"I'm a Hokkien Girl?"

On Tuesday, 11 Dec morning, I saw a brown-coloured drop near one of the litter trays. It looked like blood to me. I checked my feet for cuts and there wasn't any. Skoda and Mikki were nearby. There was another tiny blood-looking stain on the side of the litter tray and a small portion of the dust (the girls are using PeeWee litter) was blood-stained.

I told Grimlock what I saw and we decided to observe the two prime suspects over the next few days. FLTUD ('feline lower tract urinary disease') flashed across my mind. In a multi-cat household, it is difficult to pin-point who is unwell, and we are most of the time at work. We can only play detective work and be extra observant. We didn't see any change in their appetites nor energy level. The No. 1 suspect would be Skoda because she is overweight. I saw her got into the litter tray, passed very little urine and then got out quite quickly. When we're at the kitchen sink, she would come for her water.

This morning, Grimlock saw a blood-looking drop on the floor again. He woke me up, we examined the drop and took some photos of it to show to the vet later. We decided to get Skoda checked first. The appointments for the day were already full. The nurse "squeezed" us in after I explained the urgency to her. I cannot understate the importance of establishing familiarity with the clinic folks, from the vet himself right to the vetinary technician.

The vet did a urinalysis on Skoda. The results revealed there was indeed blood in her urine; the alkaline level was quite high (normal urine PH level for cats should be on the acidic side); the protein and minerals levels were high too; and there were traces of infection and crystals. If her condition is not put under control, the crystals will turn into stones, which will in turn block up the bladder. Her gender was her saving grace. Male cats have narrower urinary tracts and hence are more susceptible to FLUTD.

The vet gave Skoda a Toldeine injection and prescribed Clavamox tablets (to be taken twice daily) for the infection, and a Hill's Prescription C/D feline starter kit (comprising of a small packet of C/D kibbles and one can of C/D wet food - to see which she prefers and put her on this diet). She has to increase her water intake (my only 'regret' is not having brought the drinking fountain earlier because we do see them drinking more water now) so we'll put more drinking bowls in the house. The vet asked if we're giving her a lot of treats (nope, she is not particularly enthusiastic with treats).

Here is a brochure on FLUTD that came with the starter kit:

Come to think of it, Skoda would "sing" at times when she is in one of the bedrooms (the litter trays are placed in one of them). We thought she just wanted some attention so whenever she calls out, we'll "answer" her back. Was she trying to tell us something (she is experiencing some discomfort in passing urine?)?

The last time we brought Skoda to the vet was back in Jan 2007 for her annual review. She meowed away during our trip to the vet today (it started to rain once we got into the taxi). On a lighter note, we suspect she enjoys Hokkien songs. When we got into the taxi for our trip back home, the driver was initially listening to Mandarin songs and Skoda started meowing away again. Then the driver switched to Hokkien songs and Skoda turned and remained quiet for the rest of the journey - ?!?!? (she was wide-awake). Grimlock and I made the same observation :)

We've to bring Skoda back to the vet next week for review. We managed to feed her the tablets today with minimal struggle (she is a good girl!). She seems to be sleeping more (she is beside me now and soundly asleep). I hope the medication is not causing her any discomfort. She is not eating much of the new kibbles (we mixed a little of it with the Royal Canin kibbles as a gradual switchover). Come Monday, I'll have to get up before Grimlock leaves for work (6am!?!?) so that we can feed her one of the daily two tablets.

Skoda, you must get well!!!