My Grimm

I love my Grimm.
I don't know what I'll do without him.

However... things have changed.
I worry about my Grimm everyday now.

In the beginning of December, I was starting to realize how many puddles of pee there were around the house. I was getting tired of cleaning up every puddle only to find another and not know who was peeing all over my house! Then, one night, I put a clean load of laundry on the bed that was fresh out of the dryer. Grimm immediately jumped on the bed, got onto the laundry, and PEED! I was so pissed (for lack of a better word). Sam did some reading and found out that random puddles might mean that Grimm had a bladder infection... so he took Grimm to the vet. The vet thought he was at the tail-end of a bladder infection, based on a urine test, so she prescribed Metacam (an anti-inflammatory) and some eye drops (since Grimm's eyes have been kinda booger-filled). The vet sent them home with a good bill of health.

Two weeks later, Grimm was acting bizarre... well, more unusual than usual... he was sitting in front of his water bowl, not drinking, just sitting. We called the vet and we took him back in. This time, the vet heard a slight heart murmur and checked his blood pressure, which was pretty high, according to the vet. The vet immediately wanted to do a blood test, which we *wanted* them to do... and we waited 30 minutes for the results. When the results came back, the vet gave us two options: 1) go to the emergency 24-hour clinic OR 2) put Grimm to sleep. That left us with one option: Take Grimm to the 24-hour clinic.

At the 24-hour clinic, we were told that Grimm's lab results weren't as bad as the original vet had described. However, Grimm was very anemic and they were worried he had (chronic) kidney failure. Grimm looked so comfortable and happy while we were at the vet. He was laying in Sam's jacket, purring, and somewhat falling asleep while we were waiting. After two hours, Grimm was admitted into the 24-hour clinic and was put on an IV drip with fluids. He was given Pepcid for stomach upset, amoxicillin (just in case), and an appetite stimulant. After 20 hours, Grimm's blood tests were improving and he was eating and acting more "normal," according to the vet tech. However, his blood tests were not improving as much as they would have liked... so we had Grimm stay another night in the hospital. The next morning, the vet tech said Grimm did good overnight. Later that day, his blood tests showed more improvement, but not as much as they would have liked (again). That night, we took him home.

While Grimm was being "discharged," the vet tech was telling us a LOT of information. We were sent home with 5 cans of Science Diet k/d for renal failure, a bag of fluid along with 10 needles, a bottle of amoxicillin, and appetite stimulant pills... along with a list of what to do, how much, and how often. Sam and I sat down and figured out that the easiest option would be do give Grimm most of his meds at night, when we were both home. That included the subcutaneous fluids, amoxicillin, pepcid, and appetite stimulant (every three days). However, we were going to have to give Grimm amoxicillin in the morning before leaving for work, as well as in the evening. We tried to give Grimm the fluids the following evening, but he wanted nothing to do with it. We managed to give him the pepcid, but it didn't seem to make him feel any better. The amoxicillin went down, no problems. We just felt like horrible parents... I didn't want to do this to him, even though it was for his own good. The following day (Christmas), we managed to get the amoxicillin down, but not the appetite stimulant and not the pepcid. We got in some fluids (50ml out of the 150ml we were supposed to give him)... after wrapping Grimm up in a towel and holding him completely still in the bathroom. Again, we felt as though we were pissing Grimm off with every needle, pill, and liquid we shoved into him.

Tonight, we came to the conclusion that we want Grimm to live... as comfortably and happily as possible, for as long as that may be. I do not want to stick a needle in my cat every night while he's wrapped like a burrito in a towel, looking sad and angry. I am tired of popping pills down his throat when we don't even know that it's doing anything, especially the pepcid and appetite stimulant (since he's eating ok without it). Grimm seems to be breathing harder and his pupils are dilated... which isn't a good thing, we know... but we did what we were told to do (for the most part), and nothing has seemed to help so far. We're wondering if the 24-hour clinic didn't slip him a sedative while he was there... and he's just now coming out of the medicine-induced sleep. Either way, we are keeping an eye on him... a very close eye.

We do, however, want to talk to the vet tomorrow. The 24-hour clinic recommended an injectable medication to help with Grimm's anemia. We want to look into that... and we would prefer to take Grimm to the vet everyday that he needs a shot, so we don't mess it up. We also want to finish giving him the amoxicillin... his eyes are clearing up, without the drops. However, the drops are good for Odin, too... if he ever needs them again (he used them as a kitten). We also want to ask the vet about Science Diet k/d kibble for Grimm to munch on during the day, since he prefers kibble to wet food. We already bought Grimm a new water bowl that says, "Thirsty" on it. *super cute*

Odin and the kittens seem to be leaving Grimm alone, for the most part. Grimm has been hiding under my desk, on top of the pink ottoman. He's been there most of the time; he only gets up to pee, drink water, and eat food (on occasion). He surprised us on Christmas by getting up and coming into the kitchen when he heard me open a soup can. I was shocked... and Sam immediately gave him wet food. :) Grimm also came out tonight and showed interest in the new toys I bought the kitties today at Wal-Mart (since Odin's flower toys were inside the stocking). I ended up giving Grimm a catnip toy in the office, along with his old friend, the stick. :)

I'll keep everyone posted on Mr. Grimm via Twitter and FB. I'm just glad he's home and sleeping, safely under my desk. <3 I love my Grimm (aka Bubba). I don't want to see him leave this world prematurely... he's only 4 years old and he's too good of a kitty to have such a horrible thing happen to him.