a stomach full of worms, plus a type of protozoan infection (coccidia) that definitely affected his digestion. We took him to the vet quite a bit as a young kitten, and he quickly became a bright, healthy little guy who was almost unstoppable! No more worms, no more coccidia, he was in the all-clear!

Then, we got him fixed. Unbeknownst to us, that would start causing one possibly life-threatening problem: urinary tract blockages. Fixed male cats are more susceptible to crystalline formations in their urine, which can make it impossible (and extremely painful) to pass fluids. He had a blockage once before, and we realized it was caused by his diet. He wasn't getting enough fluid (because he's a tricky drinker) and he was eating dry food -- kibble.

We quickly got him on a strict, gut-healthy homemade diet of chicken and vegtables, plus added cranberry juice and forced fluids. His blockage was resolved in less than two days. I thought that was the end of it.

Fast forward several months, to two weeks ago. We're a big, busy family, so our trips to the grocery store are planned out in advance -- usually two times a week. Well, we were in between trips when I realized I decided to increase the amount of food Phoenix and Ember were getting. (They'd been on wet food strictly.) That meant we were going through cans faster than usual, something I (ignorantly) didn't account for. Lo and behold, we were low on wet food, and still had two days before we went to the store. Our third cat, Bella, tolerates dry food really well, so we buy that for her. (She's an outdoor cat and gets some nutrition from the little lizards and bugs she hunts. And, she stays pretty hydrated on her own, so she's never had an issue.) Well, I thought... to make the canned food last a little longer, I'd mix dry and wet food, with some water, and feed that to Phoenix and Ember. Ember, a lot like Bella, isn't bothered by the dry food.

Phoenix, however, is -- and I knew that. But my thinking was, "It's only a few days. He'll be fine."

I was so immensely wrong!!!!!!

Day one of eating the dry food, he started showing signs of discomfort. He'd growl if I picked him up and became pretty lethargic. He also started to frequent the litterbox, but I didn't see much of a change until day two, when he started trying to use the bathroom anywhere but the litterbox, and not producing any more than a drop. This was Thursday. By Friday, he was in pain and really struggling, but we had gone to the store that morning. He was back on wet food and cranberry juice. The next morning, he seemed fine! He was active and playing -- a little tender around the stomach, but otherwise perfect.

Then Saturday afternoon came, and things took a turn for the worse. He was in a lot of pain. Wasn't eating, wasn't drinking. Wouldn't respond. We contemplated taking him to the vet, but we knew that we didn't have the money. I decided to keep him home and keep doing what I was doing -- increasing fluids and cranberry juice, and trying to give him as much food as he would take. By then, he hadn't urinated a drop for the entire day, and hadn't defecated since Friday. I should've taken him to the vet that day instead of waiting.

Sunday morning, he couldn't move. I had to pick him up and get him into the kennel, the act of which caused him to shake from the pain. We rushed him to the only open animal ER -- not entirely sure how we were going to pay, but knowing he needed help, or he was going to die.

After about an hour of waiting, we were called back, and they took Phoenix from us. Another thirty minutes later, they confirmed he had a blockage -- one so bad, they couldn't get any liquid out of him. To unblock him reqired testing, anasthesia, cathaterization, pain meds, a 48-72 hr. hospitalization. Their My heart dropped. It was my fault. I fed him the food, and I waited to take him to the vet, and he was close to dying because of me. I could barely think straight.

And then came the final blow. It would cost $3500 -- and it needed to paid in full, up front.

There were options for help, but I couldn't get approved. No one in my family could. There was no way we would be able to come up with that kind of money. To put it in persepective, this prize was over twice our monthly house payment, over what I make in a month. I could go on.

My mom explained that we knew what caused the blockage and we knew how to fix him. We just needed help. If we get him off the dry food and on a certain diet, he's fine. We just needed his bladder drained so he wouldn't be under threat of rupture or kidney damage so we could get his correct food in him.

After my mom and I explained this to the nurse, she disappeared for another thirty minutes (while my cat was in the back somewhere, in agonizing pain and -- again, being transparent -- dying). The minutes sauntered by, seeming to barely change at all. Eventually, the nurse came back with two options. We take off some of the "unecessary" testing (bringing the price down to $2000 -- again, impossible for us) OR we have to consider euthanasia.

My jaw dropped. Of course, this was what I had feared when I took him to the vet. (I fear that literally any time I have to think of taking my pet to the vet -- no matter what it's for.) But never did I actually think it was going to be because of money. Not because he couldn't physically be saved, but because I couldn't financially save him.

My ears start ringing. I was mortified at what the next few minutes would bring, mortified as I imagined myself walking out of the vet without my precious kitty. Thank goodness my mom is the strong woman she is. She flat out said no.

"No, that's bull," she told the nurse.

"I understand," the nurse responded. "Let me go talk to the doctor and see if there's something we can do."

