It Just Keeps Coming

First, I need to give a plug to Sears, for their amazing warranty. My 5 year old front-loading washer needs a new drum, new tub, and new bearings...to the tune of $1300 in parts. Because of the warranty coverage, the cost to me will be $144 for the two service calls and labor. Not bad. Not bad at all.

In fact, so good that I went to Sears for replacement appliances for the walnuts. If Sears stands by their product that strongly, I'm sold.

On the other hand, Charlie, my friendly, loving, narcoleptic favorite cat Charlie

spent the night at emergency. He's been under veterinary care since about 2:30 yesterday afternoon. The first vet suspected "linear foreign object" in his intestines. Quilters, this is VERY bad. If he ate a thread (string, fishing line, whatever) and it got to his intestines, it could slice and dice them and quickly kill him. Be sure that you do not leave long lengths of thread around the house. The quilt that he is napping on is a old, falling apart quilt that my sister gave me. Every once in a while I find large clumps of thread that have unstitched themselves. On Friday or Saturday, I saw a bit of thread at the edge of Charlie's mouth. When I went to pull it out, he got away and finished swallowing it. It could have been an inch, it could have been 15". I have no way of knowing.

Anyway, the vet did not have time to do surgery, but stressed the urgency of the situation, and sent us to the emergency clinic across town.

The vet there assessed Charlie, and was not convinced that it was a linear foreign object. His concern was that in the xray Charlie's heart seems displaced, and he shows signs of fluid in his lungs. He did a follow-up xray, with barium, to get a more accurate diagnosis. Three hours later, most of the barium had passed to the colon, so he was pretty sure that it's not a linear foreign object issue.

He did bloodwork, which ruled out infection, but slightly elevated liver enzymes indicate stress.

This morning he looked at the xray again, and found air in the muscle wall, indicating trauma. Charlie? Did you get hit by a car? Kicked by a neighbor? Rolled by a dog? Did you fall out of a tree?

He's been on fluids since 5:30pm, but has not passed any urine or fecal matter.

He's now back at the first vet, who still doesn't like the look of his intestines and the abnormal gas patterns shown in the xrays. Charlie will remain for observation until 5pm.

Pete, my cow vet hubby, has asked numerous times for a status report on his Charlie. All I can tell him is that Charlie seems to be feeling better, and REALLY wants to come home, and then tell him the latest.

I'll keep you posted.