Thursday, November 6, 2014

#Thankful Thursday: How We Saved my Brother, Thor

As many of you know, I have a VERY ornery brother named Thor.  Recently, Thor had a very pressing medical issue that, if left untreated, would've killed him while Mom and Dad were gone at work.

He's a bit of an "in-your-face" kind of kitty.
The cause?

A urethral obstruction.

"A what?"
Mom noticed that Thor was being more ornery than usual in the morning while eating breakfast, so she monitored him for the hour or so before she left.  He was very sensitive to touch, sat in the middle of the hallway and howled at people, hissed when anyone got close, and was just...odd.  More odd than normal.

Not an unusual sight in our house.  He rules the roost!
Thor went down to the laundry room, where the litter box is.  Mom followed him down there, just to see if he was using the bathroom.  He walked into the litter box to do his business, but he sat there for minutes, straining to get anything out.  Mom knew exactly what was happening, and called the vet immediately to see if there were any open appointments for the day, and to get an idea of exactly how urgent the situation was.

No one ever said my brother Thor was normal...
The vet told Mom to bring him in for monitoring, since the earliest appointment they had was at 3:45 pm (as she was calling at 7:30am).  Mom got Dad to drive home from work to bring him in, since he has a much more flexible schedule than she does.  He brought Thor in, and the vet said he would monitor him to see how severe the condition was.

Thor lives by the motto "If I fits, I sits"!
Mom and Dad both received emergency phone calls at noon- the vet said that if we didn't call back in 2 minutes, that Thor would either need an emergency procedure or be euthanized- he wasn't going to survive if left alone.  Of course we called back to authorize the procedure!!!

He's really cute when he sleeps- but he's pretty crazy, so he doesn't sleep as much as a normal cat would.
Luckily, the vet saved him, and he stayed at the vet for 2 days to make sure he was using the litter box alright.  He came home, and boy, you could tell he was a happy kitty! His twin sister, Allie, was confused, and hissed at him, but they warmed up within a day and they're back to snuggling in a big gray/white striped ball again. :)

Aren't they a cute pair? :)
We're beyond glad we have our little ornery kitty- it is definitely one thing we are thankful for this November.  Recently, we have started a new way of thinking: always finding positive and wonderful things to be grateful for.  It really cuts down on the negativity in life, and our home is more joyful because of it.

The infamous picture that made it to Grainbelt's Twitter page- he's officially a Beer Box cat!
What are you thankful for today?

Mom didn't get her hair binder back that day.
Back when Thor was a kitten & Bosses lived in an apartment...
Thor's curiosity for the big camera...
He likes to lay on Mom's desk and watch her sew.  I don't blame him- he gets pet up there!
Chow!

8 comments:

  1. Such beautiful babies. We're so happy Thor received the medical attention he needed in time to save his life. Poor baby! And Poor humans - I know what a worry that must have been.

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    1. We were so worried, but so glad that the vet could save him (and for a very reasonable price, let's not forget that!)!! :) We love having our snuggly/ornery kitty!

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  2. What gorgeous cats Thor and his sister are! Thank goodness your Mom realized what was going on with Thor and was able to get him into the vet for help. He looks like quite the character!
    Lots of wags and woofs from the crew at Wag n Woof Pets



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    1. Mom's childhood kitty, Tigger, had the same issue- so when he was straining, that's when the phone got whipped out and she had the vet on the phone within 5 minutes. Thank goodness! Thor would've been in so much more pain than he already was! :(

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  3. My cat bro Bert had emergency surgery like that a couple years ago. Mom says almost all of her male cats have had that happen. As pesty as cats can be, we felt bad for Bert and were happy he was alright. Glad your kitty is going to be fine too.

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    1. The vet told Mom and Dad that this was a pretty common issue with male cats under the age of 5. Thor's now on prescription cat food, and they monitor his water intake pretty closely to make sure he's properly hydrated. Poor Bert- I'm glad he got medical attention and recovered, too! :)

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  4. PepiSmartDog: Oh My DOG! Poor Thor and thank goodness your mom noticed he was not well.
    Glad he has made a good recovery and back to his super-cute self.
    Love Thor's photos!!!!
    Thank you for joining our Thankful Thursday Weekly Blog Hop.
    We greatly appreciate you supporting our hop each week and look forward to visiting your site each week too.
    Hope to see you this week too. *waves paw* :=o)

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    1. Yeah, I can't imagine how heart-broken Mom and Dad would've been if Thor wouldn't have made it! :( We all would've been so sad, especially because we have his twin sister, Allie, too. But I'm so glad he's healthy and that you like his photos- he's quite the catch! :)

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