And cue yet another period of thirty minutes (all the while Phoenix is not with me, in a strange place, in immense pain.)

The nurse came in and explained our "only option" other than euthanizing him. They would drain his bladder (not quite a catheter) and give him medicine for the pain. Then we would take him home and get him into his actual vet the next day when they opened. The cost for this new process would be right around $280 dollars -- that's something we could handle.

Problem was... it was pretty risky, and he could still die in the middle of it because of possible punctures, tears, or other kinds of damage. But we didn't know what else to do.

So we said yes. Let's do that. (And I don't want it to sound like I took the cheaper route just because I wanted to save money. If I had the money, I no doubt would've thrown it all at the vet if it would save my cat. But I couldn't possibly pull $3500 out of thin air! Neither could my parents, or my friends, or half the people in this country if they tried.)

So the nurse disappeared once again -- this time, actually telling us it would take thirty-ish minutes for the operation to be complete.

While that was going on, Dad was at home researching ways to help a cat with a blockage. And apple cider came up -- a lot. I really didn't think much of it. My hope was to get him home and on his chicken and vegtable diet, with pumpkin and lots of moisture, and that would help him. That was my goal -- my desperate prayer. Whether or not that would actually work, I had no idea. But I knew that his vet was going to be just as expensive and I wasn't sure what we could do. So while I was praying for him to be okay, I was also trying (and failing) to prepare myself to say goodbye to my best friend.

So for me, it was thirty minutes of sobbing and frantically checking the time -- which seemed to barely move at all.

Eventually -- finally -- the doctor came in and gave us the run down on how it went. He said Phoenix was pretty fussy, but once he started draining, the relief was visible. Now we were safe to take him home.

A few hours after I got Phoenix home. I was still really scared and took this picture because it was the most alert he had been.

I spent the rest of that evening in my room with Phoenix, who was sleeping and twitchy from the pain meds. And that medicine -- it was pretty wild. It caused him to hallucinate and stare off into space for about a day and a half. He didn't urinate really at all that first day, but started drinking towards the end of the night. The next morning, I gave him a little bit of breakfast (a whole chicken boiled with broccoli and carrots, then mixed with tuna and chicken stock made with the bones and -- you guessed it -- apple cider vinegar.) He was a little iffy about the ACV at first, but his hunger took over.

By day two, his stomach wasn't hardening or filling up, and he was making a little bit in the litter box. He got to sleep in my room last night. He slept right next to me the entire time, practically in my arms! I missed him so much!

First night he'd gotten to sleep in my room since he'd gotten sick. Look at that smile!

Then... he started leaking. Now that scared the heck out of me, because incontinence is a sign of a blockage. So I spent that night waking up several times to check on him, finding him soaking wet from his leaking, and thinking that he was just going to get sick all over again.

My parents woke up to a sleep-deprived, on-the-verge-of-an-emotional-breakdown me and after I explained what was wrong, Dad did some more research and found that any kind of catheterization can cause cats to leak afterwards, because it stretches the muscles. Plus, Phoenix could've had a weak bladder because it had been so stretched when he had a blockage.

So, we got Phoenix set up in a large kennel in a living room and he stayed in that for about two days until finally, on Sunday, his leaking... disappeared! All signs of a blockage -- gone. He has been happy, healthy, active, affectionate -- just my precious little kitty again. All because of apple cider vinegar, a better diet, and a cat water fountain that encourages him to drink more.

It is a huge miracle that Phoenix is still here. The list of possible complications caused by the blockage and operation are practically endless, and I'm still being super attentative to his behavior. But, so far, there hasn't been any cause for concern. He's back to being my hilarious, a-dork-able little cat!!!

It's finally safe to say, Phoenix has made a full recovery!

And I've learned a lot about being a cat owner -- the main one being, if it bothers your cat, never say, "It'll be fine." It isn't worth it. Those three words caused a lot of pain for my cat, and I'm still pretty upset with myself over it.

Secondly -- apple cider is a real life elixir! I'm still so amazed it worked as well, and as quickly, as it did! That might not be the case for everyone's cat, but it still is a good thing to add into your furry one's diet (but do your own prior research and talk to your vet before you do that. Some pets need different nutrition!)

Thirdly -- to love an animal isn't just having a pet you take pictures of or play with. It's about having one of God's creatures relying on you for their wellbeing. That isn't a task anyone should take lightly. It is our roles as humans on this earth to care for the animals the Lord has given us. I made a mistake in judgement when it came to my cat's wellbeing, and it almost cost him his life. So love your pets and care for them as the Father cares for them. And I'll say it again -- if something bothers them, just don't say, "It'll be fine." Because you don't know if it will or won't be, and that risk doesn't just affect you, it affects the animal relying on you.

This wasn't a writing related post at all. But I still think it was something that needed to be said.

Hug your furry ones tonight!!!

Until Next Time!

-Elizabeth Mae Wolfram