Scrawny kitty

We've sort of known that something was up for a while. I mean, come on, who owns a cat named Hulk that is small enough to fit in a shoebox? Ok, a children's shoe box.

He's always acted healthy enough, though. Outside of a rare vaccine reaction, and a UTI every now and then, he's been a wonderful and low maintenance pet. Still, I couldn't help but compare him to his brother, Hogan, (for the record, they came with those names) who is the exact opposite of him. A rotund, fluffy, fills up your lap kind of creature.

Today I gave in and took him to work. He's been urinating on the floor beside the litter box, which is his usual sign that he's got another UTI, only his urine is dilute, not heavy or bloody. I'm thinking kidney failure, and preparing myself for the worst possible outcome.

So off to the clinic we go, Hulk, Jonas and I. Last year when I had him in just for his check-up, he weighed 8.3 lbs... not a big cat at all, but today the scale just about reached up and smacked me in the face! 5.5 lbs! He's lost three pounds in a year. How did I not notice it? Three pounds is pretty damn significant in a cat that tiny.

I ran a glucose on him, and that was normal, so we know it's not diabetes. So we're down to the two other common kitty killers... Thyroid or Kidney. I'm hoping for thyroid, since, of the two, it's the most treatable one. Never thought I'd be praying for a life-long illness.

Our clinic is one of the only ones in the entire state that is set up for radioactive iodine treatment. So, if I can save up the money, I may even be able to "cure" him. The problem is, the procedure costs nearly $800. Ugh! I can't remember the last time I spent $800 on anything! Sure, I get a discount, but still, I don't think it's a workable solution for us.

Anyone care to donate to the Save the Scrawny Kitty fund?

So the bloodwork is off to the lab, and all I can do is wait patiently. Hopefully I got it drawn in time to get the results in the morning. Let's wait and see.