Take a Deep Breath...

This is our cat, Gabriel…

(No, he’s not trying to look like a Playgirl centerfold circa 1978…what a strange thing for you to think…)

Gabriel is not a breeder cat, or at least we didn’t get him from a breeder; I found him living rough on the streets of San Diego about 12 years ago. I know, I know, how rough are the streets of San Diego? At any rate, after an initial case of mistaken identity (we thought he was a her, and named her ‘Ophelia’) Gabriel has settled in and been a part of the household ever since.

Did I mention that he is an oyster?

What I mean by that is, Gabriel likes to make pearls. Or in this case, bladder stones. He makes them every two to three years, no matter what special (expensive) diet we keep him on. He has now had four surgeries to deal with the removal of said stones (boy cats have itty bitty pipes, you see, and no stones are leaving that way without taking a pound of flesh with them).

These aren't cheap surgeries, but we usually manage to pay off one before the next one rolls around...

So, this past Monday we took Gabe in for his most recent round of 'remove the pea shaped item from your pet'. The vet who performed the procedure (Rene Brewer, who has been my vet for almost 20 years and she has always said that she is particularly fond of the fluffy white beast) had not been the scalpel wielder on Gabriel’s prior visits for this problem.

The office called at around 1:30 PM to say that Gabe was going into surgery.

They hadn’t called back by 4:45 PM as I was getting ready to leave for class, so I called to check in.

Seems that things didn’t go smoothly.

After three prior surgeries (that I know of), I was expecting that this one might be complicated by prior scar tissue and adhesions. Boy, was it ever! Apparently the surgery, which is normally pretty straight forward, took twice as long as normal. Dr. Brewer’s primary concern was that all the extra effort it took to get the tissue cleared enough to work on might inadvertently have caused damage to the ureters or urethra (remember, *tiny* little pipes). She wanted to hold on to Gabe for an extra day or two to make sure the system was in order.

Turns out, the pipes weren’t the issue.

After a couple of days of going out to visit in the mornings and on lunch breaks, I got a call last night from Dr. Brewer. She calmly explained that she had made all the necessary arrangements to move Gabriel to the Pet ER for overnight care, because his kidneys had shut down.

Yeah.

Thankfully, my husband (the EMT) explained to me that acute renal failure is something that can be successfully treated – so I was pretty calm by the time we got to the hospital and Dr. Brewer was explaining the current treatment and the items she wanted monitored at the Pet ER.

She mentioned that the cost was already being covered with a credit card, and that I could work out the necessary billing with Abby Pet Hospital later.*

We got set up with Gabe’s films (X-rays), medical history and other items and headed over to the Pet ER to get him checked in for the night (they are very nice over there too, by the way!).

That was when the Pet ER folks explained to me that the credit card that had been given to them for charges was Dr. Brewer’s personal card.

She was insisting on covering the charges.**

jaw drop

So – Gabriel is in good hands. I know my vet really does love my cat. And I am eternally grateful to the universe for having let me find such an amazing person as my primary care source for my critters.

I'm off to go see him now, he is doing better today (Yeah! Pee!) and with any luck he'll be back over at his regular clinic tomorrow for the remainder of his recovery.


(He always looks this annoyed - its a Persian thing)
 

*They have always been very good about working out a 'payment plan'. If you happen to live in this area and aren't already a client of theirs, I HIGHLY recommend them. I may be getting the 'gold star' treatment because I've been there so long, but I can tell you than many folks I know who aren't 20 year customers still sing their praises.


EDIT: Note to self - start saving money now; the next time this comes around we're gonna have to seek a specialist.

**Needless to say, I know a certain vet who will be getting fresh made cookies every weekend at work for the foreseeable future.