cww.blog!

I came home Tuesday night after class to find Dorian very upset. He was in great pain, unwilling to move, and frightened of being picked up.

Dorian has a history of having struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate) crystals in his urine due to abnormally high pH levels in his digestive tract, and the crystals have a potential to block his urethra.

Oh, kitty!On seeing Dorian in such discomfort, I automatically assumed a blockage had occurred and called around to find an emergency veterinary hospital that could take him. I found AVETS, in the suburb of Monroeville, and took him there immediately.

My mom did some research and found that AVETS is well-renowned and highly regarded in the veterinary community, so we were glad to have him in good hands.

The doctors put Dorian on a urinary catheter and an intravenous feeding tube, and they cast some spells and unblocked him. He remained on the catheter until Wednesday night, and he was supposed to be discharged Thursday morning. However, the condition recurred, and we were back at square one. They repeated the process, and finally, last night, the doctors were satisfied enough with his progress that they suggested I take him home.

Dorian is shaved in strange spots but otherwise well.

Since he first showed signs of struvite crystals in his urine in January, he has been on a diet consisting of particularly acidic food. While the supplemental acid provides a lower pH and can break down the struvite crystals more readily, it also means there is a chance of a build-up of calcium oxalate crystals, which require a high pH (i.e. a more basic environment) to break down.

I'm going to call my regular veterinarian Monday and try to work out the food situation.

Also, Taylor is responsible for finding the highly appropriate picture above.