Poopy butts and worries

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

Ok, this one might be gross, so beware.  Don't read on if you don't want to read about poop.  

For the past few days the cats have had really bad diarrhea, and it's been worrying me.  At first it was no big deal.  They frequently vomit, and it's all part of having really fluffy cats.  I figured a little diarrhea now and then was no big deal and would pass.  That was for the first couple of days.  

Over the past couple of of days it started to really worry me.  What if it's something, and I'm too dazed and broke to notice and do anything about it?  I started searching online and read that you should give them rice and cottage cheese.  My cats, as it so happens, are as picky as I am, and that's bad.  They ONLY eat kibble and a very specific flavor of wet food.  If I try to give them ANYTHING else, even a different flavor of wet food, they won't touch it.  Still, I bought some cottage cheese anyway, though I don't eat that.  They wouldn't touch it.  I bought some rice and put that out for them, but they wouldn't touch it.  They basically didn't eat for over a day because they wouldn't even take a bite of it.  Well a day of no eating meant a day of no poop, so I was momentarily relieved.  I got tired of seeing them not eat, so I gave them real kibble again for dinner.  They ate it up joyfully.  Then Mia came out of the litter box with poop dripping down her butt.  I got her cleaned up and tried to Lysol where she'd stepped.  Oh, and I had called my vet on Friday to see if they'd give me any advice.  I was so disappointed in them and am really questioning their ethics.  They refused to give me any advice.  They said just to take the cats in.  My old vet would happily answer a question over the phone and honestly tell you whether something sounded urgent or banal.  These guys actually played on my fear and anxiety last time and suckered me into paying a vet bill that was probably unnecessary.  Mia had been vomiting more than usual, and I was upset and scared.  Instead of making me feel better or giving me some advice they told me if she'd swallowed something when I wasn't looking she could die and to rush her in.  I thought her life was on the line.  Anyway, they reluctantly admitted that some cottage cheese and rice might be good, but only after I totally called them on their refusal to give me advice.  Anyway, then Grendel came out of the litter box with a big turd stuck to his butt, and I thought I was never going to get that out, but I did.  I finally got him cleaned up and found vomit behind the futon.  Then less than an hour later Mia came out of the litter box with poop down her butt again.  It was just non-stop, and I was starting to panic.  What if this is a real emergency, and they die because I can't get it together and take care of them?  I started searching online for all the signs that it's a real ER.  One of them said to check their gums.  I checked Mia's, and they looked white to me.  It said that was a major red flag.  I called the after hours number my vet's vm said to call, and they said to rush her in tonight and referred me to another clinic.  I called them, by now sobbing and scared, and they said not to go by the gums as unless you know what they're normally like you probably couldn't tell.  They made it sound like it was no big deal and there was really no way it could be an emergency if they're acting normal.  She said that it's a good sign that they're eating and acting normal and basically not to worry.  She did say to take them in on Mon if it doesn't clear up by then but after a night of sobbing, poop, and worry, I could finally just relax and let it go.  It was 1am by the time I was calmed down.  

As for this AM, so far so good.  So far no poopy butts, but the day is young.  It could happen again tonight, and if it does, I don't know what I'll do.  I may have take them in, which I really can't afford, but if I have to then I must.  Mia was sweet and playful this AM.  She was trampling all over my chest, which is really painful, and attacking my hands, biting and slobbering all over them.  She's always loved that game.  It's painful for me, but she enjoys it.  Grendel's been sleepy and whiny, which is normal.  He's always either sleeping or crying for attention.  

All this just makes me wonder what I'll be like as a parent.  I already have an inner debate going on about the ethics of one day raising a child in a studio apartment with no friends and family around for it.  I debate about whether it's good for them to grow up around someone who's always scared and will eat only a few things, none of which are very healthy.  I wonder how I'll know when there's a real emergency and what to do.  I couldn't get my cats to eat rice.  How could I get a kid to eat something they don't want that might be good for them?  The debate continues in my head as does the drama.  

 

 

[Julie]

Hi, Cordelia. I heard that many many people asked themselves such questions and many many people were / still are afraid of parenting. Even those people, who have kids now. There was a program about nanny coming to people's houses and helping them to raise children. In one house there was a family, whose kid (although almost 6 years old) was still sucking a pacifier. The nanny said that they should take the pacifier and get ready for a kid crying constantly for a few days. After this he will be fine. The father was from US Marines and it was so strange to see such a man so stressed and not knowing what to do, when his child cried. And he was telling that in the army he had no problems with commanding but now... he was so lost.

I also think that you're more responsible than many of us as you take responsibility for your cats and this site (and propobably for other things about which we don't know). I used to ask myself the same question, when I had to my guinea pig's nails. I felt so guilty that she's in shock and squeled all the time. When I finally cut the nails, I counted the number of fingers and discored that she had 4 fingers on front paws and only 3 fingers on back paws, and I thought I cut her 2 fingers. Of course, then we checked that all guinea pigs have 3 fingers on back paws but before this I went through such a shock. I thought that maybe I stil can't be a parent because I don't imagine how I would cut my baby's nails. But my older collegues at work said that this kind of fear is normal and, actually, it would never disappear but will just be reduced.