Upon returning from my vacation, I found that my fuzzy, Gypsy has fallen
very ill.  It happened two days before my return (Gypsy was staying with a
friend).
 
On Wednesday of last week, my friend noticed that Gypsy had become extremely
lethargic and was having a great deal of trouble passing any waste
whatsoever.  My friend rushed Gypsy to an emergency hospital where he was
diagnosed as having what I believe was a bladder infection.  His bladder had
swollen to a size that caused the feces to be blocked.
 
The vet gave us two choices: 1) surgery or 2) put Gypsy to sleep.
Unfortunately, with me being out of town, my friend did not know what to do.
He talked it over with the vet and he opted to use a syringe to remove the
trapped urine from bladder, thereby releasing the pressure from the other
organs and allowing Gypsy to pass feces.  This seemed to help in the
meantime.
 
The doctor also prescribed Amoxicillan (sp?) to be administered (1 mg) twice
daily, once in the morning, once in the evening and getting him to take his
medication (via syringe) is a task Herculean in itself.
 
Gypsy seems to be doing ok, however, his energy levels are VERY low, he's
not eating all that much, he's drinking somewhat more (he's incredibly
dehydrated at this point). When I lift him out of his cage and set him on
the ground he falls to his side. He's incredibly weak.
 
If anyone can offer any further advice on what I should be doing or what I
can expect, please let me know.  It's very heartbreaking seeing my little
friend is this situation.  I don't know what else I can do.
 
:-( - you never REALLY know how attached you become to your little guy
until something like this happens.
 
Many thanks.
Dan Herold
Toronto, ON
 
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Dan Herold
InContext Corp.
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[Posted in FML issue 1625]