I know it has been very quiet here lately. I’ve now been working nights, Monday through Friday for a year and I’m still struggling to find time to work on my blog. I previously worked three 12 hour shifts and Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which left me 4 days where I was free to work on my blog. Now before work I feel like most days I am rushing around running errands and when I get home from work, It is almost midnight and I just want to relax, watch a little tv and go to bed.
I have still been doing reviews, but lately a lot of the brands just want me to post my thoughts on social media, not necessarily my blog, so if you aren’t following me on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Instagram – Do so now!
If you visit our Facebook page recently, you would have heard that Oliver had to be rushed to the vet because I thought he had a urinary blockage. He ended up urinating in the carrier as soon as we got to the vet, but he had to stay overnight to get checked out, and so they could get another urine sample. He ended up having crystals, but thankfully they weren’t huge, and there wasn’t a lot, so we were able to take him home the next day, along with some prescription dry food. The dry food would break down the crystals, and increase his thirst, so he would drink more water. This cat was drinking water non-stop and was having no issues urinating, so when I noticed he was still licking his private area I was concerned. Tony noticed the same day that Oliver didn’t finish his dinner which is very unusual for him. The next morning Oliver seemed “off” but he ate his breakfast for me. Later that night Tony texted me that Oliver didn’t even get up at dinner time and was acting really weird. It was a Wednesday, our vet was already closed, and they are also closed on Thursday so I told Tony to keep a very close eye on him and take him to the Emergency Vet if things didn’t improve. He called me a few hours later and told me to come home, Oliver was falling over and we needed to get to the Vet ASAP.
After an argument with a coworker of why I had to leave work, I raced home. My coworker was convinced I was just leaving to go to the bar (I am not a bar person at all), and after I explained what was going on, he told me it was just a cat, let it die. Needless to say I was furious, hurt, and emotional.
When I got home I walked in and Oliver greeted me at the door. I was like hey, aren’t you supposed to be sick? Tony walked over and explained Oliver had just urinated and defecated in the master bathroom and obviously felt a lot better. His poop was small and hard so we knew he was constipated. I wanted to rush him to the emergency vet, but I also know we really couldn’t afford it. We decided to wait a few hours to make a decision. Oliver immediately started begging for food, so we gave him some of the other cats non-prescription wet food, and mixed a ton of water into it. He inhaled it. It made me feel better knowing he wanted to eat. I went to the store to get some milk, pure pumpkin and hairball medicine. Now you should normally not give cats milk, as they are lactose intolerant, but we gave a tiny bit to Jewel once when she was constipated, and it helped loosen things up. I gave Oliver a very small amount and some hairball paste and he lapped it right up. I took our Arlo security cameras (click to read our review) and moved them to the basement so I could monitor the litter boxes. Oliver urinated overnight but did not have a bowel movement. I only slept a bit here and there all night, because I was watching him.
The next day he was able to poop a little more but it was still only a little bit and they were hard. Tony started giving him a teaspoon of pumpkin as a treat in the morning, while the other cats got their usual kibble treat. We made soup out of his wet food for breakfast and dinner by adding water and he enjoyed every bit of it. Each day his bowel movemements became larger and softer. Today marks a week since we first noticed the constipation and everything seems normal. We have cut out the pumpkin, but are adding a tiny bit of hairball paste to his breakfast. We stopped the prescription dry food for his crystals, because I ordered a case of wet food designed for cats with urinary issues. I give him the prescription food as a treat now, and sprinkle some on top of his wet food at breakfast time. We think the prescription dry food made him constipated, but who knows, perhaps the constipation started before the urinary crystals. I know I probably should have consulted my vet about the constipation, and switching his food, but I was comfortable with our decision. If I felt he needed to go to the emergency vet, I would have taken him, and applied for care credit. I know I would have found a way to pay for it somehow.
Oliver is back to running all over this house like a maniac, and is also back to begging for food every time we go in the kitchen, so we know he feels better. I still need to get a urine sample from him to bring to the vet for a urinalysis but after two weeks of bathroom issues, I feel bad bothering him.
While all that was going on, we did get the chance to try out the Snug Cat Litter Mat – 35.4″ x 23.5″ – Gray, for free
You can vacuum this litter mat or hose it down with water if it gets dirty. We currently have 4 litter boxes line up in the basement, plus two others in other areas to make sure our kitties have plenty of clean options. 
The Snug Cat Litter Mat is the dark grey one shown in the picture above. While I would love one big litter mat to cover the front of all 4 litter boxes, the size of the Snug Mat (35.4″ x 23.5″) is pretty much the biggest you can find. Check the widget below for current Amazon pricing.
Disclosure: I received one free Snug Cat Litter Mat for review purposes. I was not obligated to do a blog post. All opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.